Tourism Industry and Climate Change

California suffered its worse fire season on record in 2008. At one point in June, over 2,000 wildfires scorched California, and uncontrolled blazes forced mass evacuations at some of the state’s cherished destinations–Big Sur, Santa Cruz, Yosemite, Shasta-Trinity, and the Northern Sierras. Spring 2008, preceding the fires of summer, was the driest in a generation. The governor has since declared a water emergency and water districts across the state have instituted mandatory water rationing.

As the drought and fires of 2008 demonstrate, the state already is experiencing the affects of global climate change. The Sierra snowpack, which slakes California’s seemingly unquenchable thirst, shrank by 10 percent in the 20th century, and it could shrink another 25 percent by the year 2050. At the same time the sea levels are rising, threatening the state’s low lying coastal areas.

California’s economy, and the state’s $100 billion travel and hospitality industry, is vulnerable to climate change. Wineries and agriculture; skiing and year-round outdoor recreation; natural, cultural and historic destinations are all at risk, as are the state’s 900,000 travel-related jobs.

The good news is the State of California, and its residents, local communities and businesses, are responding to climate change. With the passage of AB 32, the Global Warming Act of 2006, which requires a reduction in the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, California has a road map to a clean energy future and a sustainable economy.

The State of California’s climate plan seeks to engage its residents, communities and businesses in strategies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and “make our cities healthier, our natural areas safer and our working landscapes more productive; that make our economy more resilient as we reduce our reliance on imported petroleum; and that pave the way for technologies that can make our state both more prosperous and more sustainable.”

The state proposes to focus on:

• Smart growth and transportation alternatives;
• Water conservation and energy efficiency;
• Renewable energy and green buildings;
• Reducing the state’s waste stream; and
• Preserving forest lands, which act to sequester greenhouse gases.

In an international effort to encourage travel and hospitality industries toward  “climate neutrality,” the United Nations World Tourist Organization (WTO) is working with the UN’s Environmental Programme and the World Meteorological Organization on a blueprint for sustainable tourism.  World Tourist Organization strategies focus on:

• Mitigating greenhouse gas emission from the industry, which are generated primarily from transportation and accommodations;
• Adapting tourism businesses and destinations to changing climate conditions; and
• Applying existing and developing new technologies to improve energy efficiency.

Two decades of eco tourism provide lessons for California’s travel and hospitality industry on ways to successfully mitigate the negative effects of tourism and move toward a sustainable future. Eco resorts and operators have reduced their carbon footprint, achieved zero waste in their activities, protected forests and natural areas, while growing local businesses and benefiting local communities.

According to the Deloitte Consulting Group, in a 2008 report on the tourism, hospitality and leisure sectors, “Sustainability is a critical business issue that is becoming a mandatory requirement for the hospitality industry.” While there will be costs associated with efforts to “green” the travel industry, Deloitte concludes, “There is evidence that suggests that expenses can be lowered and demand can be increased from the pursuit of an eco-friendly strategy.”