If you happen to be on a MyTravel flight this summer heading to the sun, watch out for a short film being shown as part of the in-flight entertainment. A cartoon character called Hatch the Turtle will be introducing children on board to the concept of sustainable travel.
It's the idea of the Travel Foundation, a charity largely funded by the UK tourism industry, and it's symptomatic of the trade's current angst that it needs to be doing much more when it comes to improving the often negative environmental and social impact of tourism around the globe.
Travel Weekly, British tourism's trade publi-cation, recently ran an editorial in which it challenged readers to confront this issue -- and fast: "This industry needs to set out where it stands on the environment. Polite notices about putting out towels to clean in hotel rooms don't wash with an increasingly green public... This issue is not going to go away. Tobacco firms knew for 20 years that advertising and smoking bans were inevitable and fought to ensure they came out the best they could. What is travel's strategy to protect itself? We might make people's dreams come true, but there are those who argue travel contributes to future nightmares."
PHOTO: NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE
This concern was also reflected last month in Washington DC at the World Travel and Tourism Council summit -- an annual gathering of the industry's great and good. Under one roof were around 100 leaders of the sector's largest companies, including Marriott, Disney Resorts, Emirates, easyJet and Kuoni. Talk in past years has been largely of maintaining economic growth and overcoming the threat terrorism and natural disasters present to tourism. But also on the agenda this year was how this US$1.6 trillion-a-year industry, that employs one in every 11.5 workers on the planet, can keep growing, as it most certainly is, without trashing the very assets -- the pristine beaches, the ancient ruins, the mountains, the centers of culture -- on which it so greatly relies.
Unsurprisingly, there was talk about the increasing demand for ecotourism -- long billed as a panacea for tourism's ills -- and, crucially, whether it can move beyond the industry's fringes and ever be integrated into mainstream tourism.
There was plenty of applause ringing out when this year's Tourism for Tomorrow Awards -- which reward the world's best examples of ecotourism -- were handed out at the summit. This year's worthy winners included the Sierra Gorda biosphere reserve in Mexico, the Campi ya Kanzi walking safaris in Kenya, and Hotel Punta Islita in Costa Rica. But what wasn't discussed amid the backslapping was what exactly is meant by "ecotourism" -- a term that has long been open to abuse and misrepresentation. After all, any destination in the world can proudly boast they cater to ecotourists. There are no defined "rules" and no widely recognized certification scheme -- as there is with, say, Fairtrade coffee or organic food -- that would act to reassure the fast-rising number of tourists keen to reduce their impact when on holiday.
PHOTO: NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE
Kerala state in southern India has long been known for its ecotourism, particularly around the backwaters near Cochin. Indeed, it was shortlisted for the best destination award this year at the summit. It didn't win, but the judges' citation noted its efforts and vision for "undertaking a wide variety of projects focusing on conservation, preservation, community development and raising awareness of the importance of responsible tourism development to both communities and visitors."
But back in February a letter was sent from concerned tourism workers in the state to the judges urging them to abandon their decision to consider Kerala for the award. The letter talked of the unsustainable extraction of ground water in tourism hotspots, pollution of the backwaters caused by tourism, the impact of sex tourism, and poor waste management. "It has been clearly demonstrated that the claim that tourism is a vehicle for developing the environment in the state is highly questionable at best and unfounded at worst," it concluded.
The letter graphically illustrated how the problems will persist if ecotourism remains a self-certifying system and is too widely cast when used. After all, how can a whole state be labelled as such when there are, like any large tourist area, thousands of hotels ranging wildly with regard to environmental best practice? Just as we rely on the ratings and recommendations of Michelin, AA, Fodors, Les Routiers, Lonely Planet and the rest when we travel, we need a robust scheme for ecotourism that has a globally consistent high watermark.
PHOTO: NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE
The difficulty, of course, will be preventing the costs from being borne by the small operators who are already scratching, often forlornly, for as much of the tourist dollar as they can get. We, the tourists -- as guests wishing to enter someone else's home -- must be made to pay.
Expedia recently announced it had teamed up with the UN Foundation to establish the World Heritage Alliance, a scheme that aims to raise ring-fenced funds through tourism in order to preserve the 800-plus world heritage sites -- the Pyramids, the Great Barrier Reef, the Galapagos Islands,s etc. -- and the communities that live close by. But the scheme, while laudable in its aims, also raises the vexed issue of whether, as with flying, the future may need to be one of travel by quota. Even if our money is being spent "sustainably" and with a guarantee to enrich the local economy and preserve the environment, can more and more of us just keep visiting these places without restriction, as all the forecasts predict?
Communities living in the shadows of the Taj Mahal and Machu Picchu, for example, have long urged a cap on visitor numbers to help limit damage. Would a more sustainable future be based on, say, the Bhutan model, whereby tourists are charged a minimum US$200 a day in order to restrict numbers, but still secure benefits for the local economy?
Again, as with flying, what we pay for our holidays today does not in any way reflect the lasting impact our visit can have on a destination. If we demand ever-cheaper holidays, we can't be surprised that costs are cut at the destination with obvious negative effects. And as the trend for experiential holidays increases -- we now have a generation raised on gap years and minibreaks, as well as fit, well-off babyboomers entering retirement, neither of which are sated by two weeks on a sun lounger -- so our footprint increases further still.
In contrast to the last-minute, have-it-all tourism that we enjoy today, we must develop a mindset that it is an honor to visit another country and, as guests, we must tread with tentative, respectful steps. Hopefully, this is what Hatch the Turtle will be telling the travellers of tomorrow this summer.
For your information :
The International Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people." This means that those who implement and participate in ecotourism activities should follow the following principles:
* Minimize the impact of tourism
* Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect
* Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts
* Provide direct financial benefits for conservation
* Provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people
* Raise sensitivity to host countries' political, environmental, and social climate
* Support international human rights and labor agreements
SOURCE: The International Ecotourism Society
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