How the Tourism Industry is Being More Sustainable

The tourism industry has long been a huge contributor to negative effects on the environment through emissions used to take people from one destination to another and processes to deliver cargo, luggage, and transportation methods. However, with the focus on sustainability for every industry, the tourism industry has needed a resurgence to improve its carbon footprint and eco-friendliness. 

Discover how the tourism industry is being more sustainable and contributing to a greener and more ethical future. 

What is sustainable tourism?

Tourism is constantly evolving and rapidly growing, contributing significantly to the income of many countries worldwide. However, it has long been creating issues for the environment, society, and even the economy. Due to this, sustainable tourism has been created to take care of the environment, society, and the economy. It aims to minimize the negative impacts of tourism while boosting the positive impacts. Its purpose is to meet the needs of present circumstances without compromising future generations, allowing them to meet their own needs when it comes to it.

Sustainable tourism should use environmental resources that help tourism development while maintaining ecological processes and helping to protect and conserve heritage. It should also respect the culture of the host communities and protect their heritage and traditional values. As well as this, sustainable tourism should provide long-term economic opportunities and provide socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders. This includes stable employment and income opportunities, social services to cater to communities, and contributions to alleviating poverty.

Why is sustainability in tourism important?

Sustainability in tourism is important because it encourages positive choices when it comes to travel and vacations. This strives to create a greener future and the successful development of the tourism industry by focusing on the positives rather than the negatives. As tourism always grows quickly, this means the negative impacts it can have will grow as well. Sustainable tourism aims to carefully manage and solve these issues. 

Strategies to boost sustainability

The travel industry has various strategies in place to tackle these issues and boost sustainability. These all vary depending on the business and where in the process of tourism they sit, for example, an airport will have different strategies for sustainability than hotels. These strategies not only help guide tourism in a greener direction, but they can help with being more cost-effective as sustainable travel is seen as more expensive. 

Encouraging public transport

A key strategy for many areas in the tourism industry is to encourage the use of public transport. These are often very accessible and more affordable than other methods of transport, especially in urban areas. Using methods such as trains and buses helps to reduce carbon emissions and the number of vehicles on the road. This improves air quality and the impact of congestion from vehicles traveling. Many countries and cities are focused on promoting low-cost public transport, offering deals and discounts to encourage tourists to use them.

Staycations 

The cost-of-living crisis has shifted travelers to enjoying staycations as they can often be cheaper than international travel. However, this provides the tourism industry with a golden opportunity to promote staycations in an effort to contribute less emissions. Disposable incomes are tight, particularly for the lowest household incomes, and various accommodation and tourist boards can use this to make budget-friendly vacations near home and in the same country. This also helps to boost local cities and areas’ income, providing vital money for development and regeneration.

Promoting less-traveled places

Many countries have suffered from being too popular with tourists which can lead to clashes between the locals and tourists. This has required these places to implement policies to try and reduce the amount of visitors they have during peak season. To help reduce these conflicts and provide calmer and exciting travel opportunities, many areas of the tourism industry are focusing on promoting less-traveled places. This encourages a harmonious balance between tourists, the community, and the environment. 

Boosting sustainable accommodation & activities

Travel industries can make use of the sustainable accommodation and activities sector by encouraging travelers to use these accommodations and activities. This can be achieved through offering various cost accommodations and activities that interest holidaymakers. Things like hostels and shared accommodations are a greener option for those on a budget while eco-accredited hotels and resorts are perfect for those who want more luxury. 

Many airline and holiday booking sites are beginning to showcase sustainable accommodation, and even activities for package holidays, under a sustainable tab. This groups all the greener choices into one, encouraging users to explore a sustainable vacation and make better choices for the planet. These can be places and activities that implement sustainable initiatives such as using solar panels, doing beach clean-ups, putting money back into conservation and regeneration, or using eco-friendly delivery choices (such as a multi-transportation method and using inka plastic pallets for loads instead of wooden ones). 

It is essential for the tourism industry to take accountability for its environmental impact and find solutions and strategies that work for each part to tackle the negative issues. The future of tourism is striving toward sustainability, implementing more and more sustainable practices along with transparency from brands and accommodations on their sustainability credentials. This will significantly improve tourism’s impact on the world and lead to a better, greener future.