TRAVELLING THROUGH NATURE
Q: Alissa, as summer approaches, we wondered if it’s environmentally friendly to take a trip into nature, like hiking and rafting, or whether that actually harms the environment more?
A: Your question is a good one, because more outdoorsy trips seem like they could either help preserve open space or be yet another corner of the earth we human beings are trampling over. As with so much when it comes to the environment, your question is complex, and travel is a particularly tricky domain; it can be so good for communities, yet reap so much harm.
I checked in with Dr. Aisling Ward, Senior Lecturer in Tourism and researcher in regenerative tourism at MTU Cork, where she and her fellow researchers are working on “a number of research projects and developing education and training programmes in relation to sustainable and regenerative tourism.” You heard that right: there is such a thing as regenerative tourism, where visitors help destinations instead of harming them.
Exploring nature, the lakes, rivers, forests, and trails of Ireland, or nature-focussed destinations, especially during the off-season, can be lovely for you and great for an area, says Ward. “The creation of Greenways, Blueways and nature-based activities within Ireland can bring the tourist into the remote and rural areas they may not necessarily have visited.” As an “additional benefit,” she says, it “shifts these same tourists out of overcrowded or overvisited regions that as a result could negatively impact on the environment.” If visitors scatter about, both in place and timing, so where and when, “we’ll get a more balanced approach to tourism.”
When thinking about sustainable tourism, says Ward, the emphasis is often on aspects of the environment, like environmental activities, climate action, and an efficient use of resources. All of these are key, but they aren’t everything. “It is also important to consider economic sustainability and the social impacts of tourism,” she adds. Without a prosperous tourism industry within a region or community, especially one dependent on tourism, “employment cannot be sustained, local businesses will suffer, and communities will dwindle.”
One bit of good news is that “demand by tourists to travel more sustainably is increasing,” says Ward. But there is concern over how to make this possible. “To what extent should the tourism provider be promoting their ‘green credentials’ whilst at the same time ensuring they are not ‘ greenwashing?’,” says Ward – making it look green when really it isn’t.
Another hump to get over is the perception by tourists that green won’t be as luxurious. “Oftentimes the greener option is viewed as being inferior,” adds Ward, with worries that trips will be about short showers and trying not to use towels. “The challenge for the tourism provider is the attempt to implement environmental strategies without compromising on quality.”
‘IMMERSE IN A DESTINATION’
A new way of thinking about this is one area of Ward’s research, regenerative tourism, “a framework that considers the entire tourism ecosystem and seeks to leave a destination in a better condition than before the tourist visit.” Ward explains that this is about shifting away from seeing tourism as negative and instead seeing the good that comes from it, for example the simple things like supporting local businesses and producers, ensuring a thriving community, maintaining employment, and raising awareness about a place’s history and local ecology. The destination itself might also promote longer stays and be less seasonal. Regenerative tourism can also be quite literal, where visitors directly support the environment and ecosystem by engaging in activities like rewilding or planting trees.
In all cases, visitors get immersed in the place and are then poised to give back. “It can have twofold effect of supporting the community and educating the visitor and maybe they can become ambassadors to the area and aware of biodiversity,” says Ward.
Regenerative and sustainable tourism can also include an “appreciation for what we have on our doorstep,” says Ward. And there is a lot of nature at our doorstep, from the Wild Atlantic Way to the Ballyhoura mountains, where there is a network of biking and hiking trails. Ward also suggests community cultural or heritage-based festivals, which not only sustain the local culture, but teach visitors about a heritage, with a story to keep well after the visit.
“It’s a real experience, an authentic experience,” says Ward, and it might be a trip that integrates nature and the local area where you “immerse in a destination.” Leaving no trace but enjoying the natural setting, even learning about it as you go along and bringing the message home with you, makes a trip into nature one that might also benefit the earth.