Following the completion of its new-look website last year, Fair Trade Tourism has continued to make the most of the technology space.
Fair Trade Tourism is a non-profit organisation whose aims are to grow awareness about responsible tourism to travellers; assist tourism businesses to operate more sustainably; and facilitate a Fair Trade Tourism certification programme across Southern Africa.
Teaming up with Flow again, an online certification system has been created to allow tourism businesses to be certified without any paperwork or hideous admin. Businesses are able to obtain certification entirely online.
“The system streamlines the process for Fair Trade Tourism and for its clients. It also helps its auditors generate audit reports and submit audit information to FTT,” says development studio manager Richard Frank, who has worked with the organisation throughout both the website and online certification projects.
“The purpose of the certification system is to enable tourism establishments and tour operators to certify themselves. Flow developed the system, which takes a person through a series of workflows in order to get accredited. This includes sending in evidence of their fair trade practice, such as having contracts with their employees, having an environmental management policy and other criteria.”
Developer Zander Janse van Rensburg says the system makes everyone’s lives easier.
“I believe this system is quite amazing as it shows that even a complicated workflow like the certification process of FTT can be made a whole lot simpler by using modern technologies. Now it is as easy as completing an online form, which is automatically tailored to your business, and then waiting for a call,” he says.
Zander maintains and adds new features where necessary. Recent additions have included functionality to make the process easier for the auditors.
The data is not meant for the public domain, and Zander admits that it is very complicated (we’ll leave the complicated terminology and process to the geeks), but the rewards have been well worth it.
“A personal reward was understating the database better. Also seeing how excited the auditors were when they saw how easy it was to use the system while I was training them in Cape Town,” he says.
FTT general manager and acting executive manager Kathy Bergs encourages all tourism establishments to “go on the website, get certified and begin their journey”.
Of working with Flow, she says: “It’s been a pleasure. The company is flexible, resourceful and has a good feel for tourism; it’s also quick to engage with our needs, such as building this user-friendly system.”