Tim
Thank you for introducing this perspective from your colleagues. It is a perspective that will continue to challenge the industry in the years ahead as global society struggles with the issue of climate change.
It is important that we take a more holistic perspective on this – both in terms of climate change – and the important benefits of tourism in terms of its peace-building dimensions as you mention – its critical contribution to poverty reduction – and other aspects touched upon by Virginia Haufler, Raymond Gilpin and Stuart Levy.
Carbon dioxide emissions from the global travel and tourism industry (transport, accommodation and other tourism activities) are estimated to account for between 4 and 6% of total world emissions.
The major contributor to climate change is the accelerating deforestation that contributes an estimated 20 to 25 percent of the carbon emissions that cause climate change and far outstrip the CO2 emissions caused by planes, rental cars, and hotels, and other tourism enterprises. In the next 24 hours, deforestation will release as much CO2 into the atmosphere as 8 million people flying from London to New York.
And interestingly enough – Ecotourism, Nature Tourism, Wildlife Safaris are the best hope we have for an economic justification to keep forests in tact. Costa Rica – one of the first countries to take a strong strategic approach in developing ecotourism is a prime example. In a 20 year period from roughly 1970 to 1990, Costa Rica lost half its rain forest to the expansion of farming and ranching. The Ministry of Environment was able to preserve the remaining rain forest with the economic justification of its value for ecotourism.
Tanzania is another prime example. Tanzania has more protected land area than any country in the world. Nearly 40% of Tanzania’s land mass is protected in various ways as national parks, wildlife reserves, etc. Again, the economic justification is revenues from wildlife safaris and nature tourism.
Another factor in all this is the vital role that tourism plays in poverty reduction. International tourism to emerging, developing, and least developed economies has been growing at a faster pace than international tourism to Western Europe, the U.S. and other developed economies – and now accounts for more than 40% of all international tourism.
Tourism represents the biggest transfer of wealth in history from the have regions of the world – to the have not regions of the world. Some $250 billion in foreign exchange earnings compared to the total amount of foreign aid to all developing countries of about US$ 100 billion.
The tourism growth segments to developing countries are eco/nature tourism, community tourism, cultural tourism, and increasingly volunteer tourism and philanthropic tourism – the best forms of tourism in terms of the “tactile tourism” mentioned by Raymond Gilpin.
I might add two brief anecdotes regarding a less acknowledged benefit of international travel. It was after a trip to Africa that Melinda Gates suggested to Bill that they “had to do something” – and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was born.
And it was during a trip to Uganda that two young recently graduated MBA’s felt they “had to do something.” Using their technological skills and MBA know-how, they founded Kiva – a new generation of microenterprise loans – done on a personal basis from lender – directly to entrepreneur recipient for amounts as low as $25 – all by the internet.
Louis D’Amore