Tag Archives: climate change

A Call for Climate Collaboration at the First Ever Future-of-Tourism Summit

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After two Covid-wracked years, the Future of Tourism Coalition was able to convene its first face-to-face summit on 30 Sept. 2022. Held in Athens, Greece, the Coalition meeting focused on climate mitigation and adaptation. Kate Lewis reports.

Participants Ask Businesses and Destinations to Partner Up for Change Ahead

On 29 September the inaugural Future of Tourism Summit, held in Athens and live-streamed globally, brought together NGOs, businesses, and destination organizations to demonstrate the need for “radical collaboration” to adapt to future needs. The focus of the day was climate action, within the framework of the Glasgow Declaration. This year the Future of Tourism Coalition event was part of the Green Destinations 2022 Conference, hosted by the City of Athens at the iconic Technopolis venue, with Beyond Green as sponsor.

Highlights from the day included:

  • Nadine Pinto, Sustainability Manager for The Travel Corporation, called for stronger partnerships with destinations, with metrics to measure their effectiveness. “We won’t have all the solutions overnight”, she added, “but we need to show the difference being made through partnerships toward the right direction”.
  • Janie Neumann, Sustainable Tourism Manager for Visit Scotland, hailed the Glasgow Declaration as an important shared commitment to align stakeholders and keep them accountable. Acknowledging that they don’t have all the answers, they move forward through “learning by doing” and are supported by the Travel Foundation.
  • Anthony Everett, President & CEO of 4VI (formerly Visit Vancouver Island, now a social enterprise) announced a multi-year partnership with the Travel Foundation. “We realized very quickly we needed a global partner,” he said. The partnership includes developing new KPIs for Vancouver Island which will draw from, and be shared with, the global community. Greg Takehara and Paula Vlamings from Tourism Cares were on Vancouver Island and joined virtually from its Meaningful Travel Summit which was running in parallel.
  • Liisa Kokkarinen, Head of Sustainable Development at Visit Finland explained how they signed the Glasgow Declaration along with 60 Finnish organizations who were inspired to stop emissions, not tourism
  • Virginia Fernandez-Trapa, Programme Officer, Sustainable Development of Tourism, UNWTO acknowledged the success so far of the Glasgow Declaration for Climate Action in Tourism, which UNWTO leads on, but called for many more organizations to sign up. She said: “Our unique planet depends on whether we transform or not, so let’s do it together.”
  • Martin Thomas, Vice President of Beyond Green, a global portfolio of “Planet Earth’s most sustainable hotels, resorts, and lodges”, shared details on the brand’s commitment to deliver on the three pillars of sustainable tourism, and how member properties are working to protect biodiversity, celebrate cultural heritage, and improve local people’s livelihoods in destinations around the world.
  • Jonathan Tourtellot, founder of the Destination Stewardship Center and the Destination Stewardship Report, was recognized by the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST) with this year’s Martha Honey Legacy in Responsible Travel Award.
  • Paloma Zapata, CEO of Sustainable Travel International, introduced its responsible travel documentary series that showcases real-life examples of sustainability in action from destinations and travel companies around the world.
  • Jeremy Sampson, CEO of The Travel Foundation, outlined the number one future goal for the Future of Tourism Coalition is to continue to build and strengthen communities, particularly in the Global South.
  • Sofya Muhrer-Muromets, Sustainability Coordinator, TourRadar said that mindset change is all about storytelling and communication, so the industry needs to share best practices, raise awareness of sustainable tourism, and highlight what good things people are already doing with regards to innovation and transformation of the current system.
  • Kristen Bertuglia, Environmental Sustainability Director, Town of Vail, Colorado also commented on changing mindsets, saying that travel and immersion in a place can change attitudes, so visitor experiences should be a catalyst for changing people’s hearts and connections with a destination. She said: ‘You can put policy in place but if there is nothing to back it up, it may not be sustainable.’
  • Alexia Panagiotopoulou, Head of Strategy, Athens Development and Destination Management Agency (City of Athens) highlighted that cities can be mobilizers for climate action in tourism as they have the ability to bring different stakeholders together, so it’s important for them to provide the relevant communication and resources on the topic.
  • Evita Kalogiorga, Brand Director, This is Athens highlighted that communities often have solutions, so organizations shouldn’t fear reaching out for wider consultation. Climate action is more successful if a bottom-up approach is taken.
  • Candace Strauss, VP, Partnerships & Community Engagement, WANDER commented on why the climate crisis had not been responded to as rapidly as the COVID crisis, saying that ‘solutions needed are long-term because they are so infrastructure intensive as well as the fundamental changes required in government policy, which is impacted by politics. The current energy crisis is currently shining a spotlight on this at the moment.’
  • Hugh Felton, Sustainable Tourism Manager, ABTA reinforced the message that individuals do not have to be experts to take the first step in climate action in tourism. Decisions can be small, but just start somewhere.

To conclude the event, members of the audience from organisations that had signed the Glasgow Declaration were invited on stage and applauded, while Preferred Travel Group (parent company of Beyond Green) and the City of Athens became the latest to sign – committing to publish their climate action plans and report on progress annually. Vasilis-Foivos Axiotis, Vice Mayor for City Planning of the City of Athens, said: “We want tourism that helps us to reach our goal of reducing carbon emissions by 61% by 2030. We are signing the Glasgow Declaration because we want to share our commitments with the world, and because we are optimistic that these goals can be achieved in the City of Athens.”

You can watch recordings of the event here.

Svalbard Overheating

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? Destination Stewardship Report – Vol. 2, No. 4 – Spring 2022 ?

With its coal mines now closing, Norway’s polar archipelago of Svalbard faces a unique set of threats: disrupted tourism, rising temperatures, and increased international vying for arctic control. Yet its extreme location also provides a unique set of opportunities for reviving tourism, according to this Communiqué from Arild Molstad.

Its camouflage useless, a polar bear treads snowless terrain in Svalbard. Photo: Marcus Westberg

Breaking News from the Island of the Polar Bears

The inhabitants of Spitsbergen – all two thousand of them – don’t have to pore over the United Nations’ climate change reports to feel that something’s not right.

On the only populated island in the Svalbard archipelago, a mere 90 minutes’ flight from the North Pole, bursts of rain are beginning to appear in February. Tourists who fly from distant continents to the “capital” of Longyearbyen to explore the majestic mountains on snowmobile under the Northern Lights may instead find themselves back in their hotel rooms, waiting for colder weather, watching sled-drivers return their frustrated howling huskies to camp. Midwinter rain is bad news all around in Spitsbergen: For dogs’ paws caught in slippery tracks; for reindeer trying to scratch their way through frozen surfaces to forage for edible moss and lichen; for surprised tour operators caught out by inaccessible slushy terrain.

Rising Temperatures

“This ain’t supposed to be happening,” sighs a tour guide, downing a pint of foamy Mack’s Beer in a popular bar, where some of his old drinking buddies are nowhere to be seen. As coal mining is being shut down permanently, their sooty, grimy, exhausted faces remain only as black and white photo portraits on the wall, mementos from a colorful history now fading away. Some of the gritty facades that once gave Longyearbyen its one-company-town atmosphere have yielded to erosion- and avalanche-proof housing.

The melting of Svalbard is not happening in a hurry. For decades the archipelago will remain a bucket-list destination for travellers looking for adventure, remoteness, and the spectacular, unforgettable beauty of the black granite mountains topped by glittering ice, their glaciers sloping towards fjords and valleys like bridal veils.

Svalbard tour guide trainee. Photo: Arild Molstad

But the metrics are scary. The archipelago is the fastest-melting place on earth: Since 1971 the temperature has risen by 4 degrees Celsius, five times higher than the world average. In winter the increase is 7 degrees. An astounding +22°C was recorded last summer.

Which means that ecotourism, which in the last decades was seen as Svalbard’s sure-fire alternative to a doomed coal mining industry, is facing an uncertain future. This comes at a time when this distant destination has been struggling with a post-pandemic decline in visitors, who even prior to 2019 didn’t stay long, most of them cruise passengers doing short day excursions.

Tourism Goes Greener

That is why Ronny Brunvoll is burning the midnight oil these days. As the leader of Visit Svalbard, he is in charge of an expert team updating the Svalbard Tourism Master Plan. It is important work, fraught with challenges, many of them political. The 1920 Svalbard Treaty was based on compromises between eight nations, one of them a weakened Russia in the aftermath of WWII.

The treaty conferred sovereignty upon Norway , but declared the archipelago a visa-free zone, meaning anybody willing to work is welcome. Local laws are dictated by the arctic weather, safety, and environmental concerns.  Now, against the background of rapid climate change and – until the pandemic struck – growing tourism, Norway’s government in Oslo is prescribing a strict regimen that curbs visitors’ movement anywhere on the islands.

Above all, that regimen will hit cruise tourism hardest, imposing a ceiling on the number of passengers per vessel. No final decision has been made yet, but the limit will likely be set to between 200 and 500 passengers, effectively putting a stop to conventional, polluting large-cruise-ship traffic. What will be allowed: expedition-class motor vessels. But even they will face strict rules as to where and when they can organize shore excursions.

Dog sledders pass beneath a shrinking glacier. Photo: Arild Molstad

“We must find ways to keep them here longer,” says Mr. Brunvoll , who is conscious not only of the per capita CO2 emissions burned during the long journey from the mainland by ship or plane, but of the need to find employment for Norwegian citizens. One way to do so is making it compulsory to hire locally trained guides who are familiar with the terrain – and armed for protection against polar bears looking for food scraps as their traditional habitat is threatened by shrinking ice. No ice means no place from which bears can catch seals. “The bears are easier to spot now,” a wildlife guide told me. “But remember, they’ll spot you long before you see them.”

Global Safety Vaults as Attractions

The tourism challenge is a delicate balancing act. Recently, more visitors have been drawn to Spitsbergen’s Global Seed Vault – a repository of seeds from mostly developing nations, should they face a famine, natural catastrophe or acts of war. Nearby another vault has recently been dug into the permafrost – the Arctic World Archive. Here nations’ institutions are depositing rare, invaluable artifacts, data, documents, and art, digitalized on tape guaranteed to last for 1,000 years.

The Arctic World Archive is built into the permafrost. Photo: Copyright AWA

Now there is talk about building a visitor center to welcome visitors to both vaults. If that happens, it would likely be an attraction that could prolong the average tourist’s stay. The center would function as a drawing card for narrating the colorful, exciting story of Svalbard, from the early 17th century arrival of fearless trappers and fisher folk to the transformation into a tight-knit community, situated in a place once considered remote, but now caught in the middle of a modern version of the colonial powers’ “Great Game.” Today ambitious nations are jockeying for position and access to oil and gas, precious minerals and huge fish stocks, as the Arctic Sea soon will become ice-free.

Slovenia’s Green Gourmet Tourist Route

Expanding the Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism  inspired Jana Apih and Sara Mavrič of GoodPlace to create a new step toward putting the Slovenia Green concept into practice. Here they describe how uniting stakeholders committed to a greener future can transform sustainability principles into memorable and tasty experiences for visiting bicyclers and hikers, who thereby support responsible local businesses.

Bicyclists on the SGGR near Ptuj, eastern Slovenia All photos courtesy GoodPlace.

A Delicious Way to Promote Sustainability, Educate the Visitor, and Benefit Communities

You’re bicycling along the Slovenia Green Gourmet Route (SGGR). In this green pocket-size country the landscape changes fast. Around each corner you’ll find a new local story, an untouched forest, romantic vineyards, or a vibrant town. In just one day you can wake up with a spectacular view of high mountains, fill your lungs with fresh cold air, smell the mountain flowers; then bike along the wild Soča river, observing shepherds looking after their stock and stopping by a local farm to taste fresh cheese; and finally ride through vineyards at sunset. Dinner is a special treat at a high-end restaurant offering an innovative, surprising menu of local items. The day will stay with you – a taste of Slovenia.

An asparagus starter at Majerija in the Vipava Valley.

The SGGR is an innovative product based on principles of responsibility. The route emphasizes the sustainable and gastronomic features of the country and brings benefits to local providers and communities. Slovenia being declared a European Region of Gastronomy for 2021 encouraged us at GoodPlace to create a green-certified cycling/hiking itinerary that takes advantage of the rich gastronomic offerings of diverse Slovenian regions while rewarding the sustainability efforts of Slovene tourism stakeholders.

Slovenia Green

The SGGR is one of three completely “green” routes: Alps to Adriatic, Capitals Route, and the Gourmet Route. We believe these three to be the first and only such designated tours in the world, as they exclusively connect destinations that have been awarded the Slovenia Green certificate. We created the concept of the Slovenia Green Routes for members of the Consortium Slovenia Green (CSG), an informal body connecting destinations and businesses united by being certified under the Slovenia Green brand.

The Slovenian Tourist Board assigned GoodPlace to help develop this national certification programme, the Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism. Almost 60 tourism destinations (which account for almost 80% of all tourism arrivals in Slovenia) and 164 tourism businesses have joined the Green Scheme as of May 2022, committing to a green future and sustainable tourism development. (See accompanying story.)

The Green Scheme provides the base for three Slovenian initiatives aimed at encouraging responsible tourism development: (1) Green Scheme certification, (2) Training and tools, (3) Green Products. Having helped develop the Scheme, GoodPlace now acts as an accredited partner responsible for evaluations and development. The whole spectrum of the Green Scheme allows us to continually evaluate the sustainability of destinations and tourism businesses through the certification program.

The western portions of the SG Gourmet Route.

Green Gastronomy

In the case of SGGR we sought to promote local supply chains, local businesses, and local stories that convey the authenticity of green Slovenian tourism. Our aim was to find an authentic local experience in each destination – honey producers, farmers, markets, special events, even a chocolate producer in a monastery. Then we would seek to connect local tourism businesses and include local providers from non-tourism sectors to build the story of each destination. We’ve identified several examples of good practice in the field of gastronomy in Slovene destinations, especially in the aspect of short local supply chains.

One ambassador for putting local supplies on a Michelin plate is Ana Roš at two-star Hiša Franko in Kobarid. She identified a wide range of local farmers, dairy suppliers, bee keepers, and other producers, as well as locals picking forest products. She keeps surprising customers with innovative cuisine transforming local tradition and local ingredients into high-end culinary experiences.

We recognized a great potential for further development in this area.

This led us to the next step – introducing solutions for destinations and tourism businesses to improve their sustainability. While upgrading the Green Scheme, we introduced a special label, Slovenia Green Cuisine, with additional criteria and a new (gastronomic) module for destinations. It emphasizes promotion of local supply chains and relations with local producers, guiding them in their further development. Last and most important, as a result of these sustainability efforts members of Consortium Slovenia Green have created story-telling responsible tourism experiences – cycling through hops fields, a day at a karst farm, wine tasting in Ljubljana, and more (see www.slovenia-green.si)

Bicyclers tour through vineyards in Tomaj.

We prepared the SGGR in collaboration with ten Slovenia Green destinations and numerous local tourism businesses. The route ties together gastronomic destinations with rich culinary offers, wines, and Michelin-starred restaurants. The trail follows country byways and forest roads, goes through vineyards and fields, and is suitable for cyclists of all levels. Bicycles take travellers to places that cannot be explored by other means of transport and to tourism providers in less accessible locations, hence creating business opportunities for small entrepreneurs in these locations. (See video – 28 minutes.)

Biking combines well with travelling by train, a sustainable form of transport that brings the east and west of the country closer. All Slovenian trains now provide special places for the bikes. Easy train-and-bike travel enables the SGGR itinerary to capture the diversity of Slovenian gastronomic destinations and include a wide range of tourism businesses.

At Hiša Franko, Valter Kramar ages cheeses for up to 4 years.

Tourism providers promoted in the itinerary are small family-run accommodations and restaurants that have sustainability certificates and authentic boutique experiences removed from most famous tourist spots – tree house accommodation, glamping in forests or storied hotels in cities. The route can be customized for visitors by a professional travel agency Visit GoodPlace. Alternatively, travellers can organize their own tours by downloading a free e-book and navigation pack, which includes GPX tacks, Google map with points of interest, restaurants, accommodations, and tips for green travel.

In summary, the SGGR enhances local businesses and enables destinations to promote and monetize their local stories and gastronomical specialties. It benefits the environment with sustainable transportation while reaching providers located in less accessible locations. It educates travellers on sustainable travel and the uniqueness of Slovenian destinations and their gastronomy. Creating tourism products that illustrate the sustainability efforts “pulls” the visitors into the scene. When sustainability is only communicated as a primary focus, an abstraction without a concrete product to demonstrate it, guests cannot recognize its true value. This way, they see how the concept of green routes rests on the efforts of destinations and tourism businesses and exemplifies their commitment to sustainable tourism development in practice.

The Štanjel hill town features on the SGGR.

We believe the inclusion of the local communities and tourists into the co-creation of tourism products is crucial. The support and satisfaction of the local community is the core of successful sustainable tourism development. Communities will support tourism if they benefit from it. Giving the locals new business opportunities is an important step towards responsible tourism development, creating added value for both residents and tourists.

Sign Up for the Glasgow Declaration!

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The Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism is a global initiative launching on 4 November at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. The Glasgow Declaration aims to act as a catalyst for accelerating climate action in tourism. Organizations signing up to the Declaration commit to acting to cut tourism emissions at least in half over the next decade and reach net zero as soon as possible before 2050.

The committee that drafted the Declaration included the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, the UN Environment Programme, VisitScotland Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency, and the Travel Foundation (representing the Future of Tourism Coalition). The Declaration builds on the Tourism Declares initiative begun in January 2020 and the work done since then.

Sign Up Now!

The online form for the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism is now live. Be among the first to show your commitment to a decade of climate action. Organisations that sign up by 2 November, can be listed as Launch Partners at the launch at COP26 on 4 November (the launch event will be livestreamed – details here).

Of course if you cannot complete the form by this time we still urge you to do so as soon as possible, so we can demonstrate the urgency and momentum behind climate action in tourism. For more information, see these Frequently Asked Questions. The online form is available at https://www.oneplanetnetwork.org/sustainable-tourism/become-signatory-glasgow-declaration

The Declaration follows:

THE GLASGOW DECLARATION: 

A COMMITMENT TO A DECADE OF TOURISM CLIMATE ACTION

We have long known that our dependence on fossil fuels, unsustainable land use, and wasteful consumption patterns drive climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. Recently, COVID-19 has deepened our awareness of the connection between these impacts and risks to human health.

Rebalancing our relationship with nature is critical to regenerating both its ecological health and our personal, social and economic well-being. It is also critical for tourism, which relies on and connects us with flourishing ecosystems. Restoring nature – and our relationship with it will be key to our sector’s recovery from the pandemic, as well as its future prosperity and resilience.

We declare our shared commitment to unite all stakeholders in transforming tourism to deliver effective climate action. We support the global commitment to halve emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050. We will consistently align our actions with the latest scientific recommendations, so as to ensure our approach remains consistent with a rise of no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100.

According to the latest UNWTO/ITF research, tourism CO2 emissions grew at least 60% from 2005 to 2016, with transport-related CO2 causing 5% of global emissions in 2016. Unless we accelerate decarbonisation, sector CO2 emissions could rise 25% or more by 2030, compared to 2016.

As outlined in the One Planet Vision for a Responsible Recovery of Tourism from COVID-19, committing to and planning for a green recovery offers us a unique opportunity to transform the sector in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. If we can move rapidly away from carbon- and material-intensive ways of delivering visitor experiences, instead prioritising community and ecosystem wellbeing, then tourism can be a leader in transforming to a low-carbon future.

The alternative is worsening vulnerability. Climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss jeopardise most tourism activities. Rising sea-levels, more frequent floods, and other extreme weather events threaten community livelihoods everywhere, from infrastructure and supply chains to food security.

Climate change impacts are most severely felt by under-represented and vulnerable groups such as women, Indigenous communities, people living with disabilities, and small island states. A just and inclusive transformation of tourism must prioritise their voices and needs, as well as those of younger generations who will otherwise pay the full price of our inaction.

A just transition to Net Zero before 2050 will only be possible if tourism’s recovery accelerates the adoption of sustainable consumption and production, and redefines our future success to consider not only economic value but rather the regeneration of ecosystems, biodiversity and communities.

A Co-ordinated Plan for Tourism Climate Action

This declaration aims to lead and align climate action across tourism stakeholders, including government and institutional agencies; donors and financial institutions; international organisations; civil society; the private sector; and academia.

As signatories we commit to deliver climate action plans within 12 months of signing and implementing them accordingly. 

If we already have plans, we commit to updating or implementing them in the same period to align with this declaration. 

We commit to report publicly both progress against interim and long-term targets, as well as the actions being taken, at least annually. 

To ensure climate action is aligned across all of tourism, we agree on five shared pathways for our plans to follow: 

Measure: Measure and disclose all travel and tourism-related emissions. Ensure our methodologies and tools are aligned to UNFCCC-relevant guidelines on measurement, reporting and verification, and that they are transparent and accessible.

Decarbonise: Set and deliver targets aligned with climate science to accelerate tourism’s decarbonisation. This includes transport, infrastructure, accommodation, activities, food & drink, and waste management. While offsetting may have a subsidiary role, it must be complementary to real reductions.

Regenerate: Restore and protect ecosystems, supporting nature’s ability to draw down carbon, as well as safeguarding biodiversity, food security, and water supply. As much of tourism is based in regions most immediately vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, ensure the sector can support affected and at-risk communities in resilience building, adaptation and disaster response. Help visitors and host communities experience better balance with nature.

Collaborate: Share evidence of risks and solutions with all stakeholders and our guests, and work together to ensure our plans are as effective and co-ordinated as possible. Strengthen governance and capacity for action at all levels, including national and sub-national authorities, civil society, large companies and SMEs, vulnerable groups, local communities and visitors.

Finance: Ensure organisational resources and capacity are sufficient to meet objectives set out in climate plans, including the financing of training, research and implementation of effective fiscal and policy tools where appropriate to accelerate transition.

We commit to deliver plans aligned with these pathways to cut tourism emissions in half over the next decade and reach Net Zero emissions as soon as possible before 2050.

Info You Can Use from the Coastal Tourism Symposium

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Actionable information presented at the Coastal Tourism symposium held in Grenada, July 2014

“I think this third of CREST’s coastal tourism symposiums was the most useful yet,” says our portal editor, Jonathan Tourtellot, a symposium presenter and moderator. The symposium, organized by the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST), focused on coastal tourism in regards to sustainability, impacts on local and global markets, and the future of coastal tourism. Continue reading →

Ski Industry Snow-Blind to Climate Change?

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Roger Millar of Smart Growth America relays this news report published in the Aspen Times: A University of New Hampshire study shows two low-snow years can cost ski destinations as much as a billion dollars. The lower the resort’s elevation or latitude, the shorter could be its lifespan.

Bizarrely, the U.S. ski industry’s response is ambivalent at best when it comes to the Continue reading →