Sustainable Tourism

Sustainable Tourism is tourism attempting to make a low impact on the environment and local culture, while helping to generate future employment for local people. The aim of sustainable tourism is to ensure that development brings a positive experience for local people, tourism organisations and the tourists themselves. Sustainable tourism is not the same as ecotourism.

Tourism is today one the largest drivers of employment and development. Millions of people are employed in the sector around the world, in a wide range of positions and levels, contributing significantly to local economic growth and wellbeing. Tourism is also responsible for 5% of the world’s CO2 emissions, out of which hotels and other types of accommodation account for 2% - a comparatively small, yet important, footprint that the tourism sector has assumed as a priority to be addressed.

What are the benefits of being sustainable?

By making sustainability a focus, businesses can:

Increase tourists by promoting your sustainability credentials to ‘green-savvy’ consumers who make purchase decisions based on minimising their own footprint.

Reduce operating costs by undertaking initiatives that reduce waste, water and energy consumption.

Develop a competitive advantage by establishing and promoting sustainable business practices as a point of difference.

Attract and retain valuable staff by adopting policies that meet with employee values and concerns.

Encourage investors interested in companies with long-term sustainability plans that minimise operating risks in the future.

Increase long-term profitability by putting plans in place now that will create savings in the future such as minimising transport costs that will continue to rise as fuel becomes more expensive.