Green TourismA Road Map for

Transformation

September, 2013

EXECUTIVESUMMARY

Tourism and environmental sustainability have steadilybecome intertwined. As global awareness of climate change

grows, travelers are demanding environmentally sustainable

destinations. Heeding their call, leading tour operators are

giving marketing preference to such locales. Across the

globe, tourism destinations are realizing that becoming

environmentally sustainable is key to staying competitive.

Although many destinations are

currently taking steps to become

environmentally sustainable, their

efforts often fall short; they focus

on quick hits such as carbon

offsetting, or marketing campaigns

that have little impact. Too often,

they underestimate the magnitude

of the efforts necessary, the need to

coordinate stakeholders from a wide

variety of groups, and the long-

term commitment that a true green

transformation requires.

Based on our work over two decadeswith multiple destinations, attractions and firms we have developed a

framework that other destinations

can follow in their attempt to

become environmentally sustainable.

A green transformation should

begin with a three-step process

that includes an assessment of the

destination’s environmental status, the

development of a green strategy, and

the collaborative execution of projects

related to the green strategy.

In 2010, at the second International

Conference on Climate Change and

Tourism in Davos, global policymak-

ers declared that “the tourism sector

must rapidly respond to climate

change…and progressively reduce its

greenhouse gas (GHG) contribution if

it is to grow in a sustainable manner.”

Environmentally savvy tourists—

especially those in key source markets

such as western Europe—increasingly

desire green destinations. A 2009

survey by Tourism Australia found that

54 percent of respondents consider

Environmental issues when booking a trip,

82 percent are willing to pay more for

Green services and products, and 72 percent

think a green business is more likely

to be quality conscious.1

In response, in an effort to remain

both environmentally sustainable and

competitive, leading tour operators

like Thomas Cook have been demanding

higher standards

from hotels and giving marketing

and booking preference to environ-

mentally sustainable destinations.

Thomas Cook recently partnered with

the U.K.-based Federation of Tour

Operators (FTO) in order to launch

the Travelife awards, which recognise

hotels and other business partners that

attain high standards of environmen-

THE EMERGENCEAND GROWTH OFGREEN TOURISM

In today’s interconnected world, pass-

ports are stamped with ever-increasing

frequency. By 2020, an estimated 1.6

billion tourists will travel the globe

annually—twice as many as in 2009.

Whether trekking through rainforests,

wandering around ancient ruins, or

scuba diving near coral reefs, travelers

gain matchless experiences and help

boost local economies. However, tour-ism comes at a price: its impact on the

earth. Too much traffic can trample

a pristine environment, pollute the

air, deplete precious resources, and

emit gases that contribute to global

warming. As awareness about the

threat of climate change grows, there

is an increasing demand for “green”

destinations—those that make an

active effort to improve their environ-

mental sustainability by addressing

such issues as carbon emissions, bio-

diversity conservation, waste manage-

ment, and water supply. Tourism and

environmental sustainability are fast

becoming natural partners.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

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•

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As demand for green tourismincreases, tourist destinationsthat seek to remain competitivemust adopt environmentallysustainable policies.

Destinations should adopta holistic approach toenvironmental sustainability,undertaking meaningful changeinstead of marketing gimmicks.

Becoming green need notbe a painful or expensiveprocess. Many initiatives arefinancially viable and may bolster the “double bottom line” ofenvironmental sustainability andprofitability.

A successful green strategybalances the unique needs andpriorities of all stakeholders,including government, thetourism industry, the localcommunity, and tourists.

A green transformation shouldbegin with a three-step processthat includes an assessment ofthe destination’s environmentalhealth, the creation of a greenstrategy, and the collaborativeexecution of projects related tothe green strategy.

tal management. In addition, major

global travel societies like National

Geographic are more often using envi-

ronmental sustainability as a key mea-

sure in their rankings of international

travel destinations (see Figure 1).

Tourism destinations are realising

that in order to stay competitive,

becoming green must be a principal

element of their branding and market-

ing policies. Failing to adopt such an

approach may mean losing a loyal

customer base.

In addition, as stringent carbon regu-

lations are being implemented across

the globe, and investment in green

tourism begins to present economic

benefits for hosting countries, destina-

tions have another goal to keep in

mind: the financial rewards of adopt-

ing sustainable policies.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, an invest-

ment scheme known as the clean

development mechanism (CDM)

allows industrialised countries to

invest in emissions-reducing projects

in developing countries as an alterna-

tive to more expensive ones at homes.

Financing schemes like the CDM

may become tipping points, motivat-

ing destinations to rethink business

as usual in favor of sustainable

strategies.

Figure 1National Geographic Society’s Best and Worst Destinations for Authenticity and Stewardship

Note: A total of 133 destinations were surveyed by a panel of 437 well-traveled experts in a variety of fields related to sustainable tourism. The ratings were based on six criteria: environmental and ecological quality; social and cultural integrity; condition of historic buildings and archaeological sites; aesthetic appeal; quality of tourism management; and

outlook for the future.

Source: National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations

Worst destinations

Best destinations

Kakadu National Park, Australia

South Island, New Zealand

Ancient Kyoto, Japan

Kootenay/Yoho NationalParks, British Columbia Gaspé Peninsula,

Quebec

Vermont, U.S.

Grand Bahama Island,Bahamas

North Coast,Dominican Republic

Cabo SanLucas Region, St. Maarten/

Mexico St. Martin

Medieval Granadaand the Alhambra,

Spain

Costa del Sol,

Spain

Fjords Region, Norway

Bavarian Alps, GermanySlovenia

West Bank, Bethlehem,Israel/Palestine

Northern Red Sea Coast,Egypt

Although some tourist destinations

have embarked on serious sustain-

ability efforts, too many others are

lagging behind. These destinations

underinvest in the preservation of

their natural assets and trade their

long-term health in areas like biodi-

versity conservation and waste man-

agement for short-term gain. Others

use environmental initiatives simply

as a public relations and marketing

tool, ignoring the fact that tourists

are sophisticated enough to know a

green façade when they see it.

Yet there is currently both urgent

need and tremendous incentive to

focus on environmental sustainability

and pursue a meaningful, substantive

green strategy—and tourist destina-

tions are increasingly interested in

doing so.

Our experience with green tourism

initiatives including eco resort

Developments in Queensland has led

us to believe that the path to success

as a green tourist destination lies in

a holistic approach to an environ-

mental strategy. We’ve identified the

components required for any destina-

tion to call itself green, as well as the

“enabling” structures that will ensure

the success of green policy. Taken

together, they allow a destination to

create comprehensive transformation

and long-term success.

Destinations that aspire to be sustain-

able should consider the following

four components:

1. Carbon Emissions: The tourism

industry is currently responsible for

around 5 percent of global carbon

emissions, largely a result of air travel

and accommodations. A recent global

study from the World Economic

Forum estimates that these emissions will

double by 2035 if left unchecked.

THE POWER OF AHOLISTIC GREENAPPROACH

The objective of sustainable tourism

is to retain the economic and social

advantages of tourism development

while reducing or mitigating

any undesirable impacts on the

natural, historic, cultural, or social

environment. This is achieved by

balancing the needs of tourists with

those of the destination.

— World Trade Organization

Carbon mitigation efforts, therefore,

are key to green policy. These efforts

should include eliminating and

reducing emissions, substituting

environmentally harmful practices with

more sustainable ones, and offsetting

remaining emissions. Destinations can

also reduce their carbon footprints by

choosing sustainably sourced goods

and materials.

By implementing green technologies

and policies such as solar panels,

compact fluorescent lighting,

energy-efficient appliances, building

insulation, renewable fuels, and carbon

sequestration from trees, destinations

can dramatically reduce their carbon

emissions. Slovakia’s popular AquaCity

resort, which was recently named

“World’s Leading Green Resort”

by World Travel Awards, prevents

an estimated 27 tons of CO2 fromentering the atmosphere every day

by using geothermal water and solar

energy—policies that have saved the

resort millions of euros each year.

Mitigation options like these increase

the “double bottom line” by providing

both economic and environmental

benefits, and they have a relatively

short investment payoff period.

Destinations should also invest in

and encourage guests to choose

energy-efficient transport and

activities. Depending on the

location, visitors can be steeredtoward smart mass transit options

such as electrical trains and hybrid

buses or individual options like

hybrid cars, bicycles, and sailboats

instead of SUVs and motorboats.

In addition, destinations can

incentivize tourists to offset their

remaining emissions through local

programs that invest in renewable

technologies such as wind power.

2. Biodiversity Conservation:

A location’s unique natural

assets—its beaches, rivers, forests,

mountains, coral reefs, deserts, and

wildlife—are key to its value as a

tourist destination. Preservation of

these assets is therefore a critical

component of sustainable tourism.

Over the past two decades, tourism in

biodiversity hot spots has increased

more than 100 percent, making

conservation all the more urgent.

Without proper conservation efforts,

tourism can contribute to the

damage and destruction of flora and

fauna. Unregulated wildlife viewing

has scared away animals and

disrupted their feeding and nesting

sites. Coral reefs across the globe

have been damaged by cruise ships,

divers, and other human activity.

Highly trafficked trekking sites, such

as the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal,

experience serious soil erosion and

plant damage. Without biodiversity

conservation, destinations leave their

most precious assets unprotected.

Shielding these assets is a high-

yielding investment in the future.

Policymakers should develop

national parks and wildlife corridors,

regulate access to potentially fragile

areas, protect indigenous species,

and control pests. Biodiversity

conservation efforts should be

tailored to specific regional and local

needs. After all, a policy that worksin the rainforest may not work in the

desert, and vice versa.

3. Waste Management: Effective

liquid and solid waste management

is key to the “clean perception” of

a destination. As a major pollutant,

waste affects the entire ecosystem,

including land degradation, water

quality, and health and hygiene.

Reducing potential waste streams,

minimizing the amount of solid

waste that ends up in landfills and

incinerators, and recycling whenever

possible are all critical components

of an environmentally sustainable

tourism policy.

Global best practices for solid

waste management dictate that

waste should be collected in closed

bags or bins, transported in closed

trucks, sorted and recycled as much

as possible, and then disposed of in

sanitary landfills as a last resort. In

addition, waste ideally should be

used to generate energy.

Best practices for liquid waste begin

with reducing the amount created

and then better managing it with

aerobic treatment and filtration,followed by disinfection to destroybacteria and viruses. The waste is

then treated to remove metals and

small biodegradable pollutants.

Cutting-edge waste management

methods such as waste-to-

energy conversion can enhance a

destination’s reputation in the green

playing field.

4. Water Supply: Water is an

increasingly scarce resource, with

many countries facing severe

shortages. An adequate and

healthy water supply is crucial

to a destination’s long-term

environmental sustainability. Because

water provision and desalination

are typically significant sources

of energy usage and emissions,

conservative water policy is doubly

important. Water consumption

should be measured and reduced

to the minimum level necessary for

adequate operation.

Reusing wastewater increases the

availability of potable water and

reduces a destination’s sewage and

clean-up fees. In addition, proper

wastewater management reduces

aquatic pollution and minimizes the

risk of disease.

Enabling Support Structures

Clearly, none of these elements

exists in a vacuum. On the contrary,

they are all interconnected and

interdependent. Poor waste

management can cause harmfulgases to be emitted and the water

supply to be contaminated, which

in turn may harm biodiversity. A

sustainable water supply and waste

management program may require

additional energy, thereby increasing

a destination’s carbon footprint. For

this reason, a holistic approach to

sustainability is essential.

None of these components can be

properly addressed and managed

without key support structures

in place that enable and facilitate

greening efforts. Each enabler should

be applied to each of the components

we’ve described. And just like the

green components themselves, these

enablers must be viewed through a

holistic lens.

1. Regulations and Governance:

A destination cannot successfully

embark on a green strategy without

the right laws and regulations

in place, or the right governance

structure to oversee them. Legislation

should protect the environment, limit

potentially harmful development,

control detrimental practices, and

encourage healthy behavior.

The Maldives, which has an

economy that depends heavily on

tourism, has begun implementing

strict environmental regulations.

Tourism is contained to selectedzones and uninhabited islands out offear of spoiling the nation’s fragile

ecosystem. Australia’s Kakadu NationalPark, Norway’s Fjords region,

British Columbia’s Kootenay and

Yoho national parks, and Quebec’s

Gaspé Peninsula received the highest

ratings in the National Geographic

Center for Sustainable Destinations’

“Places Rated” Destination

Stewardship 2011 survey for their

environmental stewardship.

A successful sustainability program

should be sponsored by the

highest levels of government, with

appropriate governing bodies at the

national, regional, or local level that

are responsible for spearheading

the program and facilitating its

implementation. These entities,which should be adequately staffed,

should include representatives from

all involved ministries, including

tourism, transport, the environment,

and aviation as well as the local

government and representatives from

the private sector.

2. Stakeholder Participation: A

truly holistic green transformation

program requires the participation

of many different players. It is

absolutely vital that government,

the private sector, and civil society

collaborate to create and implement

sustainable policy.

At the government level, the ministry

of tourism should collaborate withministries responsible for the environ-

ment, energy, agriculture, transport,

health, finance, security, and other

relevant areas, as well as with local

municipalities. By steering the direc-

tion of policy and spearheading

environmental sustainability efforts,

the ministry can motivate and influ-

ence other stakeholders—both public

and private—to engage in behavior

that bolsters a destination’s environ-

mental sustainability. For example,

policymakers can provide incentives,

such as tax rebates and preferential

marketing agreements, to green busi-

nesses operating in the tourism sector.

The ministry of tourism can also

establish an accreditation service that

recognizes sustainable accommoda-

tions and services.

At the private-sector level, hotel

owners, tour operators, and transport

services can play a key role in protect-

ing the environment and influencing

tourists to make sustainable choices.

Hotel owners can offer accommoda-

tions with a smaller carbon footprint

and sustainable waste, energy, and

water policies. Tour guides, who

know the destination intimately, are

perfect ambassadors for environmen-

tal awareness. They can also influence

tourists to choose transport options

and activities with lower carbon

footprints, rotate clients to different

ecological sites in an effort to limit

human impact on biodiversity, and

teach tourists to treat environmental

assets with care while they are visiting.

At the civil society level, NGOs

and universities can provide critical

research and advocacy, educating

locals and visitors alike. Destinations

embarking on a green transformation

must actively engage stakeholders

across all sectors.

3. Funding and Financing: Destina-

tions contemplating a green initiative

may be concerned about the prospect

of financing it. However, destinations

should consider not only the costs

associated with undertaking a green

transformation, but the socioeco-

nomic effects of lost tourism revenue;

if destinations do not protect assets

such as marine life, rainforests, and

desert landscapes, they may irrevoca-

bly degrade these tourist attractions.

Additionally, destinations can often

generate revenue by leveraging their

own resources, such as charging tour-

ists a fee to visit protected sites. Many

green programs, such as the imple-

mentation of energy-efficient technol-

ogy, have strong financial returns

and can be easily and successfully

effected as private for-profit invest-

ments. Many initiatives that require

private funds pay off quickly through

savings in operating costs. These sav-

ings can then be recycled into other

green investment projects. Figure 2shows how one destination was able

to recover its investments.

However, not all green initiatives are

financially profitable for the parties

undertaking them, and destinations

are not always able to generate

revenue through their own resources.

When these resources are insufficient,

securing sources of external funding

Figure 2Green Programs Can Realize Savings by Reducing Operating Costs

Note: Financial cost recovery is calculated by dividing present value (savings) by present value (capex).Source: World Economic Forum

A(

707%

315%

205%

348%

174%

200%

Biodiversity

ResilientWater Supply

Green Water Transport

Green BuildingDesign

BuildingsOperationsEfficiency(Hotels)

BuildingsOperationsEfficiency(Other)

PositiveFinancial Returns

Public Funding

100%

Private Sector with Incentives

A destination seeking private-

sector investment should ensure

that critical information about the

benefits and opportunities of green

initiatives is widely available.

can ensure the long-term sustainabil-

ity of these efforts.

Global financing schemes like CDM

are one option. For instance, Costa

Rica sold 200,000 tons of carbon at

US$10 per ton to Norway in 2007—

a transaction that formed the basis of

CDM projects in the Kyoto Protocol.

The $2 million Costa Rica received

financed reforestation programs. In

addition to CDM, there are public–

private partnership financing models,

biodiversity conservation funds (such

as the World Wildlife Fund), and

of course the Clean Energy Fund in

Australia.

4. Capacity-building and Education:

A destination seeking private-

sector investment should ensure

that critical information about the

benefits and opportunities of green

initiatives is widely available. In

addition to targeting investors,

educational and capacity-building

campaigns can be used to train the

local tourism community about

best practices and encourage them

to implement and promote green

policy. For example, these programs

can train local tour operators to

choose environmentally friendly

modes of transportation, limit

tourists’ contact with protected

areas, and discourage littering.

5. Marketing and Public Relations:

When embarking on a green

initiative, a strong marketing and

public relations campaign is essential.

By raising awareness about upcoming

changes, a campaign can attract

ecologically oriented tourists. In

addition, it encourages stakeholders

to participate in the program and

addresses potential investors.

However, destinations should be

careful not to start a vigorous

green campaign until they have

made concrete progress and can

demonstrate results. Otherwise, they

risk losing credibility with tourists

who are savvy enough to identify

empty PR when they see it.

Each one of these components and

enablers requires prioritization and

commitment. What’s more, they are

all intertwined, making the creation

of an environmentally sustainable

tourism strategy a potentially

daunting endeavour. How, then,

should a destination begin to go

about crafting such a strategy?

THREE STEPS

TO CREATING

A GREENSTRATEGY

Any destination’s strategy for

environmental sustainability must be

sensitive to the destination’s unique

assets and challenges, allowing it to

protect its bottom line while laying

the foundation for a sustainable

future. Every destination will have its

own considerations: Destinations in

the developing world, for example,

may be motivated primarily by

financial concerns, whereas more

developed nations may be responding

to a government-imposed mandate.

No matter what the destination’s

circumstances, there are three

critical steps to follow in developing

an environmentally sustainable

destination.

Step One: Assess Environmental

Health

Policymakers must first conduct a

professional and credible baseline

analysis, assessing a destination’s

environmental health. This step

probes the destination’s strengths

and weaknesses, investigating where

it is doing well and where its greatest

challenges lie. By prioritizing needs

in order of importance, policymakers

can set targets with regard to short-,

medium-, and long-term results. The

baseline analysis helps a destination

understand the real issues that need

to be addressed immediately, as well

as those that may become obstacles

on the road to green transformation.

In doing so, it lays the foundation

for sustainability. After all, without

a thorough understanding of its

current environmental status, how

can a destination create coherent,

realistic policy?

The green transformation strategy

undertaken by one of the world’s

leading sun and beach tourist

destinations, the Maldives

illustrates the effectiveness of this

approach. The Maldives conducted

a thorough baseline analysis

that showed, like most tourist

destinations, its largest source of

Beach

Best

Practices

Destinations

Averageby

Continent

emissions other than guests’ air travel

was its accommodations. Energy

consumption per guest night

was a major contributor to the

destination’s carbon footprint, as

were power and heat generation

(see Figure 3). Therefore, energy

efficiency improvement and renewable

electricity sourcing will prove to be

critical if the Maldives is to lower

its emission levels. The analysis

showed that realistically, it will be

difficult—if not impossible—for

the Maldives to achieve carbon

neutrality in the short or medium

term. However, this may be an

achievable long-term goal.

The analysis also indicated that ocean

resources like coral reefs and marine

animals are a key attraction for

this destination’s tourists. However,

overuse was seriously threatening

their sustainability, with a risk of

total depletion in the medium term.

In fact, the destination was at risk of

losing up to one-third of its tourist

revenues. It was clear that stringent

conservation efforts were needed.

The Maldive’s waste management

practices were also problematic—at

well below global or regional best

practices, they required immediate

attention. Instead of dumping waste

in sanitary landfills, hotels were

Figure 3Energy Consumption in Maldives Was Significantly Higher Than That in Other Beach Destinations

AVERAGE HOTEL ENERGY CONSUMPTION, 2007

(IN MEGAJOULES PER GUEST NIGHT)

225

226

237

240

244

164

190

72

51

140

37

Maldives

Seychelles Islands

Majorca

Individual Hotel Benchmark 2

Individual Hotel Benchmark 1

Middle East

Europe

Asia and the Pacific

Caribbean

North America

Source: Sustainable Tourism Project Report; UN World Tourism Organization; Green Globe International

Africa

unloading their waste in landfills that

did not comply with sustainability

targets.

Water sustainability was another

critical issue at the Maldives. Water

consumption was not on par with

global best practices, due in large part

to run-down, leaky infrastructure and

behavior in hotels (see Figure 4). In

addition, water production technology

was not sufficiently energy efficient.

Step Two: Mapping Out the GreenJourney

The second step in creating a

sustainable strategy is to create

a vision that encompasses the

destination’s goals for environmental

sustainability. This vision is a point

along a spectrum of possibilities: At

one end, it can reflect the desire to

“do no harm”—to prevent or avoid

the destruction of natural assets and

the environment while focusing on

proven yet affordable technologies

instead of cutting-edge developments.

For countries with limited financial

resources or political challenges,

this point on the spectrum may be

most appropriate. Countries with

more economic or political capital,

however, may decide to aim for the

other end of the spectrum: radical,

innovative, pioneering options that

stake a powerful claim to leadership

Source: Sustainable Tourism Project Report; UNWTO; Green Globe;

Figure 4The Maldives Had Significant Opportunity to Reduce Water Consumption

AVERAGE WATER CONSUMPTION, 2011

(IN LITERS PER GUEST NIGHT)

Greece

(AegeanIslands)

450

Caribbean

416

Maldives

350

Spain

(BalearicIslands)

279

Malta

149

in environmental sustainability

and reflect an aggressive, visionary

desire to compete in an arena whose

parameters are still being developed.

As with any spectrum, there are

multiple options in between these

two extremes.

A destination can create its vision by

developing a set of strategic green

policy scenarios. These scenarios

should reflect the trade-offs between

environmental benefits, the speed at

which results can be obtained, and

associated costs. The final decision

of which green vision to embrace

should draw upon the destination’s

unique strengths and resources, and

be tailored to its specific needs and

challenges as identified in Step One.

The Maldives chose to focus

on the premium, luxury market,

creating scenarios that were cutting-edge

in some cases and more conservative

in others, in line with its specific needs,

priorities, and resources. This realistic

approach is projected to return more

green results per dollar of investment

than a more radical approach

Based on the findings from its baseline

analysis, the Maldives

developed a set of interlinked and

comprehensive programs to mitigate

its key issues and challenges and bring

the destination closer to joining the

ranks of global pioneers in sustainable

Tourism

The destination will create a carbon

mitigation plan that offers hotels

incentives to adopt energy-efficient

technology and behaviors, and

introduces legislation to drive the

construction of new, green-designed

hotels and buildings. The destination

will also introduce a plan for an

energy-efficient and well-connected

public transport system to cut down on

the prevalent use of individual taxis.

Proposed environmentally friendly

waste management practices

include the construction of a

sanitary landfill, a recycling plant,

and organic composting facilities.

Plans for biodiversity conservation

include reconfiguring access to the

destination’s rich natural resources,

in order to manage demand and

limit abuse.

After developing a green vision,

destinations must determine

the impact of that vision. When

evaluating the commercial, ecological,

and financial implications of the

various green scenarios, a destination

must ensure that such an assessment

is comprehensive enough to reflect

the full impact of the strategy, and

diversified enough to address all

relevant stakeholders. We recommend

asking a set of questions that should,

at a minimum, cover the following

dimensions:

Environmental impact: Howwill the new programs affect key

environmental dimensions? How

will the post-implementation

results position the destination

in the global arena from an

environmental sustainability

perspective? Will government and

the private sector meet applicable

regional or international

mandates, or be eligible for

existing or proposed incentives?

Demand/customer impact: How

will reaching the target state

affect current and future tourism

demand for the destination?

Will hotel operators and tour

operators see an increase in

demand? How are associated

revenues expected to increase?

Financial impact: How much

capital is required to implement

the locale’s proposed programs?

Who should make the initial

capital investments (the

government, the private sector)?

Equally important, how much savings

or financial gain is expected to

result from implementation?

Are the stakeholders making

the initial investment the same

ones that will benefit from the

returns? If not, how can this gap

be bridged?

Socioeconomic impact: How

will the process of becoming

a green destination affect the

livelihood of those in the local

community, such as tourism

operators? Do they have the

skills necessary to cope with

change? How can the benefits

from the program be effectively

distributed? How can local

businesses receive incentives

to invest in becoming green? If

public policy creates short-term

disadvantages for local tourism

businesses, how can these

disadvantages be rectified to

ensure that strong commercial

players are not leaving the

destination?

The answers to these questions are

critical to prioritizing programs and

setting realistic expectations abouttargets.

For the Maldives, conducting

this assessment shed light on some

critical facts: By continuing with

a “business as usual” approach,

the destination could lose up to 30

percent of its revenue in the next

decade. Implementing the proposed

green programs, on the other

hand, will reduce the destination’s

emissions by 36 percent annually and

its hotel energy consumption by 13

percent per guest night. In addition,

water wastage will be reduced by 75

percent and biodiveristy degradation

reduced from its current level of over

20 percent to 5 percent per year.

This information has been a key

catalyst for change. In addition, it

has armed policymakers with the

information necessary to engage a

broad range of stakeholders.

Step Three: Realizing the GreenVision

At the end of the day, scenarios cannot

create sustainable change unless they

are implemented. Until then, they are

mere words on paper. So how can a

destination make the leap from the

hypothetical to the actual? How can it

ensure that its carefully crafted vision

is implemented as planned—especially

in light of practical restrictions such as

limited resources, financial restraints,

and current business priorities?

First and foremost, implementing

a holistic green transformation

strategy requires a holistic approach.

It is crucial for destinations to get

community buy-in, with energetic

involvement of the government,

private sector, and civil society.

By setting up a dedicated

governing body that oversees the

implementation of its identified

environmental sustainability

projects, a destination can smooth

and expedite the implementation

process. The governing body

can also be crucial in gathering

critical and concrete buy-in from

relevant stakeholders and leading

public relations, marketing, and

educational campaigns.

A collaborative approach with a

designated management team allows

a destination to take real action

that is thoughtful, comprehensive,

informed, and targeted—from its

press releases to its greenest resort.

After evaluating the implications of

its scenarios and refining its green

vision, the Maldives turned

towards implementation. It has

begun to create a dedicated center

for green tourism that will oversee

the challenging transformation

journey and will include active

participation from both public- and

private-sector stakeholders.

The Maldives is currently

developing a detailed funding plan,

based on cost sharing between the

public and private sectors, with

almost 50 percent of the program’s

overall costs to be provided by

private-sector investors, with the

appropriate government facilitation.

A large-scale educational plan will

then integrate all stakeholders into

the program, including the local

community. In addition, a powerful

marketing and public relations

campaign is in the process of being

developed to create a new brand for

the destination.

These actions will enable the desti-

nation to bridge the gaps between

its current status and international

benchmarks of sustainability, and—

in some cases—to go even further.

As fears of climate change’s

effects continue to mount, and the

international community steps up

efforts to combat them, the tourism

industry is realizing that becoming

environmentally sustainable is key to

staying competitive, and good for the

double bottom line.

Yet implementation of a strategic green

transformation is by no means an easy

task, and cannot be accomplished

overnight. Decision makers—namely,

the national or regional tourism body

leading the greening effort—should

keep the following principles in mind

when launching and implementing a

green destination strategy:

First, destinations should analyse

their current environmental

performance across key green

dimensions, as compared to global

best practices. Tourism governance

bodies should take the initiative to

launch pilot projects and investigate

issues that need urgent attention, in

order to avoid a drop in tourism.

Taking proactive measures is key.

Second, destinations should not

approach green initiatives as a

marketing campaign but rather

as a serious effort to become

an environmentally sustainable

destination. Quality sells, and in a

world of virtual travel communities,

customers learn fast. When a tourism

destination does decide to become a

green destination, it should ensure

that its road map is holistic and

designed for the long term rather

than an ad hoc execution of random

quick fixes.

Third, destinations seeking to become

green must make sure they engage

all relevant stakeholders. Tourism

ministries should reach out within

and across sectors to transform

their destination. Compliance with

international guidelines and rules

is critical to capturing funding and

support.

By following these principles, as

well as the strategies discussed

above, destinations can ensure that

their green strategies are indeed

sustainable. Going green allows

destinations to tap into a well of

potential that will nourish today’s

needs while protecting and enhancing

those of tomorrow.

A CALL FORTRANSFORMA-TION

Green Tourism: A Roadmap for Transformation was written by John Gregg, Principal of Navigate ConsultingPlease contact John on (+61) 0402 493 278 or at johng@navigateconsulting.com.au for additional information.