Responsible tourism is about respecting, protecting and
benefiting local communities, cultures and the environment. For
travellers, this can mean making holiday choices with these
concerns in mind, from the destinations they visit and the way they
travel, to the services they choose once they arrive.
For the tourism industry, it is about meeting the expectations
of travellers, and protecting what is unique and special about a
destination like New Zealand. It can also be about the bottom line,
with many operators recognising that responsible tourism practices
boost profits by cutting consumption and offering a marketing edge
over the competition.
What operators can do
Visitors look for an environmental accreditation - and Qualmark is
one of the most comprehensive and integrated quality assurance
schemes in the world. Responsible tourism practices are measured
within the Qualmark quality assurance assessment and those
businesses wanting to be specifically recognised for their
sustainable tourism practices are assessed under the Enviro Award
criteria.
Tourism New Zealand's
Visitor Experience Monitor suggests that international visitors
are satisfied with the way New Zealand is delivering on their
environmental expectations. However, visitors also have high
expectations of tourism operators. Many visitors said they expect
tourism operators to be taking actions to reduce their impact on
the environment.
Taking actions to reduce environmental impacts can also save
money, increase employee engagement and improve operators'
reputations. Sustainability is also a good marketing 'hook' among
consumers that are looking to reduce their own environmental
impacts through what they buy.
Going green
- The Tourism Industry Association (TIA) is involved with
projects aimed at improving the sustainability of tourism
businesses, including the Tourism Energy Efficiency Programme in
conjunction with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Authority.
- TIA's website also has links to a number of websites and organisations
that can assist tourism businesses in this area.
- Visitors look for an environmental accreditation - and Qualmark is
one of the most comprehensive and integrated quality assurance
schemes in the world. The sustainability component of Qualmark,
known as Qualmark Green, will help you assess your current
environmental performance and put in place initiatives to
improve.
- Local sustainable tourism advisors can also help. These
advisors are funded by the regional tourism organisations and the
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's Tourism Strategy
Group (see www.tourism.govt.nz) to help tourism businesses
improve their environmental performance.
- Carbon offsetting is an option for businesses that are unable
to reduce all of their emissions themselves. It involves paying
someone else to offset emissions by helping fund emission-reducing
projects. Programmes like carboNZero help you to measure emissions
created by your business and decide how to reduce and/or offset
them.
- Paying for carbon-neutral certification is also an option. The
advantage is being able to market your business as carbon neutral
and gain a competitive edge with environmentally-conscious
clients.
- Both energy and money can be saved by reducing consumption and
improving efficiency. Something as simple as making sure vehicle
tyres are correctly inflated can make a difference to the amount of
fuel used. Training drivers how to operate vehicles for maximum
fuel efficiency is also worthwhile. For more information on
fuel-saving tips, see www.energywise.govt.nz.
- Whatever you decide to do, don't forget to involve your staff.
They will often have great ideas of what you can do within your
business to improve your performance, and you will need their
support to make your initiatives work. You'll probably find your
staff are proud to work for a business that takes sustainability
seriously.