Tourism feels the heat of global warming

Climate is an essential resource for tourism and global warming is unquestionably a threat to tourism. Anita
Pleumarom discusses the response of the industry to a threat to which it is contributing.
THE promoters of 'adventure-' or 'ecotourism' have popularised slogans along the lines of 'Go visit the last
parts of paradise... before they are destroyed by tourist hordes.' n a similar vein! the "ritish newspaper The
#bserver recently suggested that world travellers need to hurry up if they want to see the '$% wonders of a
vanishing world'. &ccording to the article! the most wondrous natural tourist attractions we can no longer
ta'e for granted due to global warming include(
&frica's highest mountain - the spectacular )iliman*aro in Tan+ania will never loo' the same as snows are
disappearing at an alarming rate.
The Caribbean coral reefs - particularly the ,eso-&merican reef! the world's second biggest! stretching
from the coast of southern ,e-ico down past "eli+e and into Honduras! which is threatened by a three-fold
environmental disaster( warmer water disrupts coral growth. acidic water affects coral's abilities to secrete
new s'eletons. and increasingly intense hurricanes brea' it up. &s a result! thousands of marine species are
on the brin' of e-tinction.
The ,aldives in the ndian #cean - many tropical islands forming the ndian #cean archipelago are li'ely
to become submerged in the ne-t two decades as a result of rising sea levels and increasing numbers of
heavy storms.
Traditional s'i resorts in the &lps such as )it+buhel in &ustria will disappear from the tourist map within
/% years because of the lac' of snow.
0urthermore! the future of many unique animal species that have attracted wildlife tourism is in *eopardy as
habitats! breeding grounds and migration routes are changing. f global warming gets worse! entire
populations of polar bears in the &rctic region! wildebeests in East &frica! mountain gorillas in 1ganda and
2wanda and monarch butterflies in ,e-ico may be destroyed.
Tourism sector wakes up to the climate crisis
Climate is an essential 'resource' for tourism! especially for beach! nature and winter sport tourism! and the
phenomenon of global warming already gravely affects the industry and an increasing number of
destinations. n /%%3! the ,adrid-based 14 5orld Tourism #rganisation 6145T#7 convened the $st
nternational Conference on Climate Change and Tourism in 8*erba! Tunisia! to help the travel and tourism
industry to respond to these issues. The 145T#! which became a special 14 agency only a few years
ago! is traditionally driven by a strong "usiness Council that aggressively advances the interests of the
world's most powerful tourism-related corporations.
That the 145T# declared climate change a priority issue shows the growing awareness among industry
leaders and policyma'ers that the impacts of global warming pose a serious threat to tourism - one of the
world's largest and fastest-growing industries! generating over $%.9: of world G8;! according to the 5orld
Travel and Tourism Council 65TTC7.
4otably! the 8*erba conference recognised that the relationship between climate change and tourism is two-
fold( not only is tourism affected by a changing climate! at the same time it contributes to climate change
through the consumption of fossil fuels and resulting greenhouse gas emissions. t was concluded that there
was an 'urgent need for the tourism industry! national governments and international organisations to
develop and implement strategies to face the changing climate conditions and to ta'e preventive actions for
future effects! as well as to mitigate tourism's environmental impacts contributing to climate change'
68*erba 8eclaration /%%37.
The burgeoning international ecotourism industry is also feeling the heat. &t the Global Ecotourism
Conference /%%< 6GEC%<7 that was *ointly organised by The nternational Ecotourism =ociety 6TE=7!
Ecotourism 4orway and the 14 Environment ;rogramme 614E;7 in #slo! 4orway in ,ay! it was agreed
that 'Climate change has increasingly become a ma*or threat affecting the very resources on which
ecotourism depends - natural areas and local and indigenous communities around the world....=tronger
leadership and strategies are needed in order to substantially decrease ecotourism's carbon footprint
generated from multiple sources including facility operations and transport-related greenhouse gas
emissions.'
There are a couple of reasons why travel and tourism leaders are now feverishly wor'ing on the climate
change front. 0irstly! the economic costs of climate change for the industry will rise ine-orably if it ta'es a
business-as-usual attitude. =econdly! tourism relies more than other industries on a good image! but its
reputation as a beneficial and environmentally acceptable activity has rapidly faded during recent debates
on the causes of global warming.
Economic factors
Critics have always pointed out the fic'le nature of tourism! and indeed the industry's special vulnerability
to bad news and events has been proven many times in recent years. *ust consider the slumps following
terrorist attac's such as >?$$ and the "ali bombings! the threat of diseases such as =&2= and avian flu or
environmental crises. The ndian #cean tsunami in /%%9 and Hurricane )atrina that hit 4ew #rleans in
/%%@ e-acted an immeasurable toll on the travel and tourism industry. 5hat needs to be calculated here are
not only the costs of lost property and the reconstruction of tourist infrastructure in the wa'e of disasters!
but also the costs of tourists staying away from crisis-hit destinations for a long time as well as the high
e-penditures for promotional campaigns to get tourists visiting again.
To enable the tourism sector to respond promptly and effectively in cases of emergency! the 145T# and
international business associations such as the ;acific &sia Travel &ssociation 6;&T&7 have already made
ma*or investments to establish crisis centres and ris' management tas' forces. 0urther efforts are underway
to develop climate change policies for the tourism sector that offer adaptation and mitigation measures
aimed at preventing or reducing high e-penditures in tourist areas affected by climate-change-related
problems.
The urgency of ta'ing action is shown by the case of 0i*i. Ai'e numerous other small islands around the
world! 0i*i's islands are highly vulnerable to climate change! and the tourism industry is already suffering
from the impacts in the form of cyclones! storm surge and flooding! sea level rise! erosion! transport and
communication interruption! and reduced water availability. These are the findings of a study by =usanne
"ec'en! published by the 1niversity of the =outh ;acific in &ugust /%%9. The 'climate-change-related
ha+ards have the potential to destroy e-isting tourism capital and severely undermine efforts to attract new
investment from within 0i*i and overseas. ncreasing insurance premiums aggravate the ris'.' 6"ec'en
/%%97
Aviation, cruise-ship industry major climate change culprits
The aviation industry in particular is now facing enormous pressure since the ntergovernmental ;anel on
Climate Change 6;CC7 and environmental campaign groups have singled out the role of air travel in
accounting for a considerable portion of global greenhouse gas emissions. Globally! the world's $B!%%%
commercial *et planes generate more than B%% million tonnes of carbon dio-ide 6C#/7 per year! almost as
much as from all human activities in &frica each year! according to 0riends of the Earth.
The huge increase in aircraft pollution is largely due to the rapid growth of tourism and related air traffic. &
550 briefing paper on 'Tourism C Climate Change' 6/%%$7 states that the actual tonnage of C#/ emitted
will increase by over <@: by /%$@. concomitantly! from almost <%% million international travellers in /%%%!
numbers are e-pected to *ump to over one billion by /%$% and $.B billion by /%/%. '&s a consequence! the
role of air travel within the tourism industry is li'ely to e-pand! cause considerable environmental damage!
and to have 'noc'-on effects on the tourism industry itself!' concludes 550.
Given the recent negative publicity! tourists in 5estern countries are changing their behaviour and tend to
fly less. There are now even voices in Europe that go so far as to suggest that flying away on holiday is
immoral and should be stopped altogether.
'5arming stops global roaming!' wrote the &ustralian newspaper 8aily Telegraph recently. & survey in
&ustralia done by a holiday website found that nearly /%: of respondents considered giving up air travel as
it causes irreparable harm to the environment! while only $B: said they do not care about climate change
and it would not affect their travel choices at all. =imilarly! a study prepared for Greenpeace in the 1)
showed a clear shift in consumers' perception( B$: of the respondents were of the opinion that '5e should
limit our air travel voluntarily'! 33: agreed that '&ir travel is now too cheap'! @/: agreed that 'There
should be a ta- on fuel for air travel'! and B$: of the respondents supported the idea that 'There should be a
pollution warning on air tic'ets'.
&part from aviation! the booming cruise-ship industry has also come under fire. Cruise ships that can carry
up to @!%%% tourists are not only notorious for generating tremendous amounts of waste and sewage but also
ran' among the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions within the travel and tourism industry.
The 1= "luewater 4etwor' that campaigns against the pollution of the world's oceans by ships has found
that in one port visit! a single cruise ship can generate the emissions of more than $/!9%% cars. The ships'
smo'estac's release to-ic emissions that lead to acid rain! global climate change! and damaging health
effects to communities situated near ports. 8espite the fact that ocean cruise liners are more energy-
efficient than other forms of commercial transportation! marine engines operate on e-tremely dirty fuels!
'nown as 'bun'er oil'. To compound the problem! engines on these ocean-going ships are currently not
required to meet the same strict air pollution controls as cars and truc's are required to do.
Global travel and tourism could only grow by leaps and bounds because the transport networ's that enable
the movement of people and goods around the world are heavily subsidised. Tourists can en*oy travelling
around the world at incredibly low prices. &s the 4ew Economics 0oundation study '1p in =mo'eD'
e-plains! '...much international trade lives in a bubble. nternational aviation and marine fuels are immune
from any 'ind of ta-ation that would indicate and internalise the real environmental cost of freight and
shipping. Greenhouse gas emissions from international freight are also e-empt from the emissions targets
set for rich countries to meet under the )yoto ;rotocol of the 14 Climate Change Convention.'
Growing consumer awareness on these issues and a burgeoning citi+ens' movement calling for fuel ta-es
and stricter regulation of the transport industry can severely curb future tourism growth targets and! thus!
cut deep into the profits of plane-ma'ers! airlines! travel agencies! cruise-ship operators and other tourism-
related businesses. 4o wonder! then! that companies are now scrambling to tal' about hard-earned
environmental advances and new initiatives to protect the environment.
&t the ;aris &ir =how in Eune! for e-ample! &irbus' top salesman Eohn Aeah told a press conference that
&irbus is 'saving the planet! one &3F% at a time'. The company's promotional brochures featured a
silhouette of the new two-dec' &3F% super-*umbo - dubbed the 'gentle green giant' - set against images of
dolphins! rainforests and fishing boats on a misty pond. "oeing representatives were also 'een to display
their ecological bona fides and claimed the industry has reduced fuel consumption by <%: since the *et age
began! reported 8ow Eones 4ewswires.
Image is all
5hile the global travel and tourism lobby has adopted the rhetoric of corporate social and environmental
responsibility! reality chec's on the ground show that tourism's environmental performance has remained
very poor. 4either the 14-initiated nternational Gear of Ecotourism /%%/ nor multilateral environment
agreements such as the Tourism Guidelines under the Convention on "iological 8iversity 6C"87 have
achieved anything to stop tourism from pervading pristine coastal areas! islands! forests and mountainous
areas.
#n the contrary! more fragile ecosystems and biodiversity are being destroyed! local communities displaced
and traditional livelihoods decimated - all for the establishment of huge e-clusive resorts! golf courses and
marinas. These massive tourism comple-es are also notorious for high per capita consumption of energy
and water. "ut however damaging and wasteful these pro*ects may be! with the right ;2 efforts! they can
still pass off as 'ecotourism' developments and even raise their profile than's to eco-accreditation schemes!
or environmental best practices awards.
&s long as no proper legally binding framewor's are in place to chec' and redress e-cessive and damaging
tourism activities! such 'green-washing' will continue and climate change culprits are li'ely to get away
scot-free.
Ecotourism promoters' intention to help minimise tourism's carbon footprint is laudable. The GEC%< #slo
=tatement! for e-ample! outlines an action plan that aims at 'encouraging adapted travel patterns 6e.g.
increase length of stay per trip7. promoting more energy-efficient! alternative or non-motorised transport
options. utilising reduced and +ero-emission operation technologies. and increasing participation in reliable
high-quality carbon offsetting schemes'.
"ut many of the new initiatives that promote '+ero-carbon' or 'carbon-neutral' tourism businesses need to be
sub*ected to critical e-amination because they may *ust be mar'eting gimmic's. 0or instance! The Guardian
61)7 announced in Eanuary that ;er &quum! the brand behind some of the world's most lu-urious resorts!
was the owner of the first '+ero-carbon' five-star beach resort! designed by architects in Aondon. The
developers of the resort! due to open in /%%F! claim the pro*ect will have no negative environmental impact
and will be totally self-sufficient! using only energy from the sun and wind and producing little waste or
carbon emissions. 'The only drawbac'! environmentally spea'ing! is its location - thousands of fuel-
gu++ling miles away Hfrom AondonI in 4ungwi! Jan+ibar!' cautioned The Guardian.
=i- =enses 2esorts and =pas! a "ang'o'-based lu-ury hotel chain with properties in Thailand! Kietnam and
the ,aldives! now specialises in 'carbon-cutting getaways' for millionaires who do not want their 'vacation
dampened by global warming guilt'. &part from introducing energy-saving innovations at the lu-urious
island resorts! all visitors are required to pay a ta- for their flight! which goes into a carbon offset fund. The
pro*ect owners say the fund will be spent on renewable energy pro*ects for villages in =ri Aan'a and ndia!
thus offsetting among the poor the carbon emissions caused by *ets transporting the rich to their holiday
destination. Get! can =i- =enses really be called an environmentally friendly company considering that it
consumes e-orbitant amounts of water to run its spa facilities! for e-ampleD
Controversial carbon offsetting and trading schemes
& growing number of airlines have included carbon offsetting into the price of tic'ets. However! there are
increasing reports about shady 'thin' green! see cash' carbon trading businesses that are trying to ta'e
advantage of well-intentioned air travellers. 5hen Aufthansa earlier this year was loo'ing for a partner to
offer a carbon offsetting scheme to customers! half of the $3 studied companies were considered unreliable.
Aast year! the activists Timothy "ya'ola and Chris Aang e-posed a 8utch company called Green=eat which
promised to invest airline passengers' carbon offset contributions in climate-friendly pro*ects in poor
countries. 0or the paltry sum of 1=L/F! one would be able to cover the costs of planting BB trees to
'compensate' for the C#/ emissions of a return flight from 0ran'furt to )ampala. "ut loo'ing closer at one
of these pro*ects! in ,ount Elgon 4ational ;ar' in 1ganda! the activists found that local people were
harassed and even driven from their land to pave the way for the tree plantations. Green=eat has since
stopped selling carbon credits from ,ount Elgon because of the problems there. Earlier this year! farmers
cut down half a million of the pro*ect's trees and planted crops and fruit trees on the land.
Carbon trading that enables companies and consumers to buy their way out of responsibility are highly
controversial. t 'dispossesses ordinary people in the =outh of their lands and futures without resulting in
appreciable progress toward alternative energy systems'! argues Aarry Aohmann of the 1)-based The
Corner House! who has co-edited the boo' Carbon Trading( & Critical Conversation on Climate Change!
;rivatisation and ;ower. 'Tradable rights to pollute are handed out to 4orthern industry! allowing them to
continue to profit from business as usual. &t the same time! 4orthern polluters are encouraged to invest in
supposedly carbon-saving pro*ects in the =outh! very few of which are actually helping to halt dependence
on fossil fuels.'
Ain'ing climate change and 'pro-poor' tourism
f the goal is to effectively decrease greenhouse gas emissions in the travel and tourism sector! there seems
to be no way around curbing the growth of the industry. t thus would ma'e sense if governments rethin'
tourism as a development solution and offer alternatives to tourism in order to at least reduce the over-
dependence on this industry in developing countries. "ut whenever such proposals come up! the tourism
world is quic' to argue that tourism is a top industry in the battle against world poverty.
The 145T# has declared that the global tourism sector offers solutions to the 'twin challenges of climate
change and poverty'! in response to 14 =ecretary-General "an )i-moon's call for action on climate change
to be ta'en in close coordination with global action on poverty alleviation and the ,illennium
8evelopment Goals. & ma*or aspect of 145T#'s submission to the 14 climate change summit in "ali in
8ecember will be to demonstrate that the agency 'is committed to ensuring that this coherence is applied to
the tourism sector generally and particularly in regard to the world's poorest countries! for whom tourism is
a driver of *obs! livelihoods! e-ports and competitiveness'.
The focus on tourism as a viable foreign e-change earner for poor countries has always been rebuffed by
critical analysts due to tourism's high lea'ages! for e-ample. "ut tourism's benefits become even more
questionable in today's carbon-constrained world! as "ec'en convincingly illustrates in her case study on
0i*ian tourism. =he concludes that the 'eco-efficiency of tourism is possibly low when the total of
greenhouse gas emissions are weighted against the economic benefits for 0i*i! especially when about B%:
of tourism foreign e-change lea' out of 0i*i'.
The argument of tourism as a poverty alleviation strategy is even more doubtful in view of the increasing
number of foreign ta'eovers of tourism businesses as a result of globalisation and liberalisation. To stay
with the case of 0i*i! investment statistics show that >9: of the $3/ tourism pro*ects put into operation
between $>FF and /%%% were foreign-owned. That means less tourism revenue tric'les down to the local
economy! but 0i*ian residents! including those who do not participate in the tourist trade at all! have to bear
the high costs of tourism's energy use! greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts.
&ccording to "ec'en! tourism within 0i*i contributes at least <.9: to national energy use and C#/
emissions! and if international air travel to and from 0i*i is included! tourism ma'es up almost 3%: of
national totals. Hence! tourism must be considered a burden to the poor! not a panaceaM
hat!s ne"t#
5e can certainly e-pect more heated debates on climate change and tourism. The /nd nternational
Conference on Climate Change and Tourism! which aimed to continue and deepen the discussions that
started in 8*erba /%%3! was held in 8avos! =wit+erland! from $-3 #ctober. Kowing to contribute to the 14
=ecretary-General's global roadmap for the climate change meeting in "ali! 145T# =ecretary-General
0rancesco 0rangialli said! 'The tourism industry is going to double between now and /%/%. 5e cannot
afford that the emissions also double in the same time.' Conference delegates agreed that the tourism sector
must decrease its greenhouse gas emissions! derived from transport and accommodation activities. adapt
tourism businesses and destinations to alter their practices. utilise technology to bolster energy efficiency.
and obtain financial resources to assist poor regions and countries.
The results of the 8avos conference were to be submitted to the Tourism ,inisterial =ummit on Climate
Change in Aondon on $3 4ovember! and to the 145T# General &ssembly in Cartagena de ndias!
Colombia on /3-/> 4ovember. &fter that! the 145T# is intent on showing its presence at the "ali climate
summit in 8ecember.
&lso worthy of mention is the ;&T& initiative to mobilise influential travel and tourism industry leaders to
sign on to a cross-sector industry response to climate change. n this conte-t! it is preparing for a ma*or
event! 'CE# Challenge /%%F( Confronting Climate Change' to be held in "ang'o' on />-3% &pril /%%F.
The ambitious goal for the 'CE# Challenge' is to create a single platform and action plan! fully engaging
tourism ministers and heads of tourist boards! CE#s of airlines and airports! CE#s of leading international
hotel groups! ma*or tour operators and other 'ey industry sta'eholders.
&lso in &pril ne-t year! the aviation industry will convene its third &viation and Environment =ummit in
Geneva.
t is urgent that civic movements concerned with climate change issues monitor and respond to these
ongoing activities because travel and tourism is one of the world's most omnipotent industries! not only due
to its si+e and growth but also as a driver of globalisation and trade liberalisation. E-isting campaign
networ's! such as Third 5orld 4etwor' and the 1) 5or'ing Group on Climate Change and 8evelopment
that includes the 4ew Economics 0oundation 6nef7! 0riends of the Earth 60oE7! Greenpeace! #-fam and
550! should pay more attention to the problems of tourism-related climate change issues in their action
plans and help lobby industry! governments! and intergovernmental agencies to ta'e more decisive steps to
curb relentless tourism e-pansion that e-acerbates the climate change crisis.
,ore cooperative efforts to combat the negative impacts of climate change should be made by the
academic community! development aid agencies and non-governmental organisations 64G#s7 that are
specifically concerned with tourism development. The ndian 4G# Equations 6Equitable Tourism #ptions7
made a good start when it released a 'Call for &ction on Climate Change! "iodiversity and Tourism' on the
occasion of nternational "iodiversity 8ay on // ,ay /%%<. &mong other things! it called on the tourism
industry to come up with an authentic response to climate change. '5e recognise that Heffective measuresI
may require a significant transformation of current forms of mass tourism and we urge a serious
engagement on this issue to reduce tourism's climate change footprint!' says the statement. 0urthermore!
Equations demands 'climate *ustice' by phasing out unsustainable growth strategies. t states! 'The
responsibility of see'ing viable and sustainable solutions to avert the climate crisis must ta'e into account
particularly the plight of the most vulnerable communities around the world.'
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8er =piegel-#nline! www.spiegel.de! /9 0ebruary /%%<.
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