Towards a green economy 1 Introduction

This chapter seeks to make the case, primarily an economic one, for investing in the greening of tourism and it provides guidance on how to mobilise such investments. The objective is to inspire policy makers to support increased investment in greening the sector. The chapter shows how green investment in tourism can contribute to economically viable and robust growth, decent work creation, poverty alleviation, improved efficiency in resource use and reduced environmental degradation.

A growing body of evidence shows that greening tourism can lead to broad economic, social and environmental benefits for host countries and their communities (Mill and Morrison 2006, Rainforest Alliance 2010, World Economic Forum 2009a, Klytchnikova and Dorosh 2009). Tourism’s potential for creating employment, supporting livelihoods and enabling sustainable development is huge, given that it is one of the main sources of foreign- exchange income—the principal source for one-third of developing countries and one-half of the world’s LDCs according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD 2010).

The chapter starts with an explanation of what is meant by greening tourism, followed by a discussion of the challenges and opportunities facing the sector. It then discusses the goals for greening the sector and the potential economic implications of green investment being made in the sector, including the results from a modelling exercise. Finally, the chapter presents the conditions that are important for enabling the greening of the sector.

1.1 Tourism in a green economy

Tourism in a green economy refers to tourism activities that can be maintained, or sustained, indefinitely in their social, economic, cultural and environmental contexts:

“sustainable tourism”. Sustainable tourism is not a special form of tourism; rather, all forms of tourism may strive to be more sustainable (UNEP and UNWTO 2005). A

clear distinction should be made between the concepts of ecotourism and sustainable tourism: “the term ecotourism itself refers to a segment within the tourism sector with focus on environmental sustainability, while the sustainability principles should apply to all types of tourism activities, operations, establishments and projects, including conventional and alternative forms”. 1

Sustainable tourism describes policies, practices and programmes that take into account not only the expectations of tourists regarding responsible natural- resource management (demand), but also the needs of communities that support or are affected by tourism projects and the environment (supply)2

. Thus, sustainable

tourism aspires to be more energy efficient and climate sound (e.g. by using renewable energy); consume less water; minimise waste; conserve biodiversity, cultural heritage and traditional values; support intercultural understanding and tolerance; generate local income and integrate local communities with a view to improving livelihoods

and reducing poverty. Making tourism

businesses more sustainable benefits local communities and raises awareness and support for the sustainable use of natural resources. In this chapter, the conceptual and operational framework for sustainability in tourism is based on the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC), an international consensus on the minimum criteria that a tourism business should follow to approach sustainability3

.

A group of key variables based on the GSTC are used for the analysis of the greening of tourism in this chapter.

The movement toward more sustainable tourism promotes significant improvements in the performance of conventional tourism, as well as growth and improvements in smaller, niche areas centred on natural, cultural and community resources. The expansion of the latter, as a proportion of the industry as a whole, may have especially positive implications for biodiversity conservation and rural poverty reduction. However, the greening of conventional and mass tourism is likely to have its largest effects on resource use and management, as well as on increased economic spillovers and the inclusion of disadvantaged populations.

1. International Year of Ecotourism 2002, available at http://www.unep.fr/scp/tourism/events/iye/pdf/iye_leaflet_text.pdf.

2. ILO (2010b) views sustainable tourism as “composed of three pillars: social justice, economic development, and environmental integrity. It is committed to the enhancement of local prosperity by maximizing the contribution of tourism to the destination‘s economic prosperity, including the amount of visitor spending that is retained locally. It should generate income and decent employment for workers without affecting the environment and culture of the tourists’ destination and ensures the viability and competitiveness of destinations and enterprises to enable them to continue to prosper and deliver benefits in the long term”.

3. The Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC) were developed as part of a broad initiative managed by The Partnership for Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC Partnership), a coalition of over 40 organisations working together to foster increased understanding of sustainable tourism practices and the adoption of universal sustainable tourism principles. The Partnership was initiated by the Rainforest Alliance, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Foundation and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). See www.gstcouncil.org/resource-center/gstc-criteria.htm.

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