Call to build sustainability into all aspects of tourism
Hospitality sector needs to get every single person on board to succeed
TOURISM businesses around the globe are feeling the heat – from over-tourism to water shortages, destinations are faced with the real possibility that welcoming visitors may at some point no longer be an option. Unless, of course, sustainable tourism principles are applied.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), sustainable tourism is “tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities”.
Subtract any of those, and the balance is tipped.
The current drought being faced in Cape Town has been termed a “once in 400 years event” that has threatened to cause the unthinkable – a world-class tourism destination running out of water. However, one academic has studied the patterns of populations and their impact on water, and his conclusion is that immense population growth is what has contributed to water shortages, rather than the lack of rain. The latter, he suggests, would not have had such an effect had the population of the city remained static.
What had been impending for some time escalated to the point of raising a panic across the city. The city’s local government urged citizens to cut back on water usage, or risk running out of drinking water.
In the space of a little over a year, locals managed to halve water usage – no mean feat – but the challenge remained.
Naturally, a crisis of this scale reached the eyes and ears of potential visitors, who questioned whether they’d have water if they chose to visit Cape Town.
The short answer is that yes, they’d have water, perhaps not in quantities sufficient to allow them to bath rather than shower, but enough to cause a minimal impact on the quality of a stay. The knock-on effect has been an immense challenge to tourism professionals: hoteliers, tour organisers, shuttle operators – you name it.
Messaging that was designed to prevent the city running out of water has discouraged tourism, and, since tourism makes up around 9% of the region’s economy, employing 50 000 people in the city (not to mention secondary tourism-related businesses such as restaurants, construction and supply chains), this crisis has been tangible, requiring a recovery strategy.
It’s a stark visual reminder of the definition of sustainable tourism that covers the current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, not to mention the impact on communities. That’s why the messaging has adapted – local authorities have pegged the impact of tourism at the busiest time of the year as a 1% increase in the population, and that at a time when locals themselves travel out of the city on holiday. In other words, tourism has almost no negative impact on the city’s H20 footprint.
It’s brought into short-term perspective what needs to be covered in long-term planning. Much like many cities across the world, including Las Vegas, Venice, Melbourne and so many others, ensuring that water is available is a priority. In fact, most large cities have the demand for water as a critical focus.
For the outsider, it’s easy to drift off into daydreaming that involves a post-apocalyptic vision of a world that’s dry, with wars being fought across deserts over water sources. We’re not there. From massive, untapped aquifers that can be tapped, to desalination efforts that can aid in boosting water supplies, the death knell is far off.
This water crisis has shone the spotlight on some local communities for whom having to fetch and carry water for domestic use is the norm. They’ve not got a tap at home. As industry bodies, we can’t ignore the sustainable tourism imperative that seeks to ensure that our communities are at the heart of what we’re doing. More than the tourism sector, though, the public and private sector can work together, not just for their own survival, but to enhance the lives of all communities, communities that include those who work in tourism and their families.
We’ve been shooting up the learning curve in this current environment, having to adapt and innovate to ensure that what we have on offer as businesses continues to remain sustainable and relevant. 2017 was deemed the year of sustainable tourism by the UNWTO, and that’s fitting, since as destinations around the world we’re all recognising this imperative: look after what you have now to ensure its future success.
The call is clear to all in tourism and hospitality – weave sustainability into all elements, from the built to the natural environment. Bring every single person on board and make your mission statements come to life in tangible, visible ways that see sustainable tourism worked out in practice.
IT MUST TAKE FULL ACCOUNT OF ITS CURRENT AND FUTURE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF VISITORS