Pillars of sustainable tourism

Catherine Mack | August 10, 2021

If you think of the tourism industry as one great hall of hospitality, and then envisage the many pillars that hold this hall up, this is a good place to start visualizing sustainable tourism. Academics, government advisors, tourist boards, tourism operators and many other stakeholders have, for several decades now, engaged in a war with words when it comes to sustainability definitions. This has, in many cases, led to a failure to actually create the changes that are needed. They seek to prioritize, politicize and protect their various pillars, ignoring the fact that if one of them collapses, the whole hall of hospitality will crumble.

Photo by Alexander Schimmeck on Unsplash.

As content creators and sustainable tourism storytellers, our experience shows that there are, in fact, many pillars of sustainability. The classic ones are economic, environmental and cultural, with neo necessities such as biodiversity and human rights also worthy of recognition.

Expert sustainable tourism content is like having signs and sustainable messaging attached to all of your great hall’s pillars, whether you are a small mountain retreat, or a vast coastal destination. It is important to note, however, that no one can be expected to prop up all the pillars. Instead, they should focus on the ones where a real difference can be made. Great sustainable content and strategies will not only make sure that the pillars’ foundations are strong, but also that travelers will be able to take in their greatness and, on their travels, learn from all their strengths.

economic sustainability

The economic model of tourism needs to change urgently if it is to be sustainable. It can no longer function on ever-growing arrivals, new airports or runways, or cruise ships pouring people in their thousands into ancient streets. The economic pillar of sustainability is strong when it is made up of solid, unbreakable links - links that allow the tourism spend to travel along a chain of local suppliers, from guides to growers, accommodation to local transportation. If tourism stakeholders understand and practice sustainability, then the chain just keeps on acting as a channel of economic growth in a way that can only have a positive impact on the host destination. By creating these economic links, you eliminate the need to just keep opening the doors to more and more people, all of whom put too much pressure on the pillar.

“While climate change is undoubtedly the most urgent challenge facing the planet today, we cannot continue to ignore other issues where tourism is having a negative impact on our world, including the consumption of water resources, wildlife exploitation, worker’s rights, and the role of international travel in spreading disease. Tourism cannot be made sustainable unless all of these issues and more are tackled.” - John Swarbrooke, Why Sustainable Tourism Failed, WTM Global Hub

Environmental sustainability

The climate crisis is just that. It’s a crisis - and if you aren’t addressing this as a tourism organization, urgently and ubiquitously, then where have you been? Decarbonization within the tourism industry has been taking place among many niche providers for years now, but it’s time for mass tourism to make its mark. And we don’t mean a greenwashing mark, we mean full on acceleration to carbon neutrality. At GLP, we recently signed up to the Guiding Principles of the Future of Tourism, one of which is to mitigate climate impacts, but we look forward to creating content for stakeholders who want to shout about their efforts.

“Already a priority for the sector, Travel & Tourism continues to make progress and remains committed to make bold climate and sustainability leadership choices, with an ambition to be climate neutral by 2050. Intrepid, for instance, achieved carbon neutrality ten years ago, while Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is the largest carbon neutral airport in the world, using 100% wind energy and renewable natural gas in its bus fleet and reducing its carbon emissions by 80% and energy costs by nearly a third over the last 7 years.” - To Recovery and Beyond: The Future of Travel & Tourism in the Wake of COVID-19, WTTC September 2020

Biodiversity and wildlife protection

Biodiversity loss and extinction are also environmental issues that need to be addressed and communicated, with conservation in crisis and land or seascapes in dire need of protection. Create content that heightens awareness of people who are creating change in tourism with regards to biodiversity, while also directing visitors to such projects in order to fund them but also be educated by them. We were honored, for example, to film the Baan Talae Nok community on the Andaman Coast of Thailand, who maintain the biodiversity of the mangrove swamps by foraging there for seafood, a tradition that dates back centuries. Regenerative tourism is the steel girder running up the middle of this pillar which, according to Hutchins and Storm in their book Regenerative Leadership (2019) involves “creating the conditions for life to continuously renew itself, to transcend into new forms, and to flourish amid ever-changing life conditions.”

Cultural heritage

Preserving cultural heritage in tourism is not only one of the most prescient pillars, but also one that is composed of so many jewels it is the beacon of most sustainable tourism destinations. From food tourism to intangible cultural heritage, archaeological to architectural heritage, these are areas where destinations can really make a difference. By promoting, for example, tourism on remote islands with good content, you may preserve a traditional fishing industry for years to come. When you make character-led films about which people make a place tick, be they traditional fishermen or artisans, then you are not only sharing and caring for cultural heritage, you are also embedding a pride of place amongst the host communities.

“I can save a product like fonio by introducing it to the world, and food is a great way to introduce a culture.” Chef Pierre Thiam.

Social responsibility

It is amazing how often social responsibility is pushed aside when it comes to sustainable tourism, and yet if you don’t have a pillar that is layered with finely woven strands of social fabric, then the big bad wolf will come and blow your hall of hospitality down in seconds. A truly sustainable organization, destination or government department should ensure that tourism is open to all visitors while also respecting the wishes and human rights of every member of its host community. In short, tourism is not all about white, thirty-something, heterosexual couples or nuclear families all of whom are able-bodied and catwalk model-like when it comes to fashion. Get real and get socially responsible by creating products, photography and video content that promotes and celebrates accessible tourism, racial equity, women working in tourism, LGBQT+ communities and also, last but absolutely not least, Indigenous people.

Artisan with Potters for Peace in Nicaragua.

Human rights

In addition to social responsibility, this ‘protecting people’ pillar is, or at least should be, the pinnacle of modern civil society, and yet it is still hidden away in the far corner of the hall of hospitality. Sometimes even left down in the basement, and quietly ignored. If you want to portray a genuine sustainable tourism policy to the world, then create content that hones in on human rights. Water, for example, has been a human right since 2010, when the UN declared that “safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a human right essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights.” Do you have equitable water access in your destination, or is your focus on keeping golf courses ‘green’ and swimming pools sparkling blue?

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is also applicable to tourism, big time. The Convention protects the best interests of children, their right to survival and development and the right to be heard, which means that destinations must not ignore the growth of child sex tourism, exploitative orphanage tourism, slum tourism and begging. They should also ask their visitors to respect the rights of children by never photographing them. Basic human rights include freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and yet rarely are these part of a destination’s sustainable tourism policy or content. You may not think you have any of these issues in your destination, but does your content demonstrate that you have signed up to organizations which expressly seek to fight and protect against them? It may be time to reinforce that pillar.

“Tourism activities should respect the equality of men and women; they should promote human rights and, more particularly, the individual rights of the most vulnerable groups, notably children, the elderly, the handicapped, ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples.” - Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, UNWTO.

Education

In conclusion, education is key to all change in this world, and so we save this pillar for last, because it’s the one that informs all the others above. There are many ways in which you can tie tourism into education. However, destinations that create and lead on tourism products that are all about outreach and education of people who live in a place are still thin on the ground. Unless we educate our young people about the pillars of sustainable tourism, the pillars will become weakened. What we need is a generation of educated young people who will learn new building techniques that allow the hall of hospitality to stay strong and sustainable for generations to come.