Tourism desperately desires a return to the ‘outdated regular’ however that will be a catastrophe

With each passing day the serious future of the earth becomes more blatant. The disruption from COVID-19 has not been enough Shifting the trajectory, nor has it caused polluting sectors of the economy to reconsider harms they add on the planet.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the global tourism sector. Before COVID-19, international aviation emissions were already a Main responsible global warming – were expected to triple between 2015 and 2050. Emissions from the cruise industry were too growing.

The pandemic itself can be traced back to inexorable humanity damage to nature. And global mass tourism is a symbol of this insatiable mentality that is growing at all costs.

Tourism brings many economic, social and cultural benefits. But it is time for the industry to seriously reconsider its business model and general purpose in a post-pandemic world.

After COVID, tourism has to be done differently.
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We cannot go back to normal

The United Nations is among many voices calling on the global tourism industry to address its many sustainability challenges in the wake of COVID-19.

The United Nations recognizes the important role tourism plays in providing income for millions of people. But in a newer one Policy BriefNow is the time to “rethink the impact of the sector on our natural resources and ecosystems”.

Unfortunately, there is little evidence that global tourism will change. For example, the International Air Transport Association is clearly trying to return to “old normal”. It is Resource Guide Support to airlines during the pandemic and beyond is exploring ways to restart the industry but makes no mention of environmental sustainability.

Likewise the World Travel and Tourism Council Recovery plan for 100 million jobs urges nations to remove barriers to travel and says traveler confidence is “critical to the survival and recovery of the sector”. Sustainability rates just a passing mention.

In Australia, the federal government is missing out on opportunities to encourage tourism to transform itself into a more sustainable model. For example the Build a fund for better regions Offers $ 100M in Tourism Infrastructure Projects That Will Mitigate The Economic Impact Of COVID-19. However, sustainability is not part of the evaluation criteria.

The industry’s immediate focus on recovery is understandable. However, the lack of a long-term environmental vision is damaging both industry and the planet.

The industry is understandably focused on COVID-safe travel, but it lacks a long-term environmental vision.
James Gourley / AAP

Halfway through a job

Before COVID-19, the global tourism and travel industry had begun to face some sustainability challenges.

For example, international aviation seeks to improve global fuel efficiency by 2% every year through 2050. However, that goal is “ambitious” and even the International Civil Aviation Authority has done so conceded It is “unlikely that the level of reduction required to stabilize and then reduce the absolute contribution of aviation to climate change will be achieved”.

electricity technological constraints mean decarbonising aviation is challenging. An expected future increase in flight demand is only add to the problem. Global, 7.8 billion passengers are expected to travel in 2036.

In addition, the environmental damage caused by tourism goes far beyond climate change. It adds Marine plastic pollution, worsens the habitat and leads to a Loss of wilderness and natural tranquility. The industry resurgence must address this and other damages.

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Tourism is a major contributor to marine plastic pollution.
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A vision for the future

People who travel outside of their normal context are open to new experiences and perspectives. In this way tourism offers the opportunity to promote new ones Connection with nature.

What should the future of tourism look like? Me and Other are advocate For a more sustainable Tourism sector that is very different from what exists today. Travel should be closer to home, slower and with a positive contribution at its core. In this model, any erosion of natural, cultural and social capital stops.

Practices under the model (some of which already exist on a small scale) could include:

• more travel to regional and local destinationswith shorter distances. The trend towards such tourism has already begun under COVID-19. However, the municipalities must be empowered to determine what type of tourism they want.

• Travelers who pay a nature conservation-oriented tax when entering a country, such as New Zealand and Botswana.

• donating time, money or expertise to support environmental clean-up as an integral part of the travel experience. For example the Adventure scientist The initiative shows people with outdoor knowledge how to collect environmental information while traveling and provide new data for researchers.

• Companies that “give something back” by nature. For example, Global Himalayan Expeditions strengthens communities by electrifying remote villages in Ladakh, Kashmir. Trekkers co-fund solar panels and wear them as part of their travel experience.

• ambitious industry standards, increasing over time, for sustainable management of environmental, cultural and human resources.

The UN Group on Sustainable Development has recommended other changes including:

• a frequent flyer tax
• Incentives for domestic tourism
• In-flight advertising restrictions
• No more airport expansions in high-income countries
• better transportation alternatives to aviation.

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Tourism needs to focus on low impact tourism that is closer to home.
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Rebound differently

The above vision for tourism involves big changes. The focus of the industry must shift from growth and profit to “regeneration”- help restore the natural world that man has so badly damaged.

And the transition needs to be gradual so that tourism-dependent economies and businesses can adapt.

The global tourism industry will persist after COVID-19. But it needs to be reinterpreted as a first and foremost public good rather than a commercial activity.

And the goal of restoring the ecosystem must be at the heart of the industry. Planet health is inextricably linked for our own good – and that of the tourism industry. After all, there is no tourism on a dead planet.

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