Expo 2020’s Travel and Connectivity Week addressed essential issues such as how to balance the impact of the expansion of our digital world with our physical reality, and changing direction to redesign mobility for more connected, inclusive societies. Sustainability was on top of the agenda
A session dedicated to Strategies for Sustainable Tourism championed collaboration, community integration at Expo 2020’s recently concluded Travel & Connectivity Week, which ran from January 9 to 15.
A number of experts shared tried and tested approaches and plans on balancing physical travel and environmental and social impact. One common thread was that community integration and cross-sectoral collaboration is imperative in order to make travel and tourism more sustainable.
Speaking on behalf of the world’s second most tourism-dependent nation in the world, Sherin Francis, Principal Secretary, Tourism Seychelles, said their strategy is focused on being transformative: “Our journey towards more sustainability takes on a different significance, as it involves the nation’s survival. You don’t have many options when you are threatened by climate change, so continuous education with our partners has been key… and our vision is to use travel as a powerful tool for positive awareness.”
Through a partnership with the Global Impact Network, visitors to the Seychelles can become ambassadors for sustainability during their trips, measuring and sharing their positive impacts. The country has a number of sustainability-focused initiatives and programmes, including the Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Label (SSTL), which aims to mainstream sustainability practices into hotels’ business operations to safeguard the biodiversity and culture of Seychelles. SSTL has seen hotels encourage guests to skip the gym and partake in the nation’s traditional dance instead, or offer sustainable meals that use only locally-sourced ingredients.
Bhutan meanwhile offers a high value, low volume tourism policy. In addition to visas, the country requires that all holidays must be booked through a Bhutanese tour operator or one of their international partners, with a dedicated fee for sustainable development included that directly funds the government’s sustainable development initiatives.
Dorji Dhradul, Director General, Tourism Council, Bhutan, explained: “The heart and soul of this high value, low volume tourism policy is that we promote tourism to Bhutan while safeguarding its environmental, cultural, societal, and economical sustainability… and when combined with the development philosophy of gross national happiness, it offers a holistic experience for visitors with revenue to people and country, avoiding overexploitation and allowing visitors to connect more deeply with themselves and with nature. The tourism policy has been always beyond numbers, but about finding the middle ground, and we hope that our model will be able to play a big role in the world of sustainable tourism.”
Luís Araújo, President, European Travel Commission, Portugal, said: “We believe in tourism as a force for good in our country and for the wellbeing of our people. We launched a plan that would reduce our carbon footprint, where all activity would need to meet the new demands of preserving the social and cultural authenticity of our communities, protecting biodiversity, and increasing business profits… and it has to focus on the entire 17 Sustainable Development Goals.”
Portugal, which aims for 90 per cent of its activity from hotels, restaurants, car rental and travel agencies, to have waste management, energy and water efficiency measures in place, is now seeking to redefine the standards of tourism and travel. For example, legislation is being adapted so that hotels seeking five-star ratings would need to have implemented sustainability principles just as much as luxury services and features.
Audiences also heard from both new tourism economies, and developed tourism economies whose strategies mirrored each other.
Nadjati Soidiki, CEO, National Investment Promotion Agency, Comoros, described how the Indian Ocean country is building its tourism offerings through investments in new eco-tourism projects, while also ensuring that nearby communities can continue to develop their handicrafts and farming practices, and training them to support and be part of the tourism sector.
Meanwhile, Costa Rica, where renewable energy powers 99 per cent of the nation’s electricity and where more than half of national territory is covered by forest, is in a stage of stability and maturity. Alberto López Cháves, General Manager, Costa Rican Institute of Tourism and Head of the Tourism Qualify Standards Committee, said that the nation is now focused not only on protecting the environment, but on making all the processes in tourism fully sustainable, including improving the quality of life of communities around tourism projects.
Vincas Jurgutis, Vice Minister of Economy and Innovation, Lithuania, which is the largest fintech hub in Europe and a leader in mobility and ride-sharing, described how the country applies its tech experience to the tourism industry to create a ‘global sandbox’, saying: “Lithuania has been heavily impacted by the COVID pandemic, and we must ensure sustainable recovery, growth, and resilience. We have only two natural resources – freshwater and human intelligence – and we rely on the latter for a solution. We realise things will never be the same again, but that doesn't mean that they have to be worse; they can even be better… We are opening up the data of our travel industry when it comes to tourism heat maps, infrastructure and any information needed for businesses to develop their ideas and become more resilient… We very strongly believe not in global competition, but in global co-creation. We can create the future we want together.”