Tri Hita Karana Tourism Awards

Introduction
It is universally acknowledged that since the Rio Earth Summit (1992), sustainability has become the central issue in tourism development policies throughout the world. Governments, the private sector and international organizations have been invited to play an active role and to take appropriate actions in ensuring sustainable tourism worldwide. One of the initiatives that may be taken towards this end can be in the form of tourism awards.
The Tri Hita Karana Tourism Awards represent an award-giving concept which bases its evaluation upon the Principles of Tri Hita Karana (THK), i.e. the reflection of harmonious relations between man and his spiritual, social and natural environments. Seen from the terminological point view, “Tri” means three, “Hita” means happiness, and “Karana” means causes. Therefore, THK denotes three elements playing important roles causing gladness, eternity, and living happiness both materially and spiritually, namely: (i) culture-spiritual elements; (ii) socio-economic elements; and (iii) natural environment elements. The above principles are basically in line with the principles of sustainable development as formulated by the United Nations at the Earth Summit.
There have been several tourism certifications or awards existing, which focused mostly on environmental conservation aspects, and with less on social and cultural aspects. On the other hand, sustainability in travel and tourism industry could not be achieved when tourism industry does not concern with the social and cultural aspects of the community at the tourism destination. THK tourism awards provide holistic evaluation criteria to travel and tourism industry in order to achieve sustainable tourism development.
To achieve sustainable development, the three elements of THK should be in a balance state and in harmonious relationships. This will bring prosperity to the world, not only physical well-being but also non-physical (cultural and spiritual) well-being. Moreover, these indicators take into account not only the physical aspect but also the non-physical aspect (socio-cultural and public implications), so that the awards will have the intrinsic power to help avoid the potential conflicts between communities and between tourism entrepreneurs and the host communities.
The Tri Hita Karana Tourism Awards have been successfully applied in Bali since year 2000. PATA itself has made a commitment to elevate the profile and importance of responsible and sustainable tourism as reflected in the PATA Code for Sustainable Tourism 2001. By adopting the TRI HITA KARANA Tourism Awards concept, PATA will be better equipped in its efforts to encourage the travel and tourism industry to participate in helping to improve the environments of our planet and to inspire others to improve their sustainable performance.

Objectives
- To provide a show-case to the world that tourism is a supporting factor of sustainable development.
- To appraise examples of best practices in sustainable tourism.
- To encourage the travel and tourism industry to improve their sustainable performance.
- To serve as PATA’s formal recognition of the tourism industry’s adherence to the PATA Code for Sustainable Tourism.

Criteria of Evaluation
1. Cultural and Spiritual Elements
Existence of sanctuaries in the vicinity prior to or after the operation of a tourism enterprise.
Communications maintained regularly with the nearby sanctuaries
Participation in the preservation and embellishment of sanctuaries and local cultures.
Application of traditional architectural concepts and designs.
Contribution to and participation in the religious activities in the surroundings.

2. Social and Economic Elements
Atmosphere of internal relations within the management of an enterprise.
Existence of social organizations within a company
Composition of local staff
Initiatives taken to empower local organizations
Atmosphere of relation between a company and the local community
Initiatives taken to empower local, small enterprises
Priority given to purchase local produces
Existence of human resource development programmes
Attention paid to human affairs.

3. Natural Environment Elements
Company’s commitment to safeguarding the quality of the environment
The integration of an architectural approach to the local environment
Protection of the ecosystems
Waste management
Availability of the water-use and energy-saving scheme
Company’s participation in solving environmental problems
Availability of detailed environmental management system
Availability of the monitoring and evaluation mechanism.

Evaluation Mechanism
The evaluation mechanism falls into three phases :
Phase I : Initial screening by way of short questionnaires sent to selected, eligible tourism establishments.
This shall be executed based on a professional judgment by a team of experts or the THK Tourism Awards Team.

Phase II : Distribution of detailed questionnaires reflecting the evaluation criteria developed based upon the three elements of THK above to the tourism establishments already screened in Phase I.

Phase III : Site inspection for reliability checking by the THK Tourism Awards Team. The target audiences include not only the management side but also the employees, the visitors/guests and opinions from the outsiders. The inspection shall be conducted both ways, i.e. in an open manner with prior notice and in disguise.

Respondents and Judges
There shall be 6 components to be included in the evaluation, comprising :

• Management of the tourism establishments (hotels, recreational parks, resorts, national/ecotourism parks)
  
• Communities surrounding the establishments (village administrations, social custom leaders, religious representatives, the youth etc.)
  
• Tour guides
  
• Tourism journalists
  
• Tourists visiting/staying at the establishments under evaluation
  
• Employees.
  
• Judges shall be members of the THK Tourism Awards Team.

Announcements, Trophies and Awards
Announcements of winners shall be made in two stages. The first stage shall be the announcement of the best ten tourism enterprises derived from four evaluation activities : initial screening, questionnaire result, opinion from communities and result of site inspection I. The second stage shall be the announcements of the THK Tourism Awards Winners derived from the best ten through questionnaire result involving four components of evaluation (tour guides, tourism journalists, tourists, employees) and through result of site inspection II.
The winners of the THK Tourism Awards shall comprise three categories (gold, silver and bronze) and shall be entitled to receive a trophy respectively as well as wide publicity in both mass media and the internet.

Organizational Structure
The organizational structure and functions of the THK Tourism Awards Team who shall be responsible for the evaluation, shall be incorporated into those of the PATA Honours Committee.

Concluding Remarks
Firmly believing that PATA’s adoption of the TRI HITA KARANA Tourism Awards Concept within its awards programme will better reflect the association’s commitment to the implementation of the PATA Code for Sustainable Tourism 2001, Indonesia is pleased to propose that this document be discussed and considered for adoption by PATA during the next PATA Honours Committee Meeting. (BTN/*)

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