In this module, we will discuss the Covid-19 pandemic as a catalyst for accelerating the adoption of sustainable tourism
practices, trends relating to sustainable tourism practices on both the demand and supply side and the consumer
attitudes and practices towards sustainability.
The COVID-19 pandemic has left worldwide tourism facing a crisis like no other with global tourism plummeting 83%
in 2020 compared to 2019. The silver lining of the global pandemic has been widely discussed, with common ground
found regarding a stronger commitment to sustainability, a great opportunity for destinations to reshape their tourism
strategies. Consequently, it has become of utmost importance to build a tourism sector of tomorrow that is
economically, socially, and environmentally viable in the long-term through the implementation of more sustainable
and solid models.
Information and knowledge sharing among destinations have become essential approaches to mitigate the social and
economic impact of the pandemic. While working together to rebuild the sector it is crucial to consider not only how
to make people travel in a safer, sustainable and more responsible way, but also to think about how the tourism sector
can contribute even more positively to society and have a reduced impact in the environment.
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC PRESENTS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR CHANGE
The case for adopting practices that reduce the negative impacts of tourism and increase its positive impacts has
always been strong, and consumer concern, particularly in relation to the environment, was already gathering pace
before the Covid-19 pandemic started. The dramatic global slowdown of tourism caused by the Covid-19 pandemic
has now provided an unprecedented context for public and private sector organizations operating in the tourism
sector to reassess both their priorities and their practices, especially in relation to society and the environment.
A FRESH LOOK AT CONSUMER ATTITUDES: TO WHAT EXTENT COULD CONSUMER DEMAND PROVIDE THE INCENTIVE
TO MAKE CHANGES?
Consumers’ willingness to embrace more responsible and sustainable practices when travelling is a critical factor in
determining their wider success. Consumer attitudes play a key role in shaping how the concept of sustainability in
travel is marketed, how readily businesses are prepared to implement sustainable practices as part of their daily
operations, and ultimately whether a change in practices is successful and achieves real impact.
Exploring consumer attitudes towards sustainability beyond travel
Understanding how consumers perceive sustainability can be helpful in understanding the role that it may play in
shaping their travel decisions. The Covid-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on the difficult decisions to be made on
balancing the economy versus the needs of society (health) and the global interdependence between countries that
has increased through three decades of rapid globalization. This section explores the influence of Covid-19 on shaping
consumer awareness around sustainability themes, however first it is important to recognize that consumer concern,
particularly in relation to the environment, was already gathering pace before the Covid-19 pandemic spread in early
2020.
Consumer attitudes towards sustainability in travel
Understanding the role that sustainability plays in consumers’ travel decisions is more complex than it may seem at
first, since this role can change at different stages of the customer journey, and often depends on what consumers
perceive ‘sustainability’ or ‘sustainable’ practices to be.
Greater concern around personal wellbeing, air quality and humans’ impact on the environment
• A strong preference for travel domestically, or to neighboring countries with easy access by car
• A desire to spend time in open spaces, with fresh air, and private accommodation
• A desire to avoid high-density accommodation and activities, or mixing too closely with strangers (e.g., cruises or
long-haul flying)
• A preference for active holidays, involving fitness activities or following hiking and cycling routes
• A long-term increase in precautionary savings, as well as falling consumption rates and increasing frugality among
consumers
• A desire for consumers to be seen (through social media images) as safe and responsible, with travel plans
scrutinized through the lens of what is safe, rather than what is popular
Key demand-driven sustainability trends in travel
Seeking authenticity
Involve local communities in tourism planning, development and management to ensure that culture and heritage
are respected and preserved
• Work with local businesses and producers to develop a range of distinctive experiences to offer visitors • Work with
local groups and businesses to identify ways to boost positive interaction between local residents and visitors
• Develop strategies and programs to reverse the depopulation of rural areas, including supporting the development
of local employment opportunities in tourism
Valuing nature
• Determine the capacity of rural areas to welcome visitors without negatively impacting the local population and
environment; develop strategies to ensure this is maintained
• Develop outdoor infrastructure and facilities away from ‘hotspots’ to provide alternative choices for visitors
• Deliver marketing and communications designed to disperse visitors across the destination and encourage visitors
in the off-peak seasons
Slow travel speeds up:
Develop routes and itineraries linking off the-beaten-track local accommodation, attractions, experiences and
producers
• Develop tourism products and experiences specifically oriented for families and digital nomads
• Encourage local residents and tourism stakeholders to support and provide opportunities to accommodation
providers to grow capacity for longer-term stays
• Develop out of season events and festivals, and promote the off-peak opportunities available to visitors
The great global staycation:
Concern for the planet:
• Determine the capacity of rural areas to welcome visitors without negatively impacting the local population and
environment; develop strategies to ensure this is maintained
• Develop outdoor infrastructure and facilities away from ‘hotspots’ to provide alternative choices for visitors
• Deliver marketing and communications designed to disperse visitors across the destination and encourage visitors
in the off-peak seasons
A preference for more sustainable transport choices:
• Support investments in carbon-free flights
• Encourage the expansion of car sharing and ride sharing schemes as a substitute to short-distance flights
• Provide information on, and incentivize, low-carbon transport choices including walking and cycling and discounts
from accommodation and attractions for visitors arriving by public transport
• Increase awareness of the benefits of train travel in the mind of tourists
• Support the provision of integrated public transport services to ensure seamless connections between rail, ferry and
bus services, as well as increased frequency and improved connections on popular routes with visitors
• Ensure that public transport companies are involved in strategic decision making, have access to relevant insights
about visitor demand (including most popular destinations on their routes) and can regularly participate in marketing
and promotion activities
Responsibility first:
• Support businesses and tourism organizations to develop robust sustainability policies and actions
• Communicate clearly, in user-friendly language, with visitors about the importance of sustainability and point them
towards exemplary businesses
• Incentivize responsible business practices
Responsible and ethical purchasing habits:
Healthy body, healthy planet:
• Identify the local food, drinks, crafts and other produce unique to the destination and promote them to visitors
• Support local producers with advice and guidance (e.g., on product development) to access tourism markets and
build their capacity to meet quality and quantity requirements
• Work with tourism providers to develop responsible and local procurement policies and practices
• Establish local networks between producers and suppliers of food, drink and other products and tourism service
providers
• Promote Shop Local Gift Vouchers
Counterbalancing the impact of travel:
• Provide opportunities for tourists to care for and contribute to the places they visit, through responsible
volunteering, beach cleans, community support, etc., and incentivize this through promotions, reduced entry fees and
other measures.
Reducing waste wherever possible:
• Integrate waste management and reduction criteria into environmental accreditation for tourism businesses and
supplier contracts
• Create a compendium for waste management best practices in the tourism sector
Key supply-driven trends in sustainable travel
Developing a shared vision for the destination based on cross-sector consensus
• Create mechanisms for long-term and deep cooperation between private, public and community stakeholders
• Enable the collaborative development of a holistic vision for tourism
• Gain support for and involvement in implementation of the vision by stakeholders from across all sectors
Building sustainability into tourism strategy and planning
• Identify the impacts of tourism and an understanding of its costs and benefits will help shape and priorities strategic
actions, as well as those who can lead and contribute to them
• Destination strategy and planning should include aspects such as: defining clear targets, developing action plans and
indicators of success
• Areas covered should encompass environmental aspects, such as responsible resource consumption, investment in
green infrastructure, application of circular economy principles, reducing water and energy use, low carbon
transportation and renewable energy; social impacts including resident views on tourism and host-guest interaction;
economic issues, including decent work and strong supply chains
• Identify key sustainability experts to be involved on a long-term basis
• Define clear roles and responsibilities for all parties involved in developing, implementing and maintaining the
destination’s sustainable strategy
Developing tourism within a broad-based economy
• Develop cross- and multi-sector connectivity to boost resilience
• Ensure that tourism is firmly aligned with the place’s environmental and social objectives
Consulting and placing local communities at the center of tourism planning and development
• Carry out actions to raise awareness of the importance of tourism to the local economy, and help to demonstrate
the benefits that it brings to local community life
• Provide local people and communities with a stake and a say in tourism planning, development and management,
thus ensuring they will support and invest in its success
• Create clear mechanisms for seeking regular input from local communities and addressing their needs
Regenerative tourism: focusing tourism to positively contribute to the destination and its environment as part of a
broad ‘ecosystem
• Recognize that there is an opportunity to go beyond mitigating negative impacts and generate positive social and
environmental benefits for people and place when developing tourism strategies and action plans •
Identify the ways in which tourism can contribute to a thriving destination, and shaping its development and
management accordingly • Involve local people in the planning and delivery of the visitor experience
Creating sustainable financing mechanisms for tourism development and management
• Set clear objectives (aligned with the destination’s broader goals around sustainability) and clearly communicate
these objectives to ensure the long-term success of tourism taxation schemes
• Ensure that revenues generated contribute to reducing negative impacts of tourism, enhancing the destination and
protecting its assets, and raising living standards and the quality of facilities for local residents
• Set clear objectives (aligned with the destination’s broader goals around sustainability) and clearly communicate
these objectives to ensure the long-term success of tourism taxation schemes
• Ensure that revenues generated contribute to reducing negative impacts of tourism, enhancing the destination and
protecting its assets, and raising living standards and the quality of facilities for local residents
• Measure success by reference to criteria beyond visitor arrivals and total revenue, in line with a broader
governmental agenda around wellness, rather than growth for growth’s sake • Develop metrics specifying benefits
for the destination, such as small business development, sustainable supply chains, local sourcing, income distribution,
protection of natural and cultural resources, environmental management and progress
Identifying climate risks and aligning tourism development objectives with carbon reduction commitments
• Identify and advocate for how tourism can contribute to national and regional carbon reduction objectives (e.g.,
‘Net Zero’ commitments)
• Support businesses with clear guidance and information on how to reduce their carbon emissions
• Incentivize inbound operators who demonstrate strong commitment and action on the climate and environmental
impacts of their operations
• Recognize the considerable value in providing open-source materials, e.g., templates on ‘How to Declare’
Using tourism revenue to protect and conserve natural and cultural heritage assets
• Identify ways in which tourism revenues can contribute to the conservation, protection and celebration of cultural
and natural assets on which destination attractiveness is based, and serve to mitigate negative impacts of tourism
• Communicate with visitors about how their contributions offer benefits for conservation
Monitoring visitor demand pre-visit and in-destination to predict and manage visitor growth
• Conduct market research in order to forecast visitor pressure at specific times and locations and inform strategies
on how to reduce visitor pressure
• Responsible marketing can influence visitor behavior and create an improved experience
• Strategic visitor management and planning can help spread economic and other benefits of tourism more widely
within the destination
Promoting a strong sense of place
• Work with local people to identify what is special about the destination, to engender community cohesion and local
pride as well as increased support for the type of tourism local people would like to see
• Develop a unique tourism offer based on the destination’s sense of place’
Embedding sustainability into industry practice to make it part of ‘business as usual
• Support tourism and hospitality businesses to adopt sustainable practices to create benefits for the destination,
particularly in respect of resource consumption and environmental management but also in relation to e.g.,
employment and procurement practices, human rights issues and animal welfare.
• Enable the development and transfer of sustainability knowledge and skills development between enterprises at
the local level, and the sharing of good practice, to contribute to raising standards across the sector
• Incentivize responsible business practice, which can help establish the destination’s attractiveness to sustainable
investors and inbound operators, and increase local standards
Building responsible, transparent and inclusive supply chains and procurement policies
• Develop strong local supply chains to support local enterprises
• Identify employment opportunities through local businesses growing to meet demand from the tourism industry
• Provide local businesses with skills and capacity development opportunities
Providing consumers with information to make responsible choices
• Work with businesses and operators to identify the results of their sustainability efforts and find ways to
communicate this information clearly to potential customers
• Create accessible platforms where consumers looking for products and services, and operators looking for suppliers,
can find information on the sustainability performance of tourism businesses and low-carbon transport options
• Provide information on robust carbon offsetting schemes, but emphasize that these are a ‘last resort’ rather than
an alternative to actual reductions
1. Make Smarter Flight Choices
Consider the most sustainable form of transport to get to your destination
Take direct flights where possible
Fly economy class
2. Switch to Reusable
Pack eco-friendly essentials
Bring your own refillable water bottle with you
Bring your own chopsticks and utensils
Say no to plastic straws
Bring your own reusable coffee cup or tea cup.
Re-use Ziploc and other plastic bags for packing, if you need to use them.
Re-use Ziploc and other plastic bags for packing, if you need to use them.
3. Skip Travel Size Toiletries
Switch to refillable and reusable bottles made of glass, silicone, or even recycled plastic material and fill them up with
products from your larger sized bottles at home.
4. Be Mindful of Local Resources
Pay attention to how much water you’re using while on vacation by opting for short showers instead of baths and
turning off the water while brushing teeth or shaving. Fill up your refillable and reusable travel containers with an eco-
friendly biodegradable soap and shampoo, especially while camping.
5. Do Your Research
Use sustainable tour operators with green accreditations
Do your research before booking tours.
Read reviews and blog posts from travel bloggers who you trust. If you can, get in touch with the tour company before
hand to ask them about their policies if it’s unclear from their website.
6. Respect Natural Places
Choose tours and activities that have a conservation focus.
Respect the boundaries of animals.
7. Support Locals Directly
When it comes to souvenirs and handicrafts, try to buy direct.
Eat local. Stay local.
Eat in restaurants and cafes owned by locals
Eat local cuisine
Don’t be (too) afraid of eating local street food
Buy locally grown food and shop in local markets
Buy gifts made by local artisans
8. Go Low Impact
Choose vacations that demand less resources and make less of an impact on the environment, such as camping or
even glamping.
9. Find Ways to Give Back
Volunteer with NGOs and Join Community Tourism Projects
Simple as picking up a piece of trash in the park or volunteering for a beach clean-up.
10. Don’t Support Unethical Wildlife Tourism
Only participate in responsible wildlife tourism
Snorkel and scuba dive responsibly
11. Don’t Leave Your Sustainable Habits at Home
Turn the lights off and the air conditioning down when you leave a room, and ask your hotel about their recycling
program.
12. Respect Local Culture and Traditions
Remember first that you are a guest.
Dress respectfully.
Use open body language.
Ask permission before taking photographs of local people.
13. Stay Longer
Planning trips where you try to visit as many places or see as much as possible in a short amount of time, consider
staying in one spot for longer and really getting a feel for the area.
14. Be Adaptable and Understanding
Keeping an open mind and not demanding everything that you’re used to in your own country will put less pressure
on your destination and its people.
15. Travel Shorter Distances
16. Walk as Much as Possible
When you’ve arrived in your destination, go by foot or bike whenever possible. Not only is walking and bicycling
environmentally friendly, but these modes of transport also offer a closer, more engaged relationship with the people
and places around you.
17. Look into Carbon Offsets
Weigh up your options. If you’re travelling in a group, it makes sense to car share whereas if you’re travelling on your
own it may be greener to fly or take the train. Taking the train or bus is often the more sustainable option over flying
or driving by car, but it depends on the route.
18. Share What You’ve Learned
Share your responsible travel experiences with friends, family, people you meet, on social media and even in my
comments section below! The more we talk about the way we travel, the more we reinforce how important it is to
travel green. If we can share ways to make travel more environmentally friendly, respectful, and sustainable, we can
highlight the valuable aspects of tourism and reduce the negative ones.
