Thomas Cook Challenges “Ecotourism Myth”

Ruth Holroyd, group head of sustainability at The Thomas Cook Group, challenged traditional perceptions of sustainable tourism at December 2011’s World Green Tourism Conference in Abu Dhabi.

Louise Oakley reported in HotelierMiddleEast.com that, “The concept of ecotourism as a niche travel sector has been slammed by responsible tourism experts desperate to refocus the industry’s approach to sustainable travel.”

Ms Holroyd questioned whether an eco-lodge, which was environmentally friendly, but accessible only to a limited number of wealthy few likely to arrive on scheduled flights, was really more sustainable than a large but low-impact hotel for the mass market travelling with limited budgets on charter flights and coaches.

“Why should sustainable tourism only be for small groups of more wealthy people?” asked Holroyd. “Others are entitled to it as well and, in fact, it is the mass form of sustainable travel that will really make a difference to destinations,” she told Ms Oakley.

“Mass tourism done well can be sustainable as long as it’s done in conjunction and collaboration with customers, hoteliers, and destination governments. This is what is actually needed to create a sustainable industry, and the sooner that’s accepted then the faster the change can actually happen,” Ms Holroyd said.

In November, Thomas Cook announced a new group-wide vision for sustainable tourism: “Travel the world without costing the earth”.

Targets include a 20 per cent reduction in electricity used across the entire group and a 12 per cent improvement in efficiency across its airlines. Ultimately, Thomas Cook wants every holiday it sells to be sustainable.

Professor Harold Goodwin, director of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism, said that Thomas Cook’s focus on mainstreaming sustainability as part of its strategy was “really where we need to be going globally”.

The idea of mainstreaming responsible and sustainable tourism practices dates to 2009’s World Ecotourism Conference (WEC), when the conference’s rapporteur, Peter Semone, presented the idea in the “Vientiane Declaration”.

“Ecotourism was a cul-de-sac,” stated Professor Goodwin. “It was a mistake. It was about saying ‘we’ll green the tourism industry by focusing on 1 or 2 per cent of it’. I still hear people today saying that ecotourism is the fastest growing sector of the tourism industry. It is these sorts of awful myths that actually frustrate change.”

He added, “There is no doubt in my mind that progress can only be made by dealing with big companies and mainstreaming significant change towards sustainability.”

Source: HotelierMiddleEast.com

For more information:

Visit: www.irctourism.org