Demystifying Sustainability
From global corporations conversing over Zoom, to artisan entrepreneurs seeking advice, the travel industry is evaluating just how to move forward, most of your counterparts are asking:
Where to start? How do we become more resilient?
Can we afford to balance the looming financial and human limitations AND the rising momentum of sustainability?
The answer is: It is vital to protect and support the destinations we all depend on so that communities, travelers and businesses can prosper. Weaving strategic plans around sustainable initiatives post-COVID IS how we become resilient. This is the path to our new normal.
The first stepping-stone to cross is the term ‘sustainable’ itself.
The rise, momentum, and recognition for solutions in sustainable travel and tourism over the last decade has created a needed movement. At the same time, the term 'sustainable' has become murky, diluted, and vague. The challenge is semantics and there is tremendous variation on how individuals interpret the word. You might find that the meaning of sustainable travel for one client may be very different to another (and yet, neither of them would be wrong.)
42 % of U.S. travelers would be willing to prioritize sustainable travel in the future.
Only 15 % of these travelers are sufficiently familiar with what sustainable travel means.
- 2019 National Geographic survey
The phrase “sustainable travel” (or tourism) is an umbrella term. It encompasses an extensive cache of topics including critical issues unfolding in real-time.
Sustainable tourism: Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities. - The United Nations' World Tourism Organization
Shifting Gears In The Approach
A simpler way to approach sustainable travel is think of it as the center hub of a wheel. Every degree you turn to the right, and again, and again, leads you to a different spoke. Each spoke represents a distinct, pressing, and vital focus that will define tourism in the decade ahead. For example, topics of concern might be but not limited to the following:
Animal protection and welfare
Amplifying and including local voices
Carbon offsetting
Clean energy
Clean water
Climate action
Conserving natural heritage
Protecting ecosystems
Energy efficiency
Eliminating single-use plastics
Equity, Belonging, Diversity and Inclusion
Food sourcing at destinations
Forest management
Combating human trafficking
Supporting and investing in local communities
Preserving the history
Nontoxic product choices in hotels, rentals, and lodging
Divestment from orphanage tourism
Overtourism
Reducing carbon footprint
Responsible tourism
Voluntourism
In addition, terminology may vary across travel industry sectors and regionally around the world. For example, in the United States the term ‘sustainable’ is more recognized in relation to consumer decision making. European organizations more readily identify with ‘responsible tourism’ and use of the UNWTO’s Sustainable Development Goals.
With this understanding, we can engage in deeper conversations:
Lead your clients in discussions to clarify which topics mean the most to them.
Choose and embrace a spoke topic with your team and weave this into in your business plan.
Connect with suppliers and destinations who are becoming the experts in other areas.
It is imperative that the industry work together for collective impact. Shifting to the new normal does not rely on any one organization but maximizes each of our strengths. Fortunately, we have a unique intricacy with each other and are quick to celebrate each other’s wins. If your organization is already making a difference and embracing a sustainability focus, we would love to hear about it!
The Tire Encompassing The Spokes
At Tourism Cares, we are passionate about all of the above, across all sectors of the industry and working together collectively through a shared mission. We use the phrase Meaningful Travel to capture and wrap the momentum together.
Meaningful Travel – to travel responsibly and sustainably to ensure the places we love are not harmed or depleted by our presence.
During this unprecedented time, and to help provide clarity on some of these focuses, we are opening our Meaningful Travel Platform for free to everyone focused on rebuilding their travel business more meaningfully. The Meaningful Travel Platform was created as a business to business digital training and resource tool, designed to initiate, support, and strengthen your travel company’s sustainability practices.