TPC 315-

Sustainable Tourism
 Module 5
o Issues and Trends in Sustainable Tourism
 Trends in Sustainable Tourism

Tourism is always evolving and for all operators in the sector it is essential to
know the new trends so as to anticipate the wishes of future customers and align
their offer accordingly.
 Trends in Sustainable Tourism

1. Sustainability as a lifestyle
2. More and more guests in electric cars
3. Slow tourism and Cycling tourism
4. Experiences, experiences, experiences!
5. Digital Detox and immersion in nature
 1. Sustainability as a lifestyle

Sustainability is no longer a trend, but a lifestyle embraced by more and

more people. Every day the consequences of man's actions on the environment is
evident and increasing awareness that the only possibility to save the planet is to
change, even in our way of experiencing tourism.

In 2030, tourists around the world will in fact be 1.8 billion every year and
global emissions related to the sector are set to increase. According to a study by
the University of Sydney, they will grow by 4% every year. This is also why
more and more people want to travel green: if in 2016 62% of travelers wanted
to stay in an eco-sustainable hotel, now it is 73% who want to do so.
 2. More and more guests in electric cars

In Norway 50% of cars are already electric and worldwide sales of electric
vehicles continue to increase exponentially. As a result, travelers traveling with
electric vehicles are also growing. And they are going to choose their destination
also considering the presence of charging stations. It is a challenge and an
opportunity for both localities and accommodation facilities.

By choosing to offer a recharging service for electric vehicles in your hotel,

you can help to combat climate change, attract new customer’s thanks also to EVs
maps, reach a target of aware travelers who are usually willing to spend more than
the average tourists, take advantage of financing, increase the competitiveness of
your accommodation and position yourself as an innovative company.
 3. Slow tourism and Cycling tourism

The watchword of the new tourism trends is: slow down. More and more
travelers want to travel with slower means of transportation to reduce their
environmental impact and to enjoy every moment of the trip. According to our
recent survey, bikes that are available free for guests in the hotel they are more
popular than the wellness center. Electric bikes have contributed to the success of
cycling in recent years, making longer and more challenging trails accessible to all.
In the coming years, tourists will prefer the accommodations that offer a reinforced
breakfast, both sweet and savory, the possibility of recharging the batteries of the e-
bikes, a small workshop for the repair and washing of bicycles and hosts available
to advise and indicate itineraries in the surroundings.
 4. Experiences, experiences, experiences!

Travelers are no longer looking for tourist products, but authentic experiences
that are hard to find elsewhere. Experiential tourism continues to assert itself and is
destined to become an important trend in sustainable tourism. When we travel we
want to be the protagonists of every moment. We want to learn something new, to
know the locals and their traditions.

Tourists try to live unforgettable activities that involve all the senses. This
also explains the success that the Alberghi Diffusi are having. It's a type of
hospitality that revives the abandoned villages in Italy.
 5. Digital Detox and immersion in nature

We constantly use social media, the internet and never forget our phone at
home. And now more and more people feel the need to detox from the web, at least
on vacation. Digital Detox holiday is an ever growing tourism trend. Tourists want
to experience some off-grid days, connected only with nature, trying experiences
such as "Forest Bathing". There are indeed many studies that show that a few hours
of immersion in the green are enough to recover your psycho physical well-being.
TOURISM AND CLIMATE CHANGE
 According to UNWTO the tourism is highly vulnerable to
climate change and at the same time contributes to the emission of
greenhouse gases (GHG), one of the causes of global warming.
Accelerating climate action in tourism is therefore of utmost
importance for the resilience of the sector. Climate action is
understood as the efforts to measure and reduce GHG emissions
and strengthen adaptive capacity to climate induced impacts.
The tourism and travel sector is developing a higher dependency on
high energy transport and activities and more luxurious
accommodations, thus further decreasing eco-efficiency

 Air transport causes an increasing share of all tourism & travel

related global warming, a share that is currently already over 60
per cent
 Most tourism trips are relatively eco-efficient as 80 per cent of the
trips (by rail, coach and car) cause just about 20 per cent of the
GHG emissions
 Individuals travelers are faced with more choices for increasing
their personal contribution to global warming per travel day than
options to reduce this personal contribution
 Technology for reducing GHG emissions and increasing energy
efficiency offers the best opportunities for tourist accommodation
and rail transport. For road transport fuel efficiency and
alternative fuels remain the best solution, apart from a modal shift
to rail

 Further prospects for increasing fuel efficiency of air transport are

relatively low because the technology of jet aircraft is already
more or less mature. Alternative fuels will not be introduced on a
large scale within the next three to five decades, unless strong
government incentives are given.
 Other Impacts of Climate Change
• Direct Climate-Arise as a result of warming, cooling, or extreme
weather events are referred to as direct change impacts. Lack of snow for
mountain resorts, melting glaciers in mountainous regions, and flooding,
landslides, and wildfires that could impact tourism areas are just a few
examples.
• Indirect environmental change Impacts are the by-products of climate
change. Global temperature changes may create water shortages, a loss of
biodiversity, impacts to landscape aesthetics, and damage to infrastructure
through extreme weather events.
Major climate change impacts and implications for tourism destinations
Impacts Implication for Tourism
Altered seasonality, heat stress for tourist, cooling costs, changes in plant-
Warmer Temperatures wildlife-insect population and distribution, infectious disease ranges (e.g.,
mountain pine beetle infestation in BC)

Decreasing snow cover and shrinking Lack of snow in winter destinations, increased snow-making costs, shorter
glaciers winter sports seasons aesthetics of landscape reduced (e.g., early closure of
Lower mainland mountain resorts due to lack of snow in 2014)

Increasing frequency and intensity of Risk for tourism facilities, increased costs/loss of insurability, business
extreme storms interruption costs (e.g., super storm Hurricane Sandy its destruction of parts
of Coney Island)

Reduced precipitation and increased Water shortages, competition over water between tourism and other sectors,
evaporation in some regions competition for water between visitors and residents, desertification, increased
wildfires threatening infrastructure and affecting demand (e.g., drought in
California)

Increased frequency of heavy Flooding damage to historic architecture and cultural assets, damage to
precipitation in some regions tourism infrastructures, altered seasonality (e.g., flooding in Souris, Manitoba,
causing washout of swinging bridge attraction)
 Impacts Implication for Tourism
Coastal erosion, loss of beach area, higher costs to protect
Sea level rise and maintain waterfronts (e.g., threat to PEI’s historic West
Point Lighthouse; now close to falling cliff due to erosion)

Increased coral bleaching and marine resource and aesthetics

degradation in dive and snorkel destinations, increased
Sea surface temperatures rise invasive species in waterways (e.g., threat from yellow
perch driving out salmon in BC rivers and lakes)

Loss of natural attractions and species from destinations, and

marine higher risk of diseases in tropical-subtropical
Changes in terrestrial and marine biodiversity countries (e.g.,biodiversity heavy rainfall leading to an
increase in dengue fever and malaria)

Loss of natural attractions; increase of flooding risk; damage

More frequent and larger fires to tourism infrastructure (e.g., destruction of Kettle Valley
Railway bridges used by cyclists in 2003 BC forest fire)

Soil changes (e.g., moisture levels, erosion, and Loss of archaeological assets and other natural resources,
acidity) levels, with impacts on destination attractions
Technology and Sustainable Tourism
 The change of information and communication technology influenced the
tourism industry dramatically and therefore, boosted innovative ideas for the
development of the sector in unprecedented ways. Not only various applications
were founded but also the growth of widespread usage of the Internet and Social
Media channels is continuing.
 "Sustainable Technology" or "Cleantech" describes technologies that
enable more valuable use of natural resources and greatly reduced ecological impact
among other technological benefits. Although there is currently no standardized
comprehensive definition for Sustainable Technology (such as the SIC code), there
are three important characteristics that define a Sustainable Technology:
 Technology has already emerged as a key driver of change in
the tourism industry (Neuhofer et al., 2014). In their state-of-the-art
review of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and
the future of tourism management, Hughes and Moscardo (2019)
observe that:

 Tourism scholars have traditionally focused on the implications of

ICTs for supply rather than tourists
 ICTs will change the way we manage tourist experiences,
including how tourists connect with other people immediately in
time and space
 Technology is stimulating a move away from intermediaries in
directly connecting tourists with destinations
 Tourists are tapping into specialized tourism providers for
tailor-made and co-created experiences.

 New opportunities are emerging for ICT infrastructure and IT

literacy to facilitate new opportunities for tourists at the
destination

 Greater concern over war, conflict and security threats among

the Gen Y and Z cohort in developed economies is forcing
tourism providers to develop new approaches to serving the
needs of these cohorts