Sustainable Travel

Unlike the world of 50 years ago, today everyone travels. And for travel professionals, that’s a positive thing. However, travel by its very nature has an impact - often negative - on the environment, on culture and on the economies of local people who play host to tourism throughout the world. This is why sustainable travel - travel that leaves the world a better place for us having been there - is essential if we want tourism to continue to be the profitable economic resource that it is today.

The impacts of travel and tourism
Whether or not we like to think about it, the sheer process of travel depletes natural resources and causes pollution. Creating and maintaining the infrastructure for tourism often brings negative physical impacts on the environment such as deforestation, alteration of ecosystems and intensified or unsustainable use of land. Travel is also a major culprit of climate change, accounting for one-third of the world’s climate damaging greenhouse gas emissions. These effects, in turn, are beginning to have a profound impact on the travel and tourism industry.

Tourism also alters the face of culture and society, not only for people in far away places such as tribal communities in the Amazon rain forest, but also in local communities throughout our more familiar North America. Host communities find themselves adapting their original culture and their societal structure in ways that will facilitate tourism, sometimes resulting in cultural deterioration and change or loss of indigenous identity and values. The basic physical influences of tourism can also cause social stress, such as resource use conflicts and traditional land-use conflicts. Cultural clashes can result.

Perhaps cultural and social changes are justified by economic benefits, we rationalize. But while we like to think of tourism as having a positive economic effect on the communities we visit, sometimes the opposite is true. Often little of the total tourism expenditures actually remain in the local communities after taxes. There is also the issue of enclave tourism, in which travelers spend all of their time and money in all-inclusive cruise ships or resorts rather than with merchants in the areas they visit. As a result, price inflation often occurs, contributing to less spending. Some communities also develop an economic dependence on tourism, which is completely unhealthy to their long-term well-being.

The benefits of sustainable travel
Wherever there are negative impacts, there is an opportunity for positive change. As travel professionals living in a world where the environment, the culture and the economy are threatened, we have an opportunity to protect our natural and cultural heritage so that everyone can benefit. We can do this by encouraging and supporting sustainable travel and tourism. We can build consumer awareness and increase demand for sustainable tourism by raising industry standards. What many refer to as a win-win situation, we call the Triple Bottom Line - economic profitability, respect for the environment and social responsibility. The Triple Bottom Line means improvement in conservation of the natural environment, social benefit for local communities and profit for business owners and shareholders, which leads ultimately to gain for national or regional economies.

But, you ask, what are the bottom-line benefits for my company? There is ample evidence and research available to support the case that the bottom-line to green is back. By pursuing sustainability within your operations, you can improve profitability and lower costs through resource productivity and waste reduction, while positively contributing to environmental conservation and the well being of local people. Focusing on impact management helps to minimize the negative impacts of tourism and enhance its quality, ensuring the preservation of destinations and cultures for future generations and creating more attractive environments and better products.

Sustainable tour operations can also broaden your market appeal. Travel companies that demonstrate their commitment to sustainability make themselves more attractive to responsible travelers, one of the fastest growing segments in the travel industry. When you promote and practice sustainable travel, you appear on the radar screen of the 58.5 million Americans who say they would pay more to use a travel company that strives to protect and preserve the environment. When you demonstrate your dedication to corporate social and environmental responsibility, you address consumers’ growing concerns about environmental issues and their demand for greater transparency in the market. You also gain market share and improve brand awareness in a highly competitive global market, distinguishing your business from others and enhancing its reputation in a time of fading customer loyalty.

Consumers also benefit from choosing sustainable travel. They gain a true appreciation for and understanding of other cultures. Supporting local communities and environmental conservation makes them feel better about themselves. They are finally able to align their purchasing decisions - which are typically based on pricing, quality and convenience - with their values. And they expand their global perspective.

Local communities benefit as well. Sustainable travel and tourism improve local employment opportunities and wages; enhance opportunities for local enterprise; create collective income sources through fees and revenue share; mitigate negative socio-cultural and environmental impacts; allow for capacity building, education and training; increase local stakeholder participation in decision making; build partnerships between local communities, non-governmental organizations and the private sector; lay the groundwork for more supportive policy and planning frameworks; and improve local infrastructure and services.

The sustainable future and you
For the sustainable tourism movement to grow and support community development, biodiversity conservation and other environmental, socio-cultural and economic improvements, it will have to obtain buy-in from leaders in all segments of the travel and tourism industry. As more and more travel professionals realize the importance of sustainable practices, sustainable travel will begin to appeal to a broader audience whose buying habits have been traditionally based on price, quality and convenience. Tour operators who want to benefit from sustainable tourism need to offer authentic and meaningful experiences that are experiential and educational as well as inspiring and rewarding. We, as travel professionals, have a huge opportunity to promote the inherit values of sustainability as additional benefits for the traveler, preserving and protecting the places we visit and the planet at large.