In The Know Series #2 - Responsible & Sustainable Tourism

As travel professionals, we are gate keepers to the world. While we love to open up the world for those who want to see - it is also our responsibility to educate travelers on responsible and sustainable traveler practices.

Responsible tourism is about ‘creating better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit.’ In that order; unlike early ecotourism it places local people at it’s heart.

So how do we do this?

Responsible Tourism takes a variety of forms, it is characterised by travel and tourism which:

1. Minimises negative economic, environmental and social impacts
2. Generates greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the well-being of host communities
3. Involves local people in decisions that affect their lives and life changes;makes positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage, to the maintenance of the world’s diversity

Sustainable tourism is the concept of visiting a place as a tourist and trying to make only a positive impact on the environment, society and economy. It is about being culturally and ecologically sensitive.

What are some environmental impacts of tourism?

1. Every year we dump 40 million tons of carbon pollution into our atmosphere
2. The Western world (with 17% of the worlds’ population) currently consumes 52% of total global energy.
3. The average Canadian household used 326 litres of water per day….a village of 700 in a developing country uses an average of 500 litres of water per month AND a luxury hotel room guest uses 1800 litres of water per person per night…

At Travel Academy, it is our job to teach our students about responsible and sustainable travel so that our future Travel professionals can apply and pass on this knowlegde to their customers.

Want to know more? Our Diploma course will cover emerging trends including responsible and sustainable travel. Check it out today!