What if sustainability in travel could be addressed in charge more to the affluent sectors of society? A radical solution to address some of the problems around mass tourism and the impact on destinations, perhaps, but that would at least make people take notice.
The concept was suggested by broadcaster and adventurer Ben Fogle, who acknowledges that it might not be right, but that we all need to recognize the impact we have on destinations.
“It’s about travelers taking personal responsibility,” Fogle said. “We as tourists should be aware of the impact we have, and I am amazed at how many people are not.”
While he hopes travel remains inclusive, he said we all travel a little too much and the cost is a “little too cheap and we need to change that” to meet sustainability goals.
“I really think it could be a sliding scale depending on how much we earn,” Fogle added.
And it is not the first time that radical solutions have been raised to boost sustainability efforts, with Jeremy Sampson, CEO of The Travel Foundation, suggesting the trillions of dollars invested in travel marketing could be used better.
Fogle, meanwhile, was speaking at the launch of a report by Economist Impact and Booking.com on the impact of visitors on destinations.
tea “Always destination” report. examines how overnight stays affect the environment, people and economy in 38 cities and 12 other rural areas.
The key findings of the study include that 80% of policy makers and 62% of the general public think that visitors to their regions have increased the cost of local living – even if only in “intensive destinations in tourism” that the report traces a correlation between visitors and local rental prices.
Visitors can also have a positive impact on the economic growth of destinations by creating demand for goods and services and encouraging the development of local infrastructure, added Economist Impact.
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This view was held by 91% of policy makers, 81% of business leaders and 79% of the general public in three surveys in the report.
But how much a destination can benefit from the money spent by visitors depends on the economic leakage – when the money spent in a destination does not stop there. To mitigate some of the leakage, Economist Impact proposes policies to develop “local entrepreneurship, production and human capital”.
Examples of these policies include increased sourcing of local products; training for the local workforce; simplified infrastructure planning and construction processes; and tourism taxes to benefit local communities.
