No need to wait for disaster to act on sustainability, travel told
Will PayneTravel has been warned it should not take the onset of an environmental disaster to spur rapid implementation of new sustainability protocols.
"We don’t want travel and tourism to go through a disaster for rapid implementation to happen and for people to stand up and take notice when it comes to sustainability," Abta head of sustainability Carol Rose told TTG’s Fairer Travel Sustainability Forum on Tuesday (4 July).
"At Abta, we have identified nine core principles which are aligned with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," continued Rose, speaking during a panel discussion around "economic leakage". "It is not just about climate – it’s about our duty of care to the human race."
Matt Callaghan, easyJet holidays director of customer and operations, outlined to delegates the operator’s work on defining an environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) framework for the tourism industry in partnership with the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the University of Oxford.
"We need a clear set of well-defined measures across the industry," he said. "I’m really keen on rapid implementation – we have to start doing things now and not just talk about them.
"We have got to start taking small steps forward, for example, we have started work with accommodation providers to draft the ECG framework to see their feedback."
Meanwhile, Terraverde Sustainability director Patrick Richards shared stark data from the UN’s Ocean Atlas, which found that on average, of each $100 spent on a holiday by a tourist from a developed country, only around $5 stays in a developing country’s economy.
"We need to construct and implement some form of metric around economic reach," he said.
Rochelle Turner, Exodus Travels head of sustainability and community, explained to delegates how employing local people – and treating them well – is crucial to meeting sustainability goals.
"It’s one thing to employ local people – but it’s how you treat them, how are you paying them, how are you contributing in other ways?", she added. "All companies need to think about where their workforces are coming from. You have to look at a much more holistic picture than just hiring people."
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