Travel giants commit to sustainable tourism

Today some of Britain’s biggest travel companies made a big commitment - to work together to create a strong and profitable future, which benefits tourism destinations and enhances the environment.

The launch of Tourism 2023 is a proud moment for Forum for the Future - the culmination of 18 months of helping tour operators, airlines, cruise companies and travel agents understand how they can be fit for the future – and a sustainable one at that.

It’s been a fascinating process, taking an idea born in a noodle bar in Soho to a launch to nearly 1000 delegates at this year’s ABTA Travel Convention in Barcelona. Its involved research, workshops, creativity and collaboration. But most importantly it’s been an exercise in recognising that the future is going to be different and that taking a sustainable approach will help industries like tourism prepare for that difference. It has been one of those really inspirational projects for me. We’ve been working with committed partners who are really engaged in understanding and preparing for their future. They have given their collective time, effort and intellect to working through the big issues that will shape their industry.

With the help of more than 100 industry experts, we have worked through those issues to produce a set of four vivid scenarios of plausible but very different futures for the industry and a vision of a sustainable tourism industry in 2023. The scenarios explore key questions, like how climate change and related regulation will affect mainstream tourism; the extent to which technology will deliver solutions; and whether people will change their travelling habits because of rising costs or disappointing holidays to degraded places.

Our partners have now signed up to the Tourism 2023 Vision, committing themselves, individually and as a group, to creating a sustainable industry by 2023.

It states, for example that the UK industry will deliver “measurable socio-economic benefits” to destinations and work with local governments to make sure tourism development is sustainable: “That way, our operations are welcomed by host communities and our business is sustained for the long term.”

It also pledges to use more renewable energy, conserve water, minimise waste and protect vulnerable ecosystems: “It makes commercial sense for us to commit to ambitious efficiency savings, to prepare for environmental shocks and to add to the natural environment that we all depend on, not detract from it.”

It’s not all been plain sailing, but over the years I have learnt that that is the nature of creating change. And there is still a lot to be done – next up is delivering hard performance improvements.

So well done ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents), Advantage Travel Centres, British Airways, Carnival UK, The Co-operative Travel, Sunvil, The Travel Foundation, Thomas Cook and TUI Travel on committing to be sustainable in less than 15 years time – this is really good news for the whole industry. I look forward to more inspiration in the coming months and years, as others join our pioneers and we see a reshaped, sustainable and more prosperous industry emerge.

For further information, to download the report and view the scenarios click here.