Bartlett encourages Caribbean region to embrace sustainable tourism
WHILE historically tourism has shown its strong ability to adapt and recover from diversity, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett said that the unprecedented disruption caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic has thrust the road to recovery through resilience building towards a greater adoption of sustainable practices in the Caribbean region.
Speaking at the 5th Caribbean Infrastructure Forum (CARIF 2021), Bartlett indicated that renewable and sustainable energy and tourism can complement each other.
“It is no doubt now, more imperative than ever, as we look to recover and prepare for the future that we embrace new strategies, a new orientation, an new ethos that will ensure that the tourism sector becomes more resilient, sustainable, inclusive and competitive,” he said, noting that destinations that fail to reorient themselves towards greater resilience in the current and POSTCOVID-19 periods are likely to be left behind.
“The sector must find ways to answer the question of how increasingly scarce natural resources can be prudently managed, and how economic growth can be aligned with the social and economic needs of local populations and communities, as well as the preservation of the natural environment,” he continued.
Bartlett said currently the global tourism industry is responsible for five to eight per cent of all global greenhouse gases emissions including flights, maritime and land transport, hotel construction operations, and air conditioning and heating.
“Admittedly, among other resources, the hospitality industry uses substantial amount of energy for providing comfort and services to its guests, typically with a low level of energy efficiency,” he said.
The minister, however, pointed out that tourism is both a victim of and a contributor to climate change as energy supply in the region is still dominated by oil products. This, he said, coupled with oil price volatility, increases Caribbean countries’ vulnerability to the environmental impacts of fossil fuel use and makes it difficult for the industry to remain competitive.
To this end, he urged tourism enterprises to realise that reducing the number of raw materials, energy production, operating and disposal costs will increase the company’s bottom line.
Bartlett indicated that the adoption of energy conservation and eco-friendly practices, such as energy-saving technologies and the use of renewable energy, can also reduce carbon footprints, create an environment-friendly image for businesses allowing for new markets, enable an improvement in the quality of services offered to guests, as well as facilitate preparation for future problems such as power outages and water shortages.
Furthermore, according to him, the transition to sustainable tourism is dependent on whether the sector is guided by a national strategy, comprising policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks with sufficient incentives to stimulate development.
He indicated that policymakers, industry leaders, investors, financial institutions, and providers of innovative solutions will be required to collaborate more closely to boost and ensure that their required investments to build the infrastructure will facilitate sustainable tourism and sustainable energy consumption in the sector.
“Overall the thrust towards greater adoption of sustainable practices in tourism will require that all stakeholders in the value chain take full account of the sector’s current and future economic, social and environmental impacts; addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and a host of other issues within communities,” he said.