Sustainable tourism: the only option

The Travel Foundation was set up by the industry for the industry. “The reason we exist is to help the industry understand and reduce the impacts of tourism on the destinations that it so depends upon”, says Sue Hurdle, chief executive of The Travel Foundation, in an interview with Blue & Green Tomorrow.

This piece originally featured in B&GT’s Guide to Sustainable Tourism 2012.

Sue Hurdle began her career in a way that is familiar to many in the travel industry. “I started off working overseas in holiday resorts and decided it would be great to have a career in an industry that helps people to have a good time”. But it was while working for large tour operator in 1993 that she read a piece in the trade press that gave her cause to stop and think.

El turismo sostenible como vía de protección para la naturaleza africana

La Organización Mundial del Turismo afirma que la actividad turística es un poderoso motor del desarrollo sostenible El turismo es una de las formas más eficaces de conservar los parques nacionales y las áreas protegidas de África, a la vez que se crean puestos de trabajo y se generan ingresos para las comunidades locales.

Esta fue una de las principales conclusiones de la primera Conferencia Panafricana sobre “La gestión del turismo sostenible en los parques nacionales de África”, organizada por la Organización Mundial del Turismo (OMT) y el Gobierno de Tanzanía.

Responsible and sustainable tourism are not the same thing

Responsible and sustainable tourism – are not the same concept

There are some important differences between responsible and sustainable tourism.  To understand them we need to go back to some of the lessons learnt from their forerunner, ecotourism.

The much quoted ‘leave only footprints, take only photographs’ mantra of nature based eco tourism had three major flaws. Firstly, local communities felt strongly that tourists visiting their homes and environments should leave behind more than footprints. In short, tourism must benefit local communities as well as nature conservation.