Sustainable businesses have a long term focus. They are profitable, effective and efficient, and make a positive contribution to communities and economies. In addition, they invest strategically in sustainable futures and innovation and are recognised by having business leaders committed to applying broad principles of sustainability throughout the organisation.
The research strategy for QMU’s Sustainable Business theme takes a holistic view of business sustainability, incorporating financial, social and environmental sustainability. The central thrust of current research addresses the range of business model fundamentals.
Researchers work in alignment with two integrated sub-themes:
Tourism, Hospitality and Events and
Management and Organisations
to explore issues of local, national and international relevance in public, private and the voluntary/charitable sectors. The team always ensures that the research work has significant practical, economic and social relevance.
RESEARCH EXAMPLE: Engaging the community with our work in hospitality, events, and food and drink
RESEARCH EXAMPLE: QMU and Dunira Strategy help establish co-operative tourism project in rural India
Tourism specialists at Queen Margaret University have secured a Scottish Government grant to establish unique tourism co-operatives in rural India. The project will use Scottish expertise to deliver sustainable economic development in some of the most socially and economically disadvantaged communities in rural India.
Funded by the Scottish Government’s International Development Fund, Queen Margaret University, the lead partner in this destination management project, will work in partnership with Dunira Strategy, the Edinburgh based tourism consultancy. The partnership aims to support communities in rural parts of India to embrace the concept of destination management and marketing, thereby encouraging tourists to visit beautiful and unspoilt developing areas, rather than continually gravitating to the better known larger ‘honeypot’ cities and resorts. The project responds to a need indentified through Dunira’s previous work with tourism destinations and co-operatives in India.
Drawing on the social reformer, Robert Owen’s development of co-operative principles at New Lanark, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Scotland’s most popular tourism attractions, the project will equip local communities to realise the potential value of their natural and cultural heritage. It will also encourage them to use a co-operative destination management organisation (cDMO) to regenerate their communities and implement effective marketing strategies. The cDMO model will also benefit tourists who will be given new opportunities to explore less established rural destinations in India.
Professor Andy Frew from Queen Margaret University (QMU), a world expert in eTourism, explained: “If more parts of India are to benefit from the growth in global tourism, the whole country needs to embrace destination marketing and encourage tourists to travel to different and undiscovered rural settings. All too often, visitors to the country only experience the better known tourist areas and many rural communities just don’t feature on the tourist trail. A co-operative approach not only makes a destination more attractive to visitors, but also ensures that the benefits are shared more equitably, resulting in more sustainable tourism.”
Professor Frew continued: “Much of QMU’s research focuses on creating sustainable business models. The concept behind this project will help to create a more sustainable future for India’s tourism industry by spreading the economic benefits across the country and by encouraging rural agricultural economies to develop destination management organisations which will benefit their communities. This won’t be something that is achieved overnight, but it’s about building expertise for the future and exchanging skills.”
The project also aims to address gender equality in rural areas - a particularly challenging issue. The partnership believes that as communities prepare to develop their areas as tourist destinations, it is an opportune time to encourage and equip women to grow as entrepreneurs within their communities.
Dunira’s Benjamin Carey believes that the University and the Edinburgh-based consultancy are well equipped to deliver this challenging project. He said: “QMU’s substantial expertise in international tourism and commitment to social enterprise projects, coupled with Dunira’s expertise of establishing destination management systems in developing countries, ensures that the Scottish partnership is ideally suited to such an important and complex project.”
The Scottish partnership will also work with YES BANK which will act as ‘Country Manager’ responsible for facilitating project delivery in India. YES BANK, through its Strategic Initiatives & Government Advisory (SIGA) Division, has been very active in multi-stakeholder development initiatives across India, with tourism as a priority sector. The Bank will advise on country dynamics, networks, introductions, project activities and logistics in the field. It will also work in partnership with QMU and Dunira to showcase the project outcomes and identify opportunities for replicating the model elsewhere in India and internationally, including taking it to the India Government for consideration as a part of national policy.
Fiona Hyslop, Minister for Culture and External Affairs said: “This project will help over 1,000 individuals in rural India fight their way out of poverty, including women and other marginalised groups. It will enable communities to capitalise on their cultural and natural heritage by creating tourism opportunities in order to achieve sustainable economic growth. Yes Bank and Queen Margaret University are committed to working together to improve rural development in India and increase financial inclusion for all and I wish them well with this excellent project.”
Benjamin Carey concluded: “This is an excellent example of a knowledge exchange project whereby a Scottish based partnership, building on the historic Scottish co-operative vision, can pool the expertise of both academic and business tourism specialists, international NGOs and a leading bank to improve communities and create sustainable economic benefits in an important developing country.”
Funding for the project of £383,580 comes from the Scottish Government’s International Development Fund (South Asia Development Programme) and will run over a period of two years and nine months.
