Tourism “is not lagging” behind other sectors of the economy on sustainability, European Commission directorate general for environment Jesús Maria Alquézar Sabadie assured the Global Sustainable Destinations Summit in Majorca last month.
Sabadie argued: “Tourism is a sector of sectors. It’s very difficult for a tour operator to say, ‘I’m going to solve all my environmental problems’.” But he insisted: “I don’t think tourism is lagging behind.”
“We need to reduce energy consumption, emissions, water consumption, waste. [But] you can’t do everything at once. The pathway is education, collaboration and for operators and destinations that are not the most advanced to start.”
More: Travel industry ‘needs to make faster progress on sustainability’
Comment: Stop thinking of sustainability as a marketing tool and make operational changes
Comment: Small steps make a difference to sustainability
Sergio Guerreiro, Turismo de Portugal senior director for knowledge management and innovation, noted “the important role of the private sector in driving the environmental agenda”, but said: “We need to understand where they are. It’s complex for small companies. We need to create an ecosystem that makes it simpler to transition.”
Sustainable Hospitality Alliance chief executive Glenn Mandziuk said: “We want to send a message that the industry is ready for this. We’re at a tipping point. We have to make a difference. Time is running out and the industry must step up to the plate.”
Gines Martinez, chief executive of Spanish travel agency Jumbo Tours, said: “If we don’t convince the value chain to transform, what we do in big companies won’t be enough, and we don’t have enough time to convince them. We need to involve SMEs in the transformation – share the technologies and knowledge that the big companies have.”
He argued: “Regulation is not enough. In Spain we have 800 new rules on sustainability.”
Kees Jan, head of the travel sustainable programme at Booking.com, said: “We need to bring together the destinations, the experts and the data, and work on the customer journey – how we create more awareness among customers.
“We can now see, through our data, that certain destinations implemented action on single-use plastics or energy reduction and come up with a targeted approach.
Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer told the summit: “There are huge challenges, but I’ve been encouraged by the level of engagement. We couldn’t have had a summit like
this 10 years ago.”