Atkin Jones’ Consultant John Telfer dives into the concept of 'leakage' in travel and ways in which it can be positively discouraged...
Sewage into the river? Confidential information inappropriately shared? Rain coming through the roof? Unspeakable body fluids? Nuclear waste? No matter how it is used in normal conversation, “Leakage” has negative connotations. But for those in the travel world who understand or (heaven forbid) enjoy corporate sustainability-speak, leakage in a pure commercial sense by some organisations can be viewed as a good thing, as it refers to how much money does not go into the local economy from tourism but is retained by them.
So why this singular “positive” use of a word that is normally associated with the urgent call for professional services, a plumber, or a change of clothing? Crudely (and simplistically) leakage is the money retained by the tour operator or non-locals, ie leaks out of the local economy. Now given that for most people, locals benefitting from in-country spend is something to be encouraged (given that locals suffer a good few negative consequences of tourism – and tourists benefit for free for many of the experiences, smells and views of being abroad) – you can understand the negativity with the word leakage. It probably stems from the early days of vertically integrated tour operating, where money not captured in the supply chain was viewed as potential lost revenue - hence why it was something not to aspire to, but instead, minimise.
Personally, I believe a better way of framing it is not as reducing “leakage” but as maximising “enrichment” of the local economy. . Words matter, and it has been argued that default vocabulary should be rejigged; such as the view that 'climate change' is far too nice a term, and instead 'climate emergency' or 'climate crisis' should be used. Or how 'flight shame' has been changed from something that you feel due to your own beliefs to 'flight shaming', which is inflicted upon you by (so-called) radical others.
But these are discussions for another time – let’s talk about local enrichment. So, as a traveller/tourist, how best to ensure that your spend stays with the people you would like it to (assuming that you want the locals to benefit or be enriched, rather than money being syphoned away abroad)?
I’ll split it into money you spend before you go on holiday, and potentially who you might want to see benefit from your travel-orientated spending? (BTW, have you considered which bank you use...?). Taking one extreme...booking a flight-inclusive holiday in an all-inclusive that employs non-local staff is not a way to maximise local benefits. You could always eat a few nights away from the resort (now that’s the kind of leakage operators do like – saving money!), or you could see if the tour operator supports a local charity or project, and donate. You could dive into their website to see how sustainably they operate – or any detail on human rights & modern slavery. But it can be quite difficult to judge how a company does business (there is a way – which I will discuss later).
The other approach would be to self-package, with the risks that that entails, investigate locally owned property (who has time for that?), eat in local restaurants, and spend your money directly with local companies who offer excursions. It’s not always as clear cut, though – sometimes the international hotel chains where you expect your money to be whisked out of the country are actually locally owned hotels that have been franchised. Airbnb is a minefield; who knows who owns the place, but you can see whether it is a family place or not. There is no clear-cut route to maximise local enrichment.
For me, a first step would be to see if the tour operator is B Corp certified. If not, I would ask them about their policy on local ownership, and benefits and use of local guides (if it is indeed an escorted trip). Secondly, I would buy excursions locally, and eat in local restaurants. Perhaps having been brought up in hotels, my personal approach is rarely to eat in the place I am staying in. It's more interesting if nothing else to walk 10 minutes from where the tourists congregate, find a place where the locals eat and drink, and avoid international chains.
Enriching others sounds a little too worthy, perhaps, (and I'll avoid the other worthy word – mindful!) but let’s try to spend money on those people we want to benefit, the people whose streets, music, plazas, food, beaches and mountains we enjoy.
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