AGENDA 21 for the Travel & Tourism Industry Towards Environmentally Sustainable Development

In 1996 three International Organizations - the World Travel & Tourism Council, the World Tourism Organization and the Earth Council, joined together to launch an action plan entitled "Agenda 21 for the Travel & Tourism Industry: Towards Environmentally Sustainable Development" - a sectoral sustainable development programme based on the Earth Summit results.

The document is of particular significance to Travel & Tourism companies, governments, national tourism administrations (NTAs), and representative trade organizations, as well as the travelling public.

Since the launch of this document, the three organisations have begun a five year series of regional seminars designed to increase awareness of the conclusions, and to adapt the programme for local implementation.

This progress report lists the main conclusions of the document together with the outcome from the first year of regional seminars, which in 1997 were held in London and Jakarta.

Agenda 21 is a comprehensive programme of action adopted by 182 governments at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), the Earth Summit, on 14 June 1992. The first document of its kind to achieve international consensus, Agenda 21 provides a blueprint for securing the sustainable future of the planet, from now into the 21st century. It identifies the environment and development issues which threaten to bring about economic and ecological catastrophe and presents a strategy for transition to more sustainable development practices.

Agenda 21 for the Travel & Tourism Industry

The Travel & Tourism industry has a vested interest in protecting the natural and cultural resources which are the core of its business. It also has the means to do so. As the world's largest industry, it has the potential to bring about sustainable development of the communities and countries in which it operates. Concerted action from governments, and all sectors of the industry, will be needed in order to realize this potential and to secure long-term future development.

The Agenda 21 for the Travel & Tourism Industry document contains priority areas for action with defined objectives and suggested steps to be taken to achieve them. The document emphasizes the importance of the partnerships between government, industry and non-government organizations, analyses the strategic and economic importance of Travel & Tourism and demonstrates the enormous benefits in making the industry sustainable.

The frame-work for sustainable development to be established by the Travel & Tourism industry should be based on the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, from which the following guiding principles flow:

• Travel & Tourism should assist people in leading healthy and productive lives in harmony with nature
• Travel & Tourism should contribute to the conservation, protection and restoration of the earth's ecosystem
• Travel & Tourism should be based upon sustainable patterns of production and consumption
• Travel & Tourism, peace, development and environmental protection are independent
• Protectionism in trade in Travel & Tourism services should be halted or reversed
• Environmental protection should constitute an integral part of the tourism development process
• Tourism development issues should be handled with the participation of concerned citizens, with planning decisions being adopted at local level
• Nations shall warn one another of natural disasters that could affect tourists or tourist areas
  Travel & Tourism should use its capacity to create employment for women and indigenous peoples to the fullest extent
• Tourism development should recognize and support the identity, culture and interests of indigenous peoples
• International laws protecting the environment should be respected by the Travel & Tourism industry.

For government departments, NTAs and trade organizations, the overriding aim is to establish systems and procedures to incorporate sustainable development considerations at the core of the decision-making process and to identify actions to bring sustainable tourism development into being. The nine priority areas for action are:

• assessing the capacity of the existing regulatory, economic and voluntary framework to bring about sustainable tourism
• assessing the economic, social, cultural and environmental implications of the organization's operations
• training, education and public awareness
• planning for sustainable tourism development
• facilitating exchange of information, skills and technology relating to sustainable tourism between development and developing countries
• providing for the participation of all sectors of society
• design of new tourism products with sustainability at their core, an integral part of the tourism development process
• measuring progress in achieving sustainable development at local level
• partnerships for sustainable development

For Travel & Tourism companies, the main aim is to establish systems and procedures to incorporate sustainable development issues as part of the core management function and to identify actions needed to bring sustainable tourism into being. The ten priority areas for action are:

• waste minimization, reuse and recycling
• energy efficiency, conservation and management
• management of fresh water resources
• waste water management
• hazardous substances
• transport
• land-use planning and management
• involving staff, customers, communities in environmental issues
• design for sustainability
• partnerships for sustainable development

The challenge of achieving the aims laid out in "Agenda 21 for the Travel & Tourism Industry: Towards Environmentally Sustainable Development" is not underestimated. It will require fundamental reorientation. However, the cost of inaction will far outweigh those of action. In the short term, damage to the industry's resources will continue and businesses may face increasing regulatory or economic penalties - particularly in the wake of the United Nations follow-up to the Rio process. In the long term, Travel & Tourism's future development will depend on the actions taken now in support of Agenda 21.

Towards a Full Implementation of Agenda 21

The document was circulated widely to governments, industry, non-governmental organizations and the media, and a five year programme was initiated to increase awareness and promote regional implementation. The first two Think Tanks held in London (February 1997) and Jakarta (November 1997), with a broad cross section of public and private sector participants, produced the following conclusions:

• Travel & Tourism has a real potential to contribute to sustainable development with effective management and sensible regulation. Agenda 21 for the Travel & Tourism Industry can provide sound direction. It should be widely distributed as the core document and all parties encouraged to use it as their blueprint when addressing Travel & Tourism.

  Environmental policies fall into three basic types:

• those that result in cost savings
• those that appeal to the consumer and make products more attractive
• those that promote sustainability but which have no commercial advantage

Because the latter two may take longer to implement, governments and tourism companies should concentrate their efforts in these policy areas.

• Close cooperation is required and should be stimulated between the public and private sectors: voluntary action is preferable to regulation, but some degree of regulation is necessary in areas such as land-use, waste management, etc. Codes of conduct at industry level are valuable.
• There should be more measurement of progress towards environmental goals. Standards for good practice, such as WTO's Sustainability Indicators, or WTTC's GREEN GLOBE Corporate, Destination and Certification criteria need to be more widely applied.
• The controlled expansion of infrastructure is critical to the achievement of sustainable tourism.
• Environmental taxes, where applied, should be fair and non-discriminatory. They should be carefully thought through to minimise their impact on economic development and revenues must be allocated to Travel & Tourism associated environment improvement programmes.
• International, national and local funding bodies should include sustainable development as part of their criteria, so that in time, all funding would be dependent on sound environmental practice.
• Contemporary research into sustainable development should be factored into the Agenda 21 for Travel & Tourism programme. Issues requiring increased attention include design, carrying capacity and tour operator activities.
• Environmental education and training should be increased, particularly in schools, for future hotel and tourism staff.
• Publicity is important to make the industry and consumers aware of the need for sustainable policies and to motivate the travel trade to work for this objective. In the case of travellers, consideration should be given to:
• Videos for aircraft and airports
• In-flight magazine articles
• Advice on ticket wallets, sickness bags and holiday brochures
• Further Seminars should be held in various regions of the world in order to examine the application of the principles of Agenda 21 to their specific circumstances and ensure its broad-scale implementation. Closer cooperation should be sought with the UN system in general, particularly in preparation for the 7th meeting of the Commission on Sustainable Development, to be held in April 1999, which will specifically deal with Tourism. The latest Seminars were held in Zimbabwe in November and Dominica in December 1998.