Outline how this Subject Matter could be useful / impactful for the Tourism Sector and help them reduce impact on climate change (reducing emissions and waste) and / or increase sustainable tourism
Sustainable tourism is defined by the World Tourism Organisation as responsible tourism; tourism that respects the needs of the environment and the people who live there, as well as the local economy and visitors.
Sustainable tourism is based on four pillars of development:
- Economic: To ensure that tourism destinations and businesses are competitive so that they can thrive and deliver long-term benefits.
- Environmental: To reduce air, water and soil pollution, reduce waste, enhance the quality and landscape characteristics, and protect and conserve nature, plants and animals.
- Socio-cultural: To improve the quality of life in local communities, to enhance and respect cultural and historical heritage, the diversity of tourist destinations and traditions.
- Climate: To reduce the impact of tourism on the climate and to increase the adaptation of tourism to climate change.
To ensure long-term sustainability, we need to strike the right balance between all pillars. Competitive tourism will only be based on economic success while respecting the natural, cultural and social environment.
The benefits of such sustainability are:
- Financial savings for businesses and tourist destinations, which reduce costs through energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources by being sustainable.
- Increased attractiveness of sustainable businesses for investors
- Better preparedness of sustainable businesses to changes in environmental legislation, environmentally certified providers have an advantage in tenders for co-funding.
- Tourism providers and destinations with a sustainable approach develop a higher quality product and strive for a higher quality guest experience.
- Companies that are increasingly concerned about the natural and social environment and employee satisfaction are more successful in motivating employees and retaining quality staff.
- Tourism businesses that have developed sustainable practices and verified them through environmental schemes achieve higher visibility and reputation.
