Sustainable travel, what does it really mean?
As people are becoming more aware and conscious of the impact of their actions, they are seeking more responsible ways of traveling. The growth in tourism and the way we travel currently is not sustainable. We could all just stop traveling, but many of us feel the need and want to travel (and many people around the world rely on tourism for their income) and that is where sustainable travel comes into play.
Sustainable tourism is defined by UNESCO as “tourism that respects both local people and the traveler, cultural heritage and the environment”. The UN World Tourism Organization defines it as “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.”
Sustainable travel is built on three pillars: the Ecological (our impact on the natural environment), the Socio-Economic (respecting rights of local people and ensuring fair wages for employees), and the Cultural pillar (protecting the historic environment and traditional values).
For sustainable tourism to work, these three pillars have to be working together in a system for they are united and interdependent. From these pillars we can define 10 principles of sustainable tourism, which are:
Using resources sustainably. The conservation and sustainable use of resources- natural, social and cultural – is crucial and makes long-term business sense.
Reducing over-consumption and waste. Reduction of over-consumption and waste avoids the costs of restoring long-term environmental damage and contributes to the quality of tourism. Reduce, reuse, recycle.
Maintaining biodiversity. Maintaining and promoting natural, social and cultural diversity is essential for long-term sustainable tourism and creates a resilient base for the industry.
Integrating tourism into planning. Tourism development which is integrated into a national and local strategic planning framework and which undertake environmental impact assessments increases the long-term viability of tourism.
Supporting local economies. Tourism that supports a wide range of local economic activities and which takes environmental costs and values into account, both protects these economies and avoids environmental damage.
Involving local communities. The full involvement of local communities in the tourism sector not only benefits them and the environment in general but also improves the quality of the tourism experience.
Consulting stakeholders and the public. Consulting between the tourism industry and local communities, organizations and institutions are essential if they are to work alongside each other and resolve potential conflicts of interest.
Training staff. Staff training which integrates sustainable tourism into work practices, along with recruitment of personnel at all levels, improves the quality of the tourism product.
Marketing tourism responsibly. Marketing that provides tourists with the full and responsible information increases respect for the natural, social and cultural environments of destination areas and enhances customer satisfaction.
Undertaking research. Ongoing research and monitoring by the industry using effective data collection and analysis are essential to help solve problems and to bring benefits to destinations, the industry, and consumers.
As we can see, there is a lot we can do to help tourism to become more sustainable. But while most travelers are willing to be part of more sustainable travel practices, for many it remains unclear how they can accomplish this. So, in the next blog we will come with practical examples of how to be a sustainable traveler.