And its new boundaries
When you think of traveling with responsibility, you are helping to develop local
communities and entrepreneurs as you support the value of tourism destinations.
You are promoting life quality for actual and future generations in economic, social and
environmental ways.
According to the UN World Tourism Organization https://www.unwto.org/ sustainable tourism is defined as:
“tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and
environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and
host communities.”
After COVID 19 pandemic and lockdown many tourists are looking for sustainable tourism
as the only option for travelling.
The new era of travelling
The new challenges for the tourism are to attend these demands by offering experiences that are slow and sustainable in addition to bring benefits to the locals.
Members of the travel community are responding to travelers’
desires by marketing experiences that are sustainable and regenerative in addition of
being educational, stimulating and immersive in the local culture.
The world tourism industry has understood that sustainable tourism is an incredibly
powerful strategy to outbreak from over tourism and help the new generation of tourists to
be aware to the growing awareness of climate change people are becoming more
environmentally conscious. A worldwide survey about Global travelers who believe in the
importance of green travel 2022 was made with 30,314 respondents across 32 countries
and territories on 2022 and published by Statista Research Department, Oct 20, 2022.
According to the source, as of February 2022, 81 percent of travelers worldwide believe
that sustainable travel is important.
https://www.statista.com/statistics
The European Commission, released a publication on Unbalanced tourism growth at
destinations level- Root causes, impacts, existing solutions and good practices. To think
about the difference between over tourism and unbalanced tourism, it is necessary to
reflect about one of the definitions of overtourism established by Goodwin(2017):
“Overtourism decribes destinations where hosts or guests, locals or visitors, feel that there
are too many visitors and that the quality of life in the area or the quality of the experience
has deteriorated unacceptably. It is the opposite of Responsible Tourism which is about to
using tourism to make better places to visit.”
You can read more on https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2826/782120
The impacts of overtourism can be physical, environmental, economic or socio-cultural. As
an industry, unbalanced tourism, obviously, brings many negative impacts on local
societies, economies and environments and the main way to minimize these impacts is to
attract responsible travelers that are concerned about Principles of Sustainable Tourism
and Sustainable Development Goals assuring that jobs will be generated as well as
gender opportunities, creates education on wildlife and cultural heritage awareness and
much more.
Apart from contribute towards strengthening the local economy, raising skill-levels,
increasing economic impacts, generating jobs, work and income, and fomenting the local
capacity to develop tourist enterprises stimulating, at the same time, the local responsible
supply chains that improve life quality for actual and future generations, as it contributes to
preserve the natural environment, its biodiversity and historical-cultural heritage of the
tourism destinations.
“Slow Tourism is the Association that promotes welcoming tourism in Italy and abroad,
thanks to the active involvement of travelers, tourism entrepreneurs and local
communities. Slow tourism invites travelers to tourism at a reduced pace to discover new
destinations while respecting them. It invites tourists to get to know places, to live and
“taste” them while at the same time promoting their protection as patrimonies of
inestimable worth, as a richness to be safeguarded for our common wellbeing.”
http://www.slowtourism-italia.org/
cooperates with people and with businesses to valorize
the local history, culture, and typical products of all participating places, with the
contribution of bloggers and citizens, it runs a participative, crowd-sourced online
newspaper, the Daily Slow, to allow for the direct storytelling of traditions, travel
experiences, new way to live in sustainable ways.
There are some actions that everyone can take while travelling. Travelers may want to
travel more responsibly for many reasons. As visitors, we share the responsibility to act
in a responsible manner to protect and respect local customs, and choose services
that maximize the positive impacts of tourism.
To travel more responsibly, https://www.gstcouncil.org/ encourages business and leisure
travelers to choose sustainable accommodations and sustainable travel providers. More
resources are becoming readily available to travelers, on how to engage in responsible
tourism. The guidelines will help you to travel responsibly, getting to know the best of the
places you visit in a peaceful and exciting way. You can sometimes also save money!
If you are a traveler that understands the importance of every action when you organize
your trips, the key is to choose local small operators and avoid famous places. You
are going to experience the best of the places with locals that will guide you through a real
journey of knowledge and wisdom that across centuries as you support them to maintain
their traditions and perpetuate them for future generations.
Choose sustainable travel companies!
https://www.outoftheboxflorence.com
It is a small organization that promotes Trekking & Wine experiences specially designed to fully understand the places you visit.
A company made by and for inspired and passionate travelers!
They believe in keeping our tours small and of the highest quality!
Employing local, knowledgeable guides, when you support our guides and company, you
are supporting our wider community and the idea of sustainable tourism that highlights
unique environments, off the beaten path.
We act local, think global to change the present!
Contact us if you want to travel slow and discover more!
Get in touch if you want to customize you tour!
Come and join us to experience it!
Author: Michalina Zacharjasiewicz teachermichalina@gmail.com
Principles of Sustainable Tourism and Sustainable Development Goals
https://www.unwto.org/
