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The international environmental
policy and the tourism industry
Mia Tarhanen, M.Sc.,
HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied sciences, Finland
Content
I) Justification: environmental impact
II) History of Sustainable Tourism; from international
environmental policymaking´s point of view
III)UNWTO: the development of climate change policy in
tourism industry
IV)EU: the environmental actions towards more sustainable
tourism
V)Finland in environmental action
VI)Macro level: the environmental policy of a tourism sector
company & Group working: from policy to practice;
practical solutions
I) Justification: environmental
impact
Tourism - a special relationship with
sustainable development
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How can places of great natural beauty, or wildlife, be
preserved once tourists start visiting in their thousands,
bringing with them the need for services and
development?
Is it possible to have a guilt-free holiday?
Can you visit a place without damaging it in some way?
What are the environmental impacts of tourism?
Tourism spreads quickly around the world
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Some tour operators realize that the industry relies on
natural and cultural diversity as well as security of the
destination to attract customers.
Sustainable tourism, therefore, is crucial not only for the
people and environment in destination countries, but for
the survival of the industry itself.
The only sustainable solution however - people staying at
home - is not a feasible alternative since in many
developed countries holidaying is seen as a basic right
rather than a privilege.
At least 80% of this waste is recyclable
We can choose to have this
Venice Under Water: Deepest Flood in 22
Years Flood waters Venice reached a depth of 1.56 meters
The International Ice and Snow Festival,
Harbin, China
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A winter fantasyland featuring ice and
snow everything: an ice church, an ice
bar, a giant snow Buddha, an ice
lighthouse, and a mini Great Wall of
Ice.
But!!! “This is the worst year ever,”
“The Festival is usually much bigger. It
was too warm, so there wasn’t enough
time to prepare [the sculptures].”
China’s heating up!
The diminished Ice and Snow Festival
is just one small effect of unsettling
warming weather trends already being
seen.
This is the warmest winter
northeastern China in more than 50
years.
What Spain will look like in the future, in a
world transformed by climate change.
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The Guardian recently introduced us to a series of images,
produced by artists Pedro Armestre and Mario Gómez,
for a new project by Greenpeace.
Increased frequency of coral bleaching events is
expected as a result of global climate change
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A bleaching event, likely caused by high sea water
temperatures, affected these staghorn corals in Tumon
Bay Marine Preserve, Guam.
The Global Warming Swimming Pool:
Imagine Swimming Above a City
II) History of Sustainable Tourism;
from international environmental
policymaking´s point of view
History of Sustainable Tourism
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Sustainable tourism is a paradigm that evolved as a
reaction to criticism of tourism's unprincipled growth in
Europe in the 1970s.
Among the first who wrote about the negative
environmental impacts of tourism was a Swiss researcher
Jost Krippendorf.
The researchers Mathieson and Wall (1982) defined
sustainable tourism in terms of economical, physical and
social impacts.
the carrying capacity which will determine the level of
impact, e.g. the number of visitors who can visit a
particular area without affecting the area physically
History of Sustainable Tourism
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During the late 80´s the sustainable development
approach was adapted as part of tourism development
The concept of sustainable development, a generic term,
was defined by Brundlandt Commission:
“Development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs”.
From Rio to Johannesburg:
New Paths for International Tourism
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Rio Conference was the starting point
Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and
Development, and the Statement of principles for the
Sustainable Management of Forests were adopted by
more than 178 Governments at the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)
held in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, 1992.
Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken
globally, nationally and locally in every area in which
human impacts on the environment.
From Rio to Johannesburg:
New Paths for International Tourism
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In1992 Rio Earth Summit, was made a little reference to
the environmental and social impacts of tourism.
Since Rio, international concern about the sustainability of
tourism has grown steadily.
Countries have endorsed declarations on a wide range of
related topics
including tourism and sustainable development
the social impact of tourism
tourism and biodiversity
tourism and ethics
From Rio to Johannesburg:
New Paths for International Tourism
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In 1996,,the World
Tourism Organization, the
World Travel & Tourism
Council, and the Earth
Council released their
own action-plan, Agenda
21
The focus was in an effort
to integrate tourism into
broader sustainability
discussions
From Rio to Johannesburg:
New Paths for International Tourism
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The Year of EcoTourism
In 2002 UNWTO had dedicated the year for Eco Tourism.
Some 500 delegates from 100 countries selected four
themes for the International Year of Ecotourism 2002.
The four themes were
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ecotourism policy and planning
the regulation of ecotourism
the marketing and promotion of ecotourism
monitoring the costs and benefits of ecotourism.
Environmental sustainability and empowerment of local
communities were listed as "cross-cutting issues".
From Rio to Johannesburg:
New Paths for International Tourism
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Tourism was also be an important topic at the upcoming
World Summit on Sustainable Development in
Johannesburg
From Rio to Johannesburg:
New Paths for International Tourism
The Tourism Industry
 Many tourism businesses are beginning to take positive steps to become more
environmentally and socially responsible
 Priorities for Action:
 Restructure management and operations along environmental lines, including
reducing consumption of water, energy, and other resources and improving
management, handling, and disposal of waste.
 Accelerate the transfer of environmentally sound technologies, practices, and
management tools to the developing world, including desalination plants and other
water-saving systems, renewable energy technologies, and ecologically sound
chemical management practices.
In Practice
 Under the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators' voluntary code of
conduct, the 40 member tour operators are required to land no more than 100
people per site at a time and to make sure that visitors do not disturb wildlife.
 Europe's Blue Flag Campaign eco-labelling of high environmental standards and safe,
sanitary facilities.
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From Rio to Johannesburg:
New Paths for International Tourism
Government
 Governments will need to play a proactive role in supporting the
growth of sustainable tourism.
 Priorities for Action:
 Encourage tourism planning authorities at the national, regional, and
local levels to incorporate key social and environmental goals.
 In 1997, the Council of Europe recommended that member
governments limit tourism development to a level compatible with
ecological capacity
 Develop regulations and policies that support smaller-scale tourism
initiatives that are actively planned and managed by local
communities.
In Practice
 The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan practices an official policy of
"high-value, low-volume" tourism. It accepted only 7,500 visitors in
the year 2000, at a cost of $250 each per day.
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From Rio to Johannesburg:
New Paths for International Tourism
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Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and
International Institutions
Non-governmental players have played an important role in
generating much of the pressure for more sustainable tourism.
International institutions such as the World Bank and UNEP have
also stepped up their support for sustainable tourism, including
engaging in efforts to create benchmarks for sustainable tourism
that will make it easier for governments and businesses to measure
progress.
Priorities for Action:
Discourage unsustainable and inappropriate tourism developments.
Help raise awareness of tourism's negative impacts through
information campaigns and training.
Encourage tourists to engage in environmentally and culturally
sensitive behavior
III)UNWTO: the development of
climate change policy in tourism
industry
Djerba Declaration 2003 on Tourism and
Climate Change
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The participants gathered
at the First International
Conference on Climate
Change and Tourism, held
in Djerba, Tunisia, April
2003, convened by the
World Tourism
Organization, upon an
invitation of the
Government of Tunisia
Djerba Declaration 2003 on Tourism and
Climate Change
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Agree the following:
1. To urge all governments concerned with the contribution of tourism to sustainable
development, to subscribe to all relevant intergovernmental and multilateral agreements,
especially the Kyoto Protocol, and other conventions and similar declarations concerning
climate change and related resolutions that prevent the impacts of this phenomenon from
spreading further or accelerating;
2. To encourage international organizations to further the study and research of
the reciprocal implications between tourism and climate change, including in the
case of cultural and archaeological sites, in cooperation with public authorities, academic
institutions, NGOs, and local people; in particular, to encourage the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change to pay special attention to tourism in cooperation with WTO and to
include tourism specifically in its Fourth Assessment Report;
3. To call upon UN, international, financial and bilateral agencies to support the governments
of developing, in their efforts to address and to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change
and to formulate appropriate action plans;
4. To request international organizations, governments, NGOs and academic institutions to
support local governments and destination management organizations in implementing
adaptation and mitigation measures that respond to the specific climate change impacts at
local destinations;
5. To encourage the tourism industry, including transport companies, hoteliers, tour
operators, travel agents and tourist guides, to adjust their activities, using more energyefficient and cleaner technologies and logistics, in order to minimize as much as
possible their contribution to climate change;
Djerba Declaration 2003 on Tourism and
Climate Change
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6. To call upon governments, bilateral and multilateral institutions to conceive and
implement sustainable management policies for water resources, and for the
conservation of wetlands and other freshwater ecosystems
7. To call upon governments to encourage the use of renewable energy
sources in tourism and transport companies and activities, by facilitating
technical assistance and using fiscal and other incentives;
8. To encourage consumer associations, tourism companies and the media to raise
consumers' awareness at destinations and in generating markets, in order to change
consumption behaviour and make more climate friendly tourism choices;
9. To invite public, private and non-governmental stakeholders and other institutions
to inform WTO about the results of any research study relevant to climate change
and tourism, in order for WTO to act as a clearing house and to create a database
on the subject and disseminate know-how internationally; and
10. To consider this Declaration as a framework for international, regional and
governmental agencies for the monitoring of their activities and of the above
mentioned action plans in this field.
From Davos to Bali: A Tourism Contribution
to the Challenge of Climate Change
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Davos Declaration (Davos, Switzerland, 3 October
2007)
Conclusions of the Ministers’ Summit on Tourism
and Climate Change (London, United Kingdom, 13
November 2007)
Resolution on Tourism and Climate Change
(UNWTO General Assembly, Cartagena de Indias,
Colombia, 23-29 November 2007)
Statement by Francesco Frangialli, SecretaryGeneral of UNWTO, on the occasion of the UN
Conference on Climate Change (Bali, Indonesia, 12
December 2007)
Conference on Climate Change and
Tourism, Davos, Switzerland, 2007
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The Conference reunited stakeholders from across the
sector to review developments and re-chart the future
The Davos Declaration acknowledged the reality of
climate change and its strong interrelationship with
tourism.
It acknowledged the need for a long term strategy for the
sector to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in line with
other sectors.
Conference on Climate Change and
Tourism, Davos, Switzerland, 2007
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The Conference agreed that:
climate is a key resource for tourism and the sector is highly sensitive to
the impacts of climate change and global warming, many elements of which
are already being felt. It is estimated to contribute some 5% of global CO2
emissions.
tourism - business and leisure - will continue to be a vital component of
the global economy, an important contributor to the Millennium
Development Goals and an integral, positive element in our society.
the tourism sector must rapidly respond to climate change, within the
evolving UN framework and progressively reduce its Greenhouse Gas
(GHG) contribution if it is to grow in a sustainable manner; this will require
action to:
o mitigate its GHG emissions, derived especially from transport and
accommodation activities;
o adapt tourism businesses and destinations to changing climate
conditions;
o apply existing and new technology to improve energy efficiency;
o secure financial resources to help poor regions and countries.
Conference on Climate Change and
Tourism, Davos, Switzerland, 2007
The Conference calls for the following actions.
1) Governments and International Organizations:
 Incorporate tourism in the implementation of existing
commitments under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto
Protocol,
 Implement concrete, simultaneous actions for mitigation,
adaptation, technology and financing,
 Introduce education and awareness programs for all tourism
stakeholders – public and private sector – as well as
consumers.
 Develop regional and local climate information services
tailored to the tourism sector
Conference on Climate Change and
Tourism, Davos, Switzerland, 2007
2) Tourism Industry and Destinations
 Take leadership in implementing concrete measures in
order to mitigate climate change and to reduce risk to
travellers, operators and infrastructure due to dynamic
climate variability and shift.
 Promote investments in energy-efficiency tourism
programmes and use of renewable energy resources, with
the aim of reducing the carbon footprint of the entire
tourism sector.
 Raise awareness among customers and staff on climate
change impacts and engage them in response processes.
Conference on Climate Change and
Tourism, Davos, Switzerland, 2007
3) Consumers:
 Tourists should be encouraged to consider the climate,
economic, societal and environmental impacts of their
options before making a decision and, where possible to
reduce their carbon footprint, or offset emissions that
cannot be reduced directly.
 Tourists should also be encouraged to opt for
environmentally-friendly activities that reduce their
carbon footprint as well as contribute to the preservation
of the natural environment and cultural heritage.
Conference on Climate Change and
Tourism, Davos, Switzerland, 2007
4) Research and Communications Networks:
 Encourage targeted, multi-disciplinary research on
impacts of climate change in order to address regional
gaps in current knowledge, develop tools for risk assessment
and costbenefit analyses with which to gauge the feasibility of
various responses.
 Include environmental and climate specific subjects in
the study curricula of tourism training programmes and
extend these to broader educational systems.
 Raise awareness on tourism’s economic role as a tool for
development, and present information on causes and effects of
climate change based on sound science, in a fair, balanced and
user-friendly manner.
London and Cartagena, November 2007
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Subsequent to the Davos conference, the issues related to
climate change and tourism, were further discussed at a
Ministerial Meeting held in London on November 2007 and
UNWTO General Assembly held in Cartagena de Indias,
Colombia, November 2007.
The following points were underscored:
The urgent need for the tourism sector:
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to adapt to climate change conditions;
to mitigate greenhouse emissions
to help to transfer new technologies especially through the clean
development mechanism and to make efforts to secure financial
resources to assist developing countries which are especially
vulnerable to climate change.
UN Climate Change summit in Bali,
December 2007
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UNWTO, in cooperation with other international
Organizations, its member States and partners from the
private sector will maintain “climate change and tourism”
as a priority on its agenda, and has adopted for the 2008
World Tourism Day and the related year-long campaign
the theme “Tourism: responding to the challenge of
climate change”.
IV)EU: the environmental actions
towards more sustainable tourism
Launch of Global Sustainable Tourism
Criteria 2008 1/2
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The Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria were launched by
the United Nations Foundation, UNWTO, UNEP and the
Rainforest Alliance at the IUCN World Conservation
Congress 2008.
The new criteria were developed to offer a common
framework to guide the emerging practice of sustainable
tourism.
http://www.unwto.org/media/news/en/press_det.php?id=2
851
Launch of Global Sustainable Tourism
Criteria 2008 2/2
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the criteria focus on four areas experts recommend as
the most critical aspects of sustainable tourism:
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maximizing tourism’s social and economic benefits to local
communities;
reducing negative impacts on cultural heritage;
reducing harm to local environments; and planning for
sustainability.
The GSTC Partnership is developing educational
materials and technical tools to guide hotels and tour
operators in implementing the criteria.
Sustainable Tourism in EU
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European Union’s so called Green Book in 1995 was the first attempt that stated that tourism
is one of the rare industries that is made for to the realisation of sustainable development in
practice.
From 1998, DG Enterprise, in co-operation with DG Environment, has been helping to
identify and analyse best practices and methods in sustainable tourism.
-It Co-operates also with the European Community Network for Environmental Travel &
Tourism (ECoNETT) and with LIFE.
In 2005 the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) identified an agenda of 12 aims for sustainable tourism.
The EU Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) has three key objectives: economic
prosperity; social Equity and cohesion; and environmental protection.
Taking each of these in turn, while reflecting on the above 12 aims, the following aims for the
sustainability of European tourism are proposed:
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1. Economic prosperity: a) To ensure the long term competitiveness, viability and prosperity of
tourism enterprises and destinations. b) to provide quality employment opportunities, offering fair pay
and conditions for all employees and avoiding all forms of discriminations.
2. Social equity and cohesion: a) To enhance the quality of life aof local communities through
tourism and engage them its planning and management. b) To provide a safe, satisfying and fulfilling
experience for visitors, available to all without discrimination by gender, race, religion, diability or inthe
other ways.
3. Environmental and cultural protection: a) To minimise pollution and degradation of the global
and local environment and the use of scarce resources by tourism activities. b) To maintain and
strenghten cultural richness and biodiversity and contribute to their appreciation and conservation.
EU included aviation in emission trading
system 1/2
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The European Parliament voted in favour of including aviation
in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) from 2012.
Under the new directive greenhouse gas emissions from flights
to, from and within the EU will be included in the system.
Greenhouse gas emissions from international air transport are
increasing faster than from any other sector in the EU
"This agreement will enable the aviation sector to make a fair
contribution to Europe's climate change targets as many other
sectors are already doing."
The directive is part of a comprehensive approach to
addressing aviation emissions, which also includes more
research into greener technologies and improvements in air
traffic management through the creation of a 'Single European
Sky'.
EU included aviation in emission trading
system 2/2
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Aviation currently account for about 3% of total EU
greenhouse gas emissions, but they are increasing fast –
by 87% since 1990.
Someone flying from London to New York and back, for
example, generates roughly the same amount of
emissions as the average person in the EU does by
heating their home for a whole year.
On current trends, aviation emissions are likely to more
than double from present levels by 2020. This rapid
growth contrasts with the success of many other sectors
of the economy in reducing emissions.
Task
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The sustainable issues
have been discussed over
20 years.
Can you find any practical
results of these attempts
as a travel consumer?
V)Finland in environmental action
Sustainable Tourism in Finland
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Finnish Tourist Board (FTB) noticed the need of sustainability and started in
1993 a programme “Towards Sustainability Tourism in Finland (YSMEK)”,
which covered an eco audit experiment in ten tourist enterprises and
suggestions for further measures, and guidelines how sustainability can be
fulfilled.
A report on continuation programme YSMEK 2: Environmental
management system for hotels and restaurants was published by FTB in
1997.
Finland is the promised land for events and therefore a publication that
handles the environmental matters to be considered when organizing an
event was the next action Finnish Tourist Board took (1999).
Today the environmental aspects of tourism are part of the Q1000national quality system coordinated by FTB.
The corner stones of success in tourism “– ethical values – quality of
operations- take into consideration the environment and local cultures.“
Helsinki Declaration, January 2009
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Over 70 stakeholders of tourism industry made a
commitment for the sustainable tourism development in
Helsinki
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Helsinki Declaration is a Finnish response for the UNWTO´s work
The aim is to adapt to climate change conditions and to mitigate
greenhouse emissions
The signed stakeholders represented the variety of tourism indutry
from education to travel agencies and from air traffic to cruise
operators & from accommodation to program services
The declaration launched a process which will monitored every year
The next step will be a similar declaration for the international
stakeholders who co-operate with Finnish travel industry
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VI)Macro level: the environmental
policy of a tourism sector company
Group working: from policy to practice; practical solutions
On a macro level: Environmental policy
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An environmental policy is a
written statement outlining
an organisation's mission in
relation to managing the
environmental effects and
aspects of its operations
states the environmental
aims and principles of an
organisation
should recognise
organizations impact on
environment
States the communication
forms
On a macro level: Environmental policy
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Basic rules to follow to ensure the policy is clearly
written and concise:
keep the statement short - a sheet of A4
the statement is meant for everyone to see, so make
sure it's easy to read and understand
the statement must be realistic, achievable and
relevant to an organisation's activities and practices
demonstrate commitment to making the policy work
and get the statement signed, dated and endorsed by
the MD, Chief Executive or other senior manager.
On a macro level: Environmental policy
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There is no standard content for an EP, although
policies normally contain the same themes:
a commitment to continuous improvement
recognition of compliance with relevant
environmental legislation as a minimum level of
performance
the education and training of employees in
environmental issues
the monitoring of progress and review of
environmental performance on a regular basis (usually
annually)
Task
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Please work in groups of 5
Read and evaluate the environmental policy you got:
What areas/themes of environmental management are
contained to the policy?
Is there something missing?
Consider practical solutions for the daily routines how
the employees can implement the policy in their work
What do you think to be the most important reasons if
the policy doesn´t work in the practice?
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Coconut Court Beach Hotel
http://www.greenstop.net/downloads/Coconut.pdf
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The Royal Garden Hotel
http://www.royalgdn.co.uk/environmental_policy/
WEXAS Travel Management
http://www.wexas.com/corporate-travel/corporateenvironmental-policy.html
The Co-operative Travel Management http://www.cooperativetm.co.uk/environment/
Medical
Tourismhttp://www.healism.com/medical_tourism/about_
us/environmental_policy/
Thank You!