The largest leisure, travel and tourism company in the world, TUI, wants to make the island of Rhodes a future laboratory for sustainable tourism in collaboration with the Greek government.
Based on this he wants to create plans for other destinations. And to give an example, the goal is to significantly improve the ecological footprint of tourism in Rhodes, a favorite destination of thousands of tourists every year, through new plans for energy, water and waste management.
“We need a new understanding of how all this data is connected,” said TUI chief Fritz Usen. “Sustainability is not only an ecological parameter, we must also look at it from economic and social criteria. That is why the participation of the locals through new job opportunities is important “.
Greek Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias is convinced that in the end everyone will win, “from the owner of a cafe offering coffee to his customers, from people renting yachts and cars to winemakers and tourists.”
Longer holidays, fewer flights
Many organizers in the tourism industry are currently focusing primarily on CO2 offsetting through Atmosfair, Myclimate and other providers to reduce hazardous emissions through sponsorships. Travelers can pay for flights, cruises and other tourist activities in the form of allowances. The money is given to support actions, such as saving energy or producing green electricity. In some travel agencies the contribution is already included in the price of the trip, others offer the possibility to the tourists to participate financially optionally by making the reservation. According to Andrzej Monshauser of the Brot für die Welt’s Tourism Observatory, this is not enough. “In the part of long-distance travel where the use of airplanes can not be avoided, the holidays should be less frequent and longer, in order to reduce the number of flights.”
Her experience says that in recent years the number of trips per person has increased and the length of stay has decreased. “We see that resource savings are being exhausted by the development of air traffic. We need technological solutions and at the same time reduction of flights. “In order to reduce harmful emissions, on medium-haul flights within Europe tour operators will have to offer other products – for example greater train use,” Monshauser warns. Environmentalists generally advocate the use of a bus or train on short distances where possible.
Transparent CO2 footprint
However, the reality is different so far. According to DRV data, the rate of use of these two means of transport on holiday trips has been around 6% so far for each. Even Mallorca, the Germans’ favorite island, can be reached without a plane by train and ferry, which, with a few exceptions, run on fossil fuels. But tourists need 11 to 14 hours, according to Atmosfair. But to what extent are travelers willing to pay more attention to climate protection when planning a vacation? In last year’s DRV survey, 62% of respondents said it was a very important parameter for them. In fact, 46% would be willing to pay a higher price for a flight to offset CO2 emissions. 42% would agree to keep longer the arrival or departure time from a tourist destination.
Of course, only 23% were informed about possibilities, in order to make their trip as environmentally friendly as possible. The tourist group DER Touristik intervenes in this sector. “By collecting a CO2 footprint, transparent to our customers, we want to direct environmental behavior in the booking sector,” said Central European leader Ingo Boomster. DRV agrees with this practice of detecting the CO2 footprint. Apart from the arrival and departure the accommodation of the travelers, who are looking for the sun and activities in their place of vacation, also has a negative imprint on the climate. The construction and maintenance of hotels, roads, amusement parks and similar facilities
they also consume energy.
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DW – Friedrich Marx, Jan Peterman / Irini Anastassopoulou
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