were also keen on working closer with the college. OTC Lady Leaders in Tourism Network is one of the initiatives through which the college works together with the industry.
5.8 Proposing OTC Lady Leaders in Tourism Network as a CSR Program
The author proposes to establish OTC Lady Leaders in Tourism Network as a CSR program to be able to best assist students in entering the tourism sector and build a career in tourism. As the network already has received a warm reception and is widely appreciated and not considered political, it has potential of becoming unique tool. The advisory group that participated in the second focus group discussion is committed in continuing to support the network when it is formed as CSR program (Image 10).
Image 10. Systems Change Initiation by OTC Lady Leaders in Tourism Network as CRS Activities (Raisanen, 2018).
Companies representing the tourism sector spectrum as well as government organizations and not for profits are considered as partners in the program, sending their female staff to participate in the network activities. The framework for the network explains the systems change initiation cycle through the joint activities to increase of number of Omani women joining tourism education and starting a career in tourism, to
the increase of the overall number of Omani women in tourism, to women being more empowered in tourism, tourism training and as tourism entrepreneurs. As the cycle repeats itself, the perceptions of tourism would be likely to change (Image 10). The strategy and action plan of the program is proposed to be drawn collaboratively together with the partners. As a CSR program, the goals of the network are proposed to be in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) so that the program is following international recommendations for aligning the CSR efforts as well as the sustainable development of a country with the global sustainable goals. Three goals are especially suited for the program: 4 Quality Education, 5 Gender Equality and 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth. Furthermore, the activities of the Lady Leaders in Tourism Network itself, can assist in raising awareness of the other SDGs as well, especially in line with responsible tourism which relies heavily on the beauty and preservation of the natural resources of the sultanate. The added value of aligning the program goals with the SDGs, is that the partners can more easily report the impact of the program. Some of the international tourism sector companies, such as Hyatt Inc, are already doing so.
A proposal has been given to the college management (Appendix 9). As the group consisted of participants from high levels both from public and private sector, their continuing interest and dedication has been, and is important to the credibility of the program. With the help of the advisory group, the 4th OTC Lady Leaders in Tourism Network event is planned for the 17th of October 2018, on the annual Omani Women’s Day with the working theme Omani Women in Tourism. The event is planned to include the focus group proposed activities of awareness walk and social media campaign (Image 9).
In planning the strategy and annual action plan for the network as CSR program, the author recommends a participatory approach together with the companies, students and staff as well as other stakeholders. In line with systems thinking, the network participants could be trained in Systems Intelligence (SI) approach to maximize the effectiveness of the network as contributing to the change in perception of tourism as a career choice for women in Oman. According to the developers of the concept (Saarinen
& Hamalainen, 2004), ‘SI is intelligent behavior in the context of complex systems involving interaction, dynamics and feedback and acting as a part of the system, trying to understand and look for constructive ways from within the system’. It is a higher-level cognitive capacity embedding both emotional and social intelligence. The participants of the network who are from the tourism industry, and who are potential influencers in initiating change in the society and inspire the tourism students, have an extremely important role to play and SI can help them to realize that task to the maximum. The impact of the program activities needs to be measured against set tangible and intangible goals. The tangible goals are the more conventional ones, such as the increase in the number of female students employed by the tourism industry or number of students starting tourism education. Intangible impact is measured by social return on investment (SROI) that takes into consideration social and environmental impacts as well, as opposed to the mere financial ones. To ensure ownership and commitment to the network goals, again participatory approach should be used, involving participants from relevant stakeholders.
The network is recommended to connect and cooperate with similar networks. Globally there are several women in tourism networks that have sprung up within the last three years (Appendix 2). Previously, there were very few specialized networks within tourism that were targeted only for females. This reflects a change in the society in general, as feminism is becoming more widely accepted and the economic empowerment of women is seen as one of the key issues in developing responsible tourism. A brief analysis of the networks reveal that they are mostly set up by the tourism industry professionals and are geared towards supporting their career growth as well as offering a platform for the participants for learning, awareness and discussion. Most are paid membership-based networks. Practically all have an annual even as a part of raising awareness of the women in tourism industry. OTC Lady Leaders in Tourism Network would benefit from benchmarking the programs and activities of the existing networks as well as form links with them, for mutual inspiration and learning., thus also raising international awareness of women in tourism. None of the networks had been established as a corporate social responsibility program, but most had partners in the industry and some had partners with the tourism education sector. OTC Lady Leaders in
Tourism Network would thus be the very first one to be established as a CSR program between tourism training, tourism industry and other stakeholders, a fact that can raise interest regionally and internationally. The network has all the potential to be a best practice for those countries who are in similar situations in their tourism human resources development and who want to encourage their tourism industry to contribute to the SDGs.