What is sustainable tourism? Why sustainable tourism management is so important

Summary

This video discusses the criticality of sustainable tourism for the survival of our planet and the industry itself. It highlights the three pillars of sustainability: environment, economy, and society, emphasizing the need to minimize negative impacts. The script underscores the responsibility of all stakeholders, including governments, businesses, workers, and tourists, in ensuring sustainable practices. It also references the Brundtland Report and the UNWTO's principles for sustainable tourism, urging viewers to act responsibly for future generations.

Takeaways

• 🌍 Sustainability in travel is crucial for the survival of our planet and the future of tourism.
• 🏞️ Sustainable tourism is not optional; it's a necessity to preserve the environment, society, and economy.
• 📈 The tourism industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors, impacting both positively and negatively on local communities and environments.
• 🗽 The Brundtland Report defines sustainable tourism as development that meets present needs without compromising future generations' ability to meet their own needs.
• 🌱 The three pillars of sustainability are the environment, economy, and society, which must be balanced to ensure sustainable tourism.
• 🏆 The United Nations World Tourism Organization emphasizes sustainable tourism that considers current and future impacts on all stakeholders.
• 🌐 The WWF and Tourism Concern outline 10 principles for sustainable tourism, including resource conservation, reducing waste, and supporting local economies.
• 👥 Local communities play a vital role in sustainable tourism, benefiting from involvement and contributing to the quality of tourism experiences.
• 📊 Ongoing research and monitoring are necessary for the tourism industry to address problems and enhance benefits for all stakeholders.
• 🌟 Every individual has a part to play in sustainable tourism, from government planning to tourist behavior.

Q & A

What is the main message of the video script about travel and sustainability?

The main message is that sustainable tourism is not optional but necessary for the survival of our planet and the tourism industry itself. It emphasizes the urgent need to adopt sustainable practices to ensure future generations can enjoy the benefits of tourism.

What is the definition of sustainable tourism according to the Brundtland Report?

Sustainable tourism, as defined by the Brundtland Report, is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

What are the three pillars of sustainability in tourism?

The three pillars of sustainability in tourism are the environment, the economy, and society. These pillars represent the areas that must be balanced and protected to ensure sustainable tourism.

How does the United Nations World Tourism Organization define sustainable tourism?

The United Nations World Tourism Organization defines sustainable tourism as tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and the host communities.

What does the WWF and Tourism Concern suggest as the principles for sustainable tourism?

The WWF and Tourism Concern outline 10 principles for sustainable tourism, including using resources sustainably, reducing over-consumption and waste, maintaining biodiversity, integrating tourism into planning, supporting local economies, involving local communities, consulting stakeholders and the public, training staff, marketing tourism responsibly, and undertaking research.

Why is it important to involve local communities in sustainable tourism?

Involving local communities in sustainable tourism not only benefits them and the environment but also improves the quality of the tourism experience. It ensures that the tourism sector is inclusive and that the benefits of tourism are equitably distributed.

How can tourists contribute to sustainable tourism?

Tourists can contribute to sustainable tourism by being mindful of their actions, choosing eco-friendly options, reducing waste, supporting local businesses, and being respectful of the environment and local cultures.

What is the role of governments in ensuring sustainable tourism?

Governments play a crucial role in sustainable tourism by having adequate planning and tourism development strategies, enforcing regulations, and promoting sustainable practices within the industry.

How can tourism businesses adopt sustainable practices?

Tourism businesses can adopt sustainable practices by implementing eco-friendly policies, reducing their environmental footprint, supporting local suppliers, training staff on sustainability, and engaging with local communities.

What is the significance of the statement that 'sustainable tourism is a matter of life and death'?

The statement highlights the critical importance of sustainable tourism for the survival of our planet and the future of the tourism industry. It underscores the urgency of adopting sustainable practices to mitigate the negative impacts of tourism on the environment and society.

What is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the awareness of sustainability in tourism?

The COVID-19 pandemic has likely increased awareness of sustainability in tourism as people have become more conscious of the fragility of the environment and the need to protect it. This heightened awareness could lead to a greater demand for sustainable tourism practices.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 Sustainability in Travel

The paragraph discusses the criticality of sustainable tourism for the survival of our planet and the tourism industry itself. It highlights that while many companies claim to be sustainable, greenwashing is prevalent. The speaker emphasizes that sustainable tourism is not optional but necessary, affecting those who work in travel, travel businesses, and tourists. The paragraph outlines the principles of sustainable tourism, which aim to maximize positive impacts and minimize negative ones, focusing on the environment, society, and economy. It references David Attenborough and the Brundtland Report's definition of sustainable development, stressing the need for action to ensure future generations can enjoy tourism.

05:00

🌱 Principles of Sustainable Tourism

This paragraph delves into the principles of sustainable tourism as defined by the United Nations World Tourism Organization and other entities like the WWF. It stresses the importance of using resources sustainably, conserving biodiversity, integrating tourism into planning, supporting local economies, involving local communities, consulting stakeholders, training staff, and marketing responsibly. The paragraph also underscores the need for ongoing research to solve problems and benefit all parties. It concludes by emphasizing that sustainable tourism is crucial for the enjoyment of future generations and that everyone, including governments, businesses, workers, and tourists, has a role to play in ensuring its implementation.

Keywords

💡Sustainability

Sustainability refers to the ability to maintain a certain process or state in the long term without causing harm to the environment or depleting resources. In the context of the video, sustainability is crucial for the survival of the planet and the future of tourism. The script emphasizes that sustainable tourism is not an option but a necessity, highlighting the importance of acting sustainably to ensure future generations can enjoy tourism opportunities.

💡Greenwashing

Greenwashing is the practice of making an unsubstantiated or misleading claim about the environmental benefits of a product, service, or company in order to promote the consumption of goods or services. The video script mentions that some companies claim to be sustainable for good PR, implying that greenwashing is a problem in the travel industry.

💡Tourism

Tourism is the activity of traveling, typically for leisure or business, to a place outside one's local area. The video discusses tourism as one of the world's fastest-growing industries and a major source of income for many countries, but also points out the potential negative impacts it can have on the environment and society.

💡Sustainable Tourism

Sustainable tourism is defined in the script as tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts. It is about maximizing the positive impacts while minimizing the negative ones. The video stresses that sustainable tourism is vital for the long-term survival of tourism as an industry and for the well-being of the planet.

💡Economic Leakage

Economic leakage occurs when the money spent by tourists leaves the country due to foreign-owned businesses or imported produce. The script mentions that if economic leakage is not controlled, local people will see little or no benefit from tourism, which can lead to a lack of support for the tourism sector.

💡Three Pillars of Sustainability

The three pillars of sustainability are the environment, economy, and society. The video explains that sustainable tourism must address the needs of these three pillars to minimize negative impacts. For example, maintaining essential ecological processes and conserving natural heritage are part of the environmental pillar.

💡Biodiversity

Biodiversity refers to the variety of life on Earth, including all plants, animals, and microorganisms, their genetic variation, and the ecosystems they form. The video script emphasizes the importance of maintaining biodiversity for long-term sustainable tourism, as it creates a resilient base for the industry.

💡Local Economies

Local economies are the economic activities and markets within a specific geographic area. The script discusses the importance of tourism supporting a wide range of local economic activities and taking environmental costs into account to protect these economies and avoid environmental damage.

💡Stakeholders

Stakeholders are individuals, groups, or organizations that have an interest or stake in a business or industry. In the context of the video, stakeholders include the tourism industry, local communities, organizations, and institutions. The script highlights the importance of consulting with stakeholders to resolve potential conflicts of interest.

💡Intercultural Understanding

Intercultural understanding refers to the knowledge and appreciation of different cultures. The video script mentions that sustainable tourism should contribute to intercultural understanding and tolerance, which can enhance the quality of the tourism experience.

💡Responsible Marketing

Responsible marketing involves providing tourists with full and responsible information about the destinations they visit. The script explains that responsible marketing can increase respect for the natural, social, and cultural environments of destination areas and enhance customer satisfaction.

Highlights

Sustainability in travel is a matter of life and death for our planet.

Green washing is a prevalent issue in the travel industry.

Sustainable tourism is not optional; it is a necessity for the survival of the tourism industry.

Tourism is one of the world's fastest-growing industries and a major source of income for many countries.

Sustainable tourism aims to maximize positive impacts while minimizing negative ones.

87% of travelers want to travel more sustainably, according to a 2018 Booking.com survey.

Sustainable tourism is defined by the Brundtland Report as development that meets present needs without compromising future generations' ability to meet their own needs.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization defines sustainable tourism as tourism that takes full account of its current and future impacts.

Sustainable tourism has three pillars: environment, economy, and society.

The WWF and Tourism Concern outline 10 principles for sustainable tourism, including using resources sustainably and reducing over-consumption.

Sustainable tourism should maintain and promote natural, social, and cultural diversity.

Tourism should be integrated into national and local strategic planning frameworks.

Supporting local economies is crucial for sustainable tourism.

Involving local communities in the tourism sector improves the quality of the tourism experience.

Consulting stakeholders and the public is essential for sustainable tourism practices.

Ongoing research and monitoring by the industry are necessary for sustainable tourism.

Sustainable tourism is vital for future generations to enjoy the opportunities we have had.

The responsibility for sustainable tourism lies with governments, businesses, industry workers, and tourists.

There are many ways we can all contribute to sustainable tourism.

Transcripts

today i'm going to talk to you about the

most important thing in travel

sustainability

while there are companies who claim to

be sustainable in order to get good pr

and green washing happens far more than

we care to admit the reality is that

sustainability is quite literally a

matter of life

and death

as highlighted by a guru david

attenborough and many others if we

continue to act in the way that we have

been our planet simply will not survive

and on a smaller scale with a shorter

time frame if we continue to holiday in

the way that we have been then tourism

will not survive

sustainable tourism is not a choice we

have no choice it must happen and in

this video today i'm going to tell you

what that means for the people who work

in travel for the travel and tourism

businesses and for us the tourists

tourism is one of the world's fastest

growing and most important industries

and is a major source of income for many

countries

however

like other forms of development tourism

can also cause its fair share of

problems

sustainable tourism therefore relies on

the premise of taking care of the

environment the society

and the economy

sustainable tourism principles intend to

maximize the positive impacts whilst

minimizing the negative impacts

however this is often easier said than

done

a large majority of travelers 87

say that they want to travel more

sustainably and this was found in a

survey that was done by booking.com

however this was done back in 2018 so i

expect that this number with the height

and awareness of sustainability

resulting from covid etc i expect that

this number will be

somewhat higher now but what does being

sustainable actually mean what does

sustainability

really

look like one of the earliest and most

regarded definitions of sustainable

tourism was published in the bruntland

report where it was defined as

development that meets the needs of the

present without compromising the ability

of future generations to meet their own

needs

this sums it up pretty well to me

think about it if we carry on to act the

way that we have been

the opportunities that we have will not

be there for our

children grandchildren great

grandchildren is that what we want

for example if litter is dropped on the

beach and it's not cleared up then

future tourists will not want to go to

that beach

and if economic leakage is not

controlled

i.e when the money spent by tourists

leaves the country as a result of

foreign-owned businesses imported

produce etc

then the local people will see little or

no benefits of tourism

they may become unwilling to work in the

sector or even become antagonized by it

you see where i'm going with this right

another key definition of sustainable

tourism is that of the united nations

world tourism organization who state

that sustainable tourism is tourism that

takes full account of its current and

future economic social and environmental

impacts

addressing the needs of visitors the

industry the environment and the host

communities whilst many people believe

that sustainability is all about

protecting the environment they are

actually only partly right in fact there

are three pillars two sustainability and

two sustainable tourism and i've

mentioned these terms a couple of times

already

it's the environment the economy and

society and we must mitigate or at the

very least minimize any negative impacts

in these three areas in order to make

travel and tourism

sustainable

the united nations world tourism

organisation proclaimed that sustainable

tourism should make optimal use of

environmental resources that constitute

a key element in tourism development

maintaining essential ecological

processes and helping to conserve

natural heritage and biodiversity

respect the social cultural authenticity

of host communities

can serve their built and living

cultural heritage and traditional values

and contribute to intercultural

understanding and tolerance

ensure viable long-term economic

operations providing socio-economic

benefits to all stakeholders that are

fairly distributed

including stable employment and income

earning opportunities

and social services to host communities

and contributing to poverty alleviation

furthermore the worldwide fund for

nature wwf

and tourism concern

outline 10 principles for sustainable

tourism

these are

using resources sustainably

the conservation and sustainable use of

resources that includes natural social

and cultural

is crucial and makes long-term business

sense

reducing over-consumption and waste

reduction of over-consumption and waste

avoids the costs of restoring long-term

environmental damage

and contributes to the quality of

tourism

maintaining biodiversity

maintaining and promoting natural social

and cultural diversity is essential for

long-term sustainable tourism and

creates a resilient base for the

industry

integrating tourism into planning

tourism development which is integrated

into a national and local strategic

planning framework

and which undertake environmental impact

assessments increases the long-term

viability of tourism

supporting local economies

tourism that supports a wide range of

local economic activities and which

takes environmental costs and values

into account both protects these

economies and avoids environmental

damage

involving local communities

the full involvement of local

communities in the tourism sector not

only benefits them and the environment

in general but it also improves the

quality of the tourism experience

consulting stakeholders and the public

consulting between the tourism industry

and local communities organizations and

institutions is essential if they are to

work alongside each other and resolve

potential conflicts of interest

training staff

staff training which integrates

sustainable tourism into working

practices along with the recruitment of

personnel at all levels improves the

quality of the tourism product marketing

tourism responsibly

marketing that provides tourists with

the full and responsible information

increases respect for the natural social

and cultural environments of destination

areas and it enhances customer

satisfaction

undertaking research

ongoing research and monitoring by the

industry using effective data collection

and analysis are essential to help solve

problems and to bring benefits to

destinations the industry and consumers

so why is this all so important then as

i highlighted to you at the beginning of

this video sustainable tourism is

vitally important if we want future

generations to

enjoy the opportunities that we've had

to enjoy then we need to act sustainably

it's as simple as that with the human

population continue to grow rapidly

and therefore by default the tourism

industry too we must pay careful

attention to the principles of

sustainable tourism

yes littering is never a good thing

but when the number of people doing it

is multiplied the problem is also

multiplied

with population growth any negative

impacts caused as a result of tourism

will also grow

thus indicating an urgent need for these

to be carefully managed and mitigated

through sustainable tourism practices

but whose job is this who is responsible

for making sure that sustainable tourism

actually happens

ultimately we are all responsible

the governments need to have adequate

planning and tourism development

strategies

tourism businesses need to take

responsibility for their actions and

think beyond the tourism dollars that

they will make tomorrow or next week

adopting strategic long-term planning

instead tourism industry workers need to

be educated on the importance of

sustainable tourism and practices that

they can adopt in their own lines of

work

and tourists need to think carefully

about the impacts of their actions we

all have a responsibility to make sure

that sustainable tourism

happens

and there are lots of different ways

that we can do this and i have talked at

length about that in these videos here

so head on over to watch those next and

don't forget to be a sustainable tourist