Global Sustainable Destinations Summit: Majorca hosted the U Continued from page 48 Asta suggested the inability to


interchange tickets alone “is likely to cost travellers millions of dollars” a year. It urged members to submit details of the price disparities between NDC and non-NDC channels. American Airlines, US partner


of British Airways, responded by saying: “We’re disappointed by Asta’s ongoing campaign to misrepresent American’s commitment to delivering a modern retailing experience. NDC is not unproven technology. “We are the only carrier that


has connected our NDC content to all three GDSs. While some travel agencies have not yet connected, we’ve not withheld any information that would prevent comparison shopping. All of our fares remain viewable over both NDC and traditional travel agency channels.” However, the carrier made


clear in a letter to industry partners that “travel retailers will need an NDC connection to book and ticket [American’s] best-available third-party channel content”. It conceded “there may be


some growing pains through the transition” but claimed: “The small number of servicing functionalities that won’t be available either don’t affect a significant number of transactions or will become available shortly.” NDC technology aims to


enable personalised retailing of flights via third-party distributors. The UK Institute of Travel


Management (ITM) noted NDC’s introduction is “causing a major issue” and called for “transparency around airlines’ motivation”. Chief executive Scott Davies said members had warned of “a deluge of complaints from travellers about fares being visible but not bookable”.


Tourism heads highlight black hole of knowledge


Tourism destinations need to move beyond the “traditional metrics” of visitor numbers, bed nights and spending and measure the impact of policies. That is according to Sergio


Guerreiro, Turismo de Portugal senior director for knowledge management and innovation. He told the Global Sustainable Destinations Summit in Majorca: “Destination management organisations are in trouble.” He said: “We’re touching on


issues beyond our knowledge. We need to collaborate. We need to learn, study, monitor and act to implement change. But there is a big ‘but’.” Guerreiro suggested destinations


don’t move beyond “our traditional metrics”, saying: “How are ecosystems evolving in terms of tourism policy? We are measuring the CO2 emissions of major companies and our main source markets, measuring water quality in destinations. But what is the impact of dispersing visitors? What is the impact on air quality or water


Food waste having far-reaching effect on climate change


The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is urging hotels and destinations to slash the food waste from tourism, arguing food production and distribution has “outsize impacts” on climate. Samantha Kenny, WWF food


waste senior programme officer, told the Global Sustainable Destinations Summit in Majorca that food production “uses more energy and


46 13 APRIL 2023


Guanajuato State, agreed, saying: “We have to understand what impact every decision we take in tourism has on sustainability.” Mathias Schattleitner, managing


Lloret de Mar, Spain


quality in coastal destinations? “We have been pushing for


dispersion and for less seasonality, but what is it changing? Is it working? What is the impact of [our] planning? We take decisions on tourism and then don’t follow [the impact].” Guerreiro asked: “Is it possible


to find the right mix of markets to bring visitors to Portugal in a more sustainable way?” Juan José Alvarez Brunel,


secretary of tourism in Mexico’s


water” and destroys “more habitats” than other sectors “and then we move it all around the world”. She said: “You can’t avoid all


food waste, but you can reduce the 50% food waste from hotel buffets.” Kenny reported a study in the


US found 40% of food waste “comes from consumer-facing businesses” and a WWF pilot programme with “five large hotel brands” found “food service could be transformed”. She said: “We’ve created a


food waste toolkit for hotels at Hotelkitchen.org – with resources on food procurement, staff training and consumer engagement.”


Discarded food Kenny called for “a high priority


on food waste at all levels”, noting: “The roadmap can help companies, but you can’t implement it fully without destinations. We want to see these programmes rolled out at destination level.”


travelweekly.co.uk


director of the tourism association for Austrian ski region Schladming- Dachstein and president of the Association of Austrian Tourism Managers, highlighted the sector’s fragmented nature and the need to manage tourism’s interaction with local communities. He said: “In Austria, 95% of


holiday offers are from family-owned businesses. Half our work is in living-space management. We have a destination population of 30,000 and 30,000 beds. We need to make tourism good for everybody – visitors and inhabitants.” He added: “Tourism needs a


good sustainability image because at the moment it does not have that. In Austria, tourism has a very bad reputation sometimes, because of snow-making for example.”


PICTURES: American Airlines; Shutterstock/BGStock72, joerngebhardt68


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