Changing the Mindset: Travel and Sustainability

Key Findings

Perfect storm

A perfect storm has been unleashed. The impacts of tourism (good and bad) are ever more under scrutiny at every level, as the challenge of achieving sustainable, low-impact growth at a local and global level comes into sharp relief.

Enough is enough

The challenges for destinations is knowing when they have reached the optimum level of carrying capacity, especially where it concerns capacity management and the need to ensure the right balance of visitors and residents.

Plugging the gaps

The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals provide the necessary roadmap for businesses, governments and consumers. A major push will also be required to ensure the right type of data is collated and used to measure tourism impacts.

Why wait?

Air travel is one of the biggest contributors to the travel industry’s carbon emissions, particularly long haul flights. However, electric aircraft are only expected by 2025, and the use of alternative fuels will take longer to integrate.

Game-changing technology

Travel brands and start-ups are taking things into their own hands, deploying technology to address problems such as over-tourism by providing alternative choices and encouraging visitors to explore further and deeper, beyond the tourist routes.

A force for good

With apps starting from as little as USD5,000, brands are rewarding good behaviour (whether for healthy, ethical or sustainable actions), optimising machine learning and algorithms to spur real change in consumer behaviour.

Not a silver bullet…

There is no silver bullet that will fix the world’s climate challenges, and it will require fundamental changes in consumer behaviour, government policy and company actions to deliver on the ambitious goals set out and avert climate chaos.