‘Inexperienced Journey’: A quickly rising idea within the Tourism Trade – Enterprise

“Sustainable tourism” and “green travel” have become some of the buzzwords in the tourism industry recently. However, these terms are not just fashion trends, but a responsibility and a viable lifestyle choice, especially in this day and age when the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the world adversely.

The first impression we get when we hear the word “sustainable” or “environmentally friendly”, especially at the hotel and tourism level, is geothermally operated hotels, companies that control their carbon footprint, and environmentally friendly measures that industry. While all of this is true, green or sustainable travel has a lot more to offer.

Following a green trend adapts our actions to live in close harmony with nature by adopting sustainable living and habits. Habits that help us protect the environment and ensure the growth and stability of the environment.

The green travel trend in India

While the COVID-19 outbreak brought all of our travel plans to a standstill, it has emerged as a disguised blessing to many tourist attractions by providing them a much-needed break from tourists and constant movement of people.

In addition, it was an experience that opened eyes and forced people to analyze the effects of their actions on those around them. Since the pandemic began, people have had an impact on their travels. According to a survey, 70% of Indian travelers want to travel more sustainably in the future.

On the other hand, 78% of Indian travelers expect tourism service providers to offer more sustainable travel options.
Some of the green travel trends that are likely to have a positive impact on the Indian tourism industry are:
• Control of over-tourism: Over-tourism has emerged as one of the main challenges facing the tourism industry. The surge in images on social media of people traveling to popular tourist destinations only added to the crowd. However, the same social media are now being used by tourism service providers to lure people to less-traveled tourist attractions.
• Wellness tourism: Tourism in the vicinity of the popular travel destination in particular has the potential to draw people away from overpopulated places. Such smart measures allow critical tourism revenue to flow while protecting the locals and their cultures.
• Consumers move to sustainable services: The other visible impact of green travel is travelers who become aware of their responsibilities. Tourists are very aware of the negative impact the travel industry has on the environment and its contribution to it, leading to a growing number of people becoming consciously interested in sustainable practices when traveling.
• Innovative solutions: The tourism and hospitality industry provides information and reacts to consumer demand for sustainable travel. From eliminating plastic to moving to green ideas in the aviation sector to promoting water-saving practices, players in the tourism and hospitality industries are bringing innovative ideas to reduce their environmental impact.

The path to transformation: making “green travel” a sustainable reality

The road to green travel is a bold statement that cannot be expected overnight, but a step-by-step process that is currently underway. The Indian tourism industry is one of the largest and fastest growing in the world, making an overnight shift to “green tourism” impossible given the scale of change required. However, to understand or predict the change, it is important to understand the travelers the industry will see in the years to come.

Millennial travelers are expected to rise to the occasion and emerge as leaders of the “green travel” revolution. In addition, single, group and couple travelers under 25 will be the torchbearers of the green travel movement.

The second group that the tourism sector will rely on to make “green travel” a reality in the long term will be the industry leaders who need to recalibrate their business operations and business models. The ability to afford a more environmentally friendly alternative comes at a cost when you choose to run traditionally. As soon as the executives have brought about the change, the adjustment process for the entire industry is set in motion.

The third most important segment that will cause a massive transformation is family travelers. Once they take more environmentally friendly measures, there will be no going back. The need of the hour is to start with the small changes to set things in motion.

‘Green Travel’ is certainly not an impossible concept. Young travelers are already beginning to see the importance of sustainability, and with this sequel, the rest of the industry – brands and individuals – will follow in their footsteps and trigger the shift towards “green travel”.