Plug the words Sustainable Tourism into an Internet search engine and you’ll be swamped with thousands of pages attempting to define, compartmentalize and categorize the term.
While we aren’t about to re-write the definition, we are about finding and promoting those tourism ventures that take their surroundings seriously. This may mean anything from a lodge that is reducing its carbon footprint or recycling wastewater, to one that builds a school for local children while employing their parents.
At its most basic, sustainability results directly from responsibility. When everyone involved in a country’s tourism – from the government to individual operators – behaves in ways that benefit the environment, promote social justice and develop the economy, sustainability will follow.
The World Travel Organisation reports that international tourist arrivals have grown from 25 million in 1950 to 922 million in 2008, making tourism one of the largest and fastest-growing economic sectors in the world. The WTO predicts about 1.6 billion international arrivals in 2020.
Such growth, if managed in conventional, “old school” ways, would place fragile habitats and indigenous cultures under increased stress. Sustainable, responsible tourism, on the other hand, could lessen the impact through sensitive and sensible practices.
Warren Green & Associates is interested in supporting those companies that are making sincere efforts to reduce negative effects on their surroundings, while at the same time offering a world-class, often hedonistic travel experience.
“… we are about finding and promoting those tourism ventures that take their surroundings seriously.”