EcoTourism as an economic driver for the tourism industry

You don’t need to read too many statistics to see that the demand for a
greener, more ethical tourism product is growing. Although tourists have been
slower to connect their holidays with other purchases, such as Fairtrade food
and clothing, there is a greater sense of ethics around general consumption
which is now creeping into the traveller’s mindset too.

“Increasingly, sustainability and green tourism are becoming one of the major economic drivers for the industry. We hope to encourage more companies and organisations to adopt sustainable policies, ensuring a low impact on the environment and local culture while, at the same time, helping generate prosperity,
employment, and the conservation of local ecosystems”.

Graham E Cooke, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF WORLD TRAVEL
AWARDS. WWW.WORLDTRAVELAWARDS.COM

According to The International Ecotourism Society (Ties) the market has been
growing since the 1990’s at a rate of between 20-34% every year, depending
on the destination1. This is more than three times the growth rate of worldwide
tourism as a whole. A recent survey in the United States by Tripadvisor,
showed that just over a third of travellers reported plans to stay at an eco-friendly hotel or resort in 2009, a 30% increase in a year. The World Travel Market, one of the largest international travel trade exhibitions, has a whole day dedicated to Responsbible Travel. There are numerous international awards for it, and green travel books are now being published by organisations
such as Rough Guide and The Guardian newspaper. Two of Rough Guide’s
biggest recent sellers are Rough Guide to Climate Change, and Rough Guide
to Ethical Living. Travel writer Catherine Mack (the Ethical Traveler) has produced an Eco travel App. As well as this, many of the leading tour operators now have, or are creating, full time positions for sustainable tourism managers, such as Thomas Cook and TUI PLC.