Sustainable Tourism

(DiveTravelBusinessNews.com - January 6, 2010) -- After a 1-year hiatus, the Caribbean’s 11th Sustainable Tourism Conference is back on the calendar for the Caribbean Tourism Organization. The Sustainable Tourism Conference is slated for May 9 - 12 in Bridgetown, Barbados. Last year's conference was canceled due to the global economic crisis.

“The event in 2010 will continue with the focus on how member states can design and implement sustainable tourism policies and practices into their regional and international initiatives, with an emphasis on sustainable tourism issues of special interest to the host country,” said Hugh Riley the Interim Secretary General for the Caribbean Tourism Organization. read more »

(DiveTravelBusinessNews - Nov 27, 2009) -- Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Dancer Fleet's Sky Dancer in Galapagos, Peter Hughes Diving is offering $1000 off the published rate on two anniversary departures: Jan 17, 2010 and May 16, 2010.

The luxury live-aboard Sky Dancer is a 100-foot custom-built yacht accommodatine 16 passengers. Full-air-conditioned, its interior features teak paneling and furnishings, a dining area, fully stocked bar and a main salon with an audio/video entertainment center. All the staterooms have ensuite facilities, hairdrers, individual air-conditioning controls and picture window or portlight views.  Like all Dancer Fleet® vessels, Sky Dancer features all the standard perks found in luxury resort properties and making diving easy. read more »

(June 2, 2009 - DTN) - Travel Weekly - The global economy went into a meltdown last year just as the green travel movement had begun gaining significant momentum with ecofriendly hotels, improved fuel efficiency across all transportation segments and the growing popularity of carbon offset programs. The effort reached a high point in October, when thousands gathered at the World Conservation Congress in Barcelona to establish a coherent sustainable-travel agenda. 

Throughout the downturn, the challenge has been to protect green momentum from markets awash in red ink. 

While the goals of all those players remain lofty, the persistent economic strain on companies' finances since last fall has to some extent made it harder to justify the cost of green initiatives. But in a serendipitous twist, it turns out that many green initiatives also help cut operating costs, which is giving businesses across the spectrum an incentive they didn't have before the credit crisis turned Western economies sour. read more »

(April 22, 2008 - Entrepreneur.com) -- Going green is a trillion dollar industry propelled by the energy independence and global warming solutions your customers, colleagues, investors and competitors desire now. The scale and growing pace of the “green collar economy” creates opportunities for your business to grow revenues, enhance your brand and save money.

Now you should be asking yourself:

1. How much of that $1 trillion am I harvesting?

and

2. What should I be doing to jump aboard this trend as it transforms how the world does business?

To help you answer these questions, this column will spotlight companies that are making and saving money by implementing green policies. I’ll also coach you on what has and hasn’t worked, based on the results of companies that have adopted green business practices and allies in marketing, stakeholder outreach, business processes and product design. read more »

(April 23, 2008 - Tribune Media Services) -- Book an airline ticket, save the planet. Re-use the towel in your hotel; stop global warming. Rent a hybrid car; reduce our dependence on fossil fuel.

Lofty promises made by airlines peddling gimmicky carbon offsets, resorts hawking convoluted green initiatives and companies with shiny new fleets of high-maintenance cars to rent.

And empty promises.

In fact, there’s no credible evidence that the greening of travel is saving the Earth. But here’s what we do know. A recent Deloitte survey found that nearly half of all travelers try to be “environmentally friendly” when they’re traveling, and almost a quarter of them are willing to pay more for green hotels, resorts and rental cars. Another poll by Travelocity found that almost three-quarters of active travelers were prepared to pony up more cash for a greener getaway. read more »

(April 30, 2008 - AP) -- Citing green hotels, coconut oil fuel for airlines and even recyclable golf tees, executives in the tourism industry, one of the world’s largest, say they are urgently trying to shrink tourism’s oversized environmental footprint.

But with global travel projected to keep soaring, and those very leaders still eager to expand their own ventures, some doubt such efforts can significantly lessen global warming and other ecological woes.

“There are no simple solutions,” Anna Pollack, head of a British tourism consultancy, told a two-day conference which ended Wednesday. “Tourism is both a victim of and a contributor to climate change.”

More than 230 tourism executives, government officials and analysts attended the Pacific Asia Travel Association meeting in Bangkok, billed as the region’s first to seek practical solutions to climate change.

Pollack, CEO of DestiCorp, urged delegates to face the hard realities of tourism’s impact. read more »

(May 1, 2008 - DTN) -- A diverse group of experts called for a balance between environmental and economic interests during the 10th Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism.

Speaking as part of a panel on the theme Challenges for the Caribbean Coastal Tourism Environment, they pointed to “the inexorable link” between the seemingly divergent causes of profit and ecological protection, with each playing a role in the future of Caribbean tourism.

According to Rick MacPherson, director of the conservation program for the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL), Caribbean leaders must consider a “triple bottom line” to address coastal environment sustainability as it relates to tourism. “The fact of the matter is that no conservation program or goal is achievable unless it’s economically viable,” he said. “It has to be a combination of business success, environmental protection and demonstrating social responsibility.” read more »

(May 1, 2008 - DTN) -- More tour operators are putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to protecting dive destinations.  Ecoventura announced a new partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to reduce the detrimental effects of growing tourism in the fragile ecosystem of the Galapagos Islands.

The new collaboration, called The Galapagos Marine Biodiversity Fund (GMBF), will target environmental education and marine conservation by strengthening the local communities’ ability to manage natural resources. GMBF funds support the refit, maintenance and deployment of the Tiburon Martillo, a permanent floating surveillance and patrolling station within the Galapagos Marine Reserve. It’s from here that park patrol boats will target, among other things, illegal industrial shark finning and long-line fishing. read more »

(January 11, 2008 - PATA) --The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) signed a new agreement with EC3 Global, managers of the Green Globe brand, to help significantly reduce the carbon footprint of its landmark new event, the “PATA CEO Challenge: Confronting Climate Change.” Green Globe is the leading international environmental benchmarking and certification program for the travel and tourism industry.

“It is critical that PATA leads by example and does everything possible to minimize the carbon emissions produced by this important and historic event to confront climate change,” said PATA President & CEO, Peter de Jong. On April 29-30 travel and tourism industry leaders will gather in Bangkok for the inaugural PATA CEO Challenge. It will be the first time that decision-makers from all sectors of Asia Pacific travel and tourism meet to discuss and agree to practical solutions to confront climate change. read more »

(March 27, 2008 - DTN) -- Global travel industry leaders are saying it’s time for travel businesses to adopt new attitudes towards the environment and social justice. That is the view being expressed by many of the business leaders attending the PATA CEO Challenge, Confronting Climate Change, organized by the Pacific Asia Travel Association in Bangkok, April 29-30.

“In the face of decision paralysis on the environment that has occurred in some destinations, businesses are now driving the agenda for a reduction in carbon emissions,” said Anna Pollock, CEO of the UK-based DestiCorp. Some 68 percent of CEOs interviewed by the IBM Institute of Business Value said they were focusing on corporate social responsibility to create new revenue streams. Over half believe that their CSR activities are giving them a competitive advantage.

Ahead of the event, PATA is hosting blog discussions on the travel industry’s response to climate change at ceochallenge.pata.org/blog/

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