Tourism and Conservation: Rethinking the Paradigm

Sustainable tourism 2.0

Have we learned from those noble yet unsuccessful attempts to link tourism, poverty alleviation, and biodiversity conservation? Is there a chance to turn the (cruise) ship around?

You bet. First, sustainable tourism businesses need to run in the black in order to contribute to triple-bottom-line results like environmental protection and cultural preservation. That means in-depth market analysis and business planning, strong connectivity to industry partners like tour operators, innovative products and marketing, and world-class customer service developed through specialized training programs.

Second, we need to be more strategic in how we design sustainable tourism projects and create direct linkages between tourism job creation and biodiversity threat reduction. As part of the USAID Management of Aquatic Resources and Economic Alternatives (MAREA) project, my work with organizations like Solimar International and Chemonics International included documenting and disseminating replicable case studies that showcase tourism-based biodiversity threat reduction models that included identifying and training sea turtle poachers to transition to better-paying jobs as naturalist guides, developing and branding souvenirs like handbags made out of the same plastic bags littering beaches, and promoting best practices with tourists and codes of conduct with tour operators.

Third, we need to take both a bottom-up and a top-down approach. MSMEs account for over 90 percent of all businesses and 60 to 70 percent of total employment worldwide (numbers that are even higher in emerging economies). Clearly, we need to engage local tourism enterprises to have an impact. Yet we certainly can’t forget about the big guys either.

The World Wildlife Fund’s Global Marine Programme estimates that coastal development, primarily development driven by mass tourism, is second only to unsustainable fishing as the primary threat to the world’s coastal and marine ecosystems. Through internationally recognized certification bodies like the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, major players in the industry (including Royal Caribbean Cruises, Airbnb and TUI Travel Group) are adopting environmentally sustainable policies to better manage water, waste, and electricity and reduce their overall footprint. And today, we are seeing such green certification programs not only for hotels, but also for parks, beaches, tour operators, guides, golf courses, marinas, and most recently, vacation homes.

Finally, we must divert more of the 10.2 percent of global GDP that tourism generates into local efforts to conserve the natural and cultural resources upon which the industry depends. In Belize, a $3.75 departure tax goes directly to the Protected Area Conservation Trust, a Belizean fund dedicated to the conservation of the Mesoamerican reef and rainforest. It is a small price to pay, yet since its inception in 1997, the tax has pumped nearly $17 million into protecting the country’s natural resources and maintaining its position as a world-class tourism destination.

What’s next?

With all these great trends and opportunities, what’s the best thing we have going for us? The answer is market demand.

I could throw out a lot of statistics to prove my point, but unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably aware of the fact that — from millennials to baby boomers — people are choosing their travel destinations and service providers more wisely. No longer is that little card in the bathroom about hanging up your towels enough. Travelers seek out tour operators and hotels that proudly offer carbon-neutral itineraries, authentic exchange with local communities that improves everyone’s day, and experiences that deliver those triple bottom line results.

As Luigi Cabrini, director for sustainable development at the U.N. World Tourism Organization nicely summarized, “The tourism sector is embracing responsible tourism not as an option, but as a condition for its continuous growth.”