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Green Traveler Guidebook Making Tourism a Sustainable Activity. Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ranjan Bandyopadhyay Student Project Members: Reuben Thibodeau Robert Tompkins Tracy Doan Ho Chung Yeung. World Tourism.
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Green Traveler GuidebookMaking Tourism a Sustainable Activity Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ranjan Bandyopadhyay Student Project Members: Reuben Thibodeau Robert Tompkins Tracy Doan Ho Chung Yeung
World Tourism “Not only is tourism affected by a changing climate, at the same time it contributes to climate change by the consumption of fossil fuels and resulting greenhouse gas emissions” -United Nations World Tourism Organization, 1st International Conference on Climate Change and Tourism in Djerba, Tunisia, 2003.
Overview • Impacts • Economic • Socio-Cultural • Environmental • Responsibility • Contributing to the Solution • Green Travel Guidebook
The New Face of Mass Tourism • Benidorm today • High-rise hotels and bus-loads of tourists • Benidorm beach 1963… http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7402603.stm
Destination Lifecycle • Cumulative and Cyclical • Threatens Environmental and Social Limits for Economic Exploitation • -“Blessing and Blight”- (Young, 1962) Butler, R.W., 1980. The Concept of a Tourist Area Cycle of Evolution: Implications for Management of Resources.
Ecological Footprint • Average 14-day holiday EF from .02gha to 4.25gha. • In one case, a 21-day scenario produced a net negative EF. • Long Haul Flights account for nearly 90% of the overall EF
Put it in Perspective -The pollution from just a two-minute 747 takeoff is equal to operating 2 million lawnmowers simultaneously. -The air pollution levels from one Boeing 747 takeoff is similar to that of a gas station being set on fire. -A Boeing 707 consumes on the average 12300 pounds (about 5600 Kg) of fuel per hour.
Future of Tourism • Improved Building Design • Global Standards • Energy Efficient Transportation
Whose problem is it? • Origination Governments • Destination Governments • Service Companies • Local Populations • Tourists
Origination Governments • Provide education to the citizen/tourist • Adequately regulate local service companies providing international/inter-regional services
Destination Governments • Regulate local service companies • Protect the long term and short term interests of the local population and tourist service companies • Provide education to the local population
Service Companies • Many different types of service companies • Have the right to reasonable profits from the services provided • Have the obligation not to privilege the economic interests of their companies over the long term environmental, social, and economic interests of the local population
Local Populations • Provide a safe location to which the tourist travels • Provide services in a culturally, environmentally, and economically sustainable manner • Have the right to an environment free from pollution and an indigenous culture not excessively influenced by mass tourism • Have the right to benefit economically from the services provided to the tourist industry
Tourists • Obligated to act in a manner which respects the interests of the local populations and travel in such a way as to minimize environmental damage • Have a right to safety at their destination and safe travel methods
Potential Conflicts of Obligations and Rights • Essentially a balancing of short and long term interests • Short term economic gain causing long term environmental damage is not in anybody’s interest
Green Traveler Guidebook: Making Tourism a Sustainable Activity. • Purpose • Content • Distribution
Purpose Influence the behavior of the traveler, who is central to all the relationships, environmental, cultural, and economic, discussed previously. Resultant changes in the behavior of local populations and service companies will produce a greater aggregate affect than attempting the influence the behavior of any one of the other involved parties.
Content • Best practices for sustainable tourist prior to departure, traveling methods, and behavior while at destination • Informational aspect of the effects of mass tourism and rationale for behavioral modification • Airline ticket dimensions with pocket and section for notes
Distribution • Direct Mail • Via request from website, phone, or post • Point of Sale • Mailed directly to traveler at the time tickets are mailed. (though not a common procedure) • Point of Departure • Collaboration with specific airlines to allow for distribution at the time tickets are picked up at airport.
“...tourism is one of the fundamental ways in which we express our humanity and culture and it is also an increasingly vital way in which we explore the world and ourselves.” (Robinson and Phipps 2003).