Responsible Tourism Awards 2008

I recently received a message from Alex Lyons at Responsible Tourism announcing that nominations are now being accepted for the 2008 Responsible Tourism Awards. It is pretty rare that direct messages like these actually make it through to the blog, but in this case, I really like the subject matter and I am passionate about the idea. In their own words: The idea behind the Awards is that all types of tourism – from niche to mainstream – can and should be operated in a way that respects and benefits destinations and local people. The Awards recognise individuals, companies and organisations... Read more »

Travel is doing a lot for sustainability

The main topic at this year’s Global Travel & Tourism Summit in Dubai was sustainability and what the travel industry is doing to promote it.  I was really quite surprised at the amount of discussion around how “we” collectively can make a difference and do things on a corporate level to reduce our impact on the environment and make travel more sustainable.  The cost of fuel was of particular interest especially with the large airlines that attended the summit.  What many seem to forget is that the travel industry actually only accounts for about 2% of the global carbon... Read more »

Are Carbon Offsets the New Snake Oil? - Planning for a Greener 2008

So the response to my original post has been pretty good. I managed to stir up some emotions relating carbon offsets to snake oil, but that was after all my point. I didn’t really want to sensationalize it too much, but I did want to make the point that, right now, it is buyer beware. Scott, from Search Intelligence, Peter from Sustainable Travel, and Ian from Philathropic Travel all brought up really good points about the industry so I thought I would shift focus away from the potential problems with the market and focus on what you, as an organization or a consumer should look for in... Read more »

Are Carbon Offsets the New Snake Oil?

** Note: I updated the post based on feedback I received from Peter at STI. Thanks to Peter for helping to clarify some of the inaccuracies. Additions are noted in green. I was contacted recently by a client who wanted to integrate a carbon offsetting program into the checkout process of their travel booking engine. They had been recommended to partner with a company (who shall remain nameless) who sells Carbon Offsets. Upon further investigation, I learned some very important information about Carbon Offset schemes. In response to the request from my client, I contacted Peter Krahenbuhl,... Read more »

Recent Survey - 60% of Vacationers don’t care about the Environment

I was very surprised to read an article on TravelMole today that stated: “Six out of ten (59%) holidaymakers say they will not cut down on the number of holidays abroad to save the environment, while one in three (35%) are not prepared to pay an extra £20 per holiday to offset their flight’s carbon emissions.” This survey, conducted by BLM Media, seems to contradict a survey from Lonely Planet that indicated that over 80% of online travel purchasers would consider offsetting their carbon emissions or choosing alternate travel methods in order to reduce their carbon impact. ... Read more »

Only One in Four Top Canadian Travel Sites Support Carbon Offsetting

Today is blog action day, a day when thousands of blogs from around the world, including this one, are posting articles about environmental sustainability. I first discovered this on Kevin May’s Travolution blog. On his post he compared the top five U.K. travel sites and reviewed their environmental policies. Of the top five, only one Easyjet has incorporated carbon offsetting directly into the checkout process. Of the remaining four, only one, Lastminute.com allows customers to offset carbon using a seperate carbon calculator.So, in keeping with Kevin’s analysis, I went online... Read more »

Sustainable Tourism Starts with Communities

I’ve been asked recently how sustainability impacts local tourism and how local tour operators can benefit from the latest initiatives around economic and environmental sustainability. For many local tour operators, the questions surrounding sustainability usually focus on costs and impact on profits. For example, what can a tour operator do to be environmentally active and remain profitable? The answer depends on the operators geographic location and their market. In North Vancouver, for example, which is a rather affluent tourist destination there are a number of local van and bus... Read more »

84% Of Travellers Will Consider Offsetting Emissions

I just received my latest newsletter from STI (Sustainable Travel International). In the newsletter was a really interesting article about a new global survey by Lonely Planet. The survey shows that travelers world wide are concerned about their travel impacts on the climate and will support neutralizing their travel related emissions through legitimate offset programs. The survey, which polled over 24,500 people worldwide, “showed 84 percent of respondents said they would consider offsetting their emissions in the future, where only 31 percent had done so in the past. Seventy percent of travellers... Read more »