Why Being a Responsible Tour Operator Matters for Sustainable Tourism Development

As you all know, last year was named the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.

Tourism is currently the leading force for economic development, and for some countries, it’s a major source of income.

In 2016 tourism contributed, in the USA alone, US$ 2.3 trillion and 109 million jobs worldwide.

The issue is that as much as tourism brings to the table, it also has an enormous effect on the environment and local communities.

Now we have to ask ourselves—okay, what is it that we have done to support sustainable tourism development?

How was 2017 a productive year when it comes to policy changes, travel practices, tourist’s mindset and travel habits?

Let us dissect that thought for a moment.

What we need to realize is that people are drastically changing their habits and not just travel habits. People daily spend quite some time on the Internet. As a matter of fact, there were more than 3.5 billion internet users worldwide according to a statistic from 2016.

People are becoming more knowledgeable about the environment/of eco-friendly practices.

We find new information online. We rely on search engines.

This also means we explore a lot more. Before you had to go to the library and get a dozen books if you wanted to find something out. Now you use Google, Bing, and other search engines.

Also, there’s a ton of content being posted online daily about all sorts of topics, from the news, sports, science, health, climate change, and the environment.

What I want to say is that people are becoming more and more aware of the environment, climate, and generally—more aware of their surroundings. That being said, tourists are changing their travel habits accordingly.

With the ongoing change in people’s mindset, tour operators, travel agents, tour guides, and travel companies are changing their offers as well. This means the whole idea of traveling is slowly changing and taking on a new shape— a new type of tours are on the market, custom tailored to accommodate today’s modern and eco-friendly travelers.

Consequences of Mass Travel

As we become more aware of the consequences of over-tourism and as the number of people traveling keeps rising, we are finding new ways how to organize a vacation that’s environmentally friendly, that helps out the local community and is fun at the same time.

What’s most important is acknowledging the need to change and investing in education, changing tourists’ attitudes, and above all—promoting responsible travel and sustainable tourism.

The importance of implementing strategies of sustainable tourism development became even more evident with the increase in global travel in the last two years.

With the rise of new technology and ways of transportation, people are traveling to even the most remote places. That eventually led to pollution, over-tourism, deforestation, depletion of natural resources, increased traffic, and alternation of eco-systems.

And it’s not just that, the landscape is deteriorating, the local community is beyond annoyed by the consequences of over-tourism, and tourists are, of course, dissatisfied with their travel experience. A badly needed change was long overdue.

Ensuring Long-Term Sustainability

Cities like Venice are now working on implementing various strategies in the hope of decreasing the damage tourism is causing. Certain destinations are drastically restricting the number of annual visitors.

For example, Island is considering introducing a new tourist tax. Or in cases like Koh Tachai, countries are prohibiting tourist visitations entirely.

What the United Nations stresses is “the potential of sustainable tourism as a mechanism for economic, social, environmental, and cultural sustainable development.”

In like manner, the World Travel & Tourism Council is working on implementing sustainability reporting. The organization strives to address the sustainability issues.

On the other hand, sustainable travel is still a niche movement. It will certainly take a couple of years before we see the real results of our change. However, it’s nice to see that more and more people are opting out for a volunteering or eco-friendly vacation.

What’s Important to Travelers Today?

The World Tourism Organization conducted a survey to come to the bottom of why people really travel. The survey included travelers from Canada, US, UK, and France.

Results?

Travelers were interested in activities like wildlife viewing in a remote wilderness environment.

Seems reasonable. Right?

No one actually wants to go on a vacation and be stuck in a traffic jam, search for a place to spread your towel on an overcrowded beach, or go for a swim in a polluted lake, now do they?

Nor do people want to visit a destination swamped with tourists. Obviously.

Ok, so what do they want?

Eco-Conscious and Pro-Sustainable Tourists

Modern-day travelers namely want educational tours and activities, an authentic experience. They want to enjoy the local cuisine and a chance to hang out with the locals. Tourists genuinely want to give back to the community and environment during their visit.

For activities listed above, tourists are willing to pay more.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, “53 percent of British tourists would be prepared to pay more for their holiday in order that workers in the destination could be guaranteed good wages and working conditions.”

What does that mean for tour operators and activity providers?

Tour operators, activity providers, travel agents, and travel companies have a big role to play when it comes to decreasing over tourism. That also means they need to find a balance between catering to tourists’ needs and organizing tours that support sustainable tourism development.

For instance, why not provide your clients with an eco-friendly transportation? Organize tours by train or ship.

Sure, you might think that people are impatience to get to their destination ASAP, but why not make their train ride a part of their incredible tour?

And besides, it’s a great way to reduce the carbon footprint.

Or here’s another idea, why not think of tour where your customers can help you’re the local community?

If you are interested to learn more on how to organize amazing tours that support sustainable tourism and promote responsible tourism, visit my blog post here.

For a detailed analysis and more information, the impact of sustainable tourism development had on the environment and local communities, check out a 40-page illustrated eBook. It’s free!

Get your free eBook copy titled How Can Tour Operators Support Sustainable Tourism Development here!