How Travel Companies are Adapting to Sustainable Tourism

Sustainable tourism has risen in recent years as tourists want to help the environment more than ever. With the rising interest in sustainability, travel companies are now adapting to sustainable tourism. Most travel companies have started introducing sustainable options and programs for travelers to meet the demand for more sustainable ways of travel. The efforts made by travel companies to adapt to sustainable tourism will help protect the planet.

Research has continuously proved that more travelers are interested in sustainable tourism with every passing year. According to research released by Booking.com in 2023, “76% of travelers say they want to travel more sustainably over the coming 12 months.” It is a possibility that this percentage has only increased since the research was released. Adapting to sustainable tourism helps travel companies adapt to the different needs of travelers. Since many travelers now choose only to travel sustainably, travel companies have to meet their needs. To help you understand the efforts made by these companies, we will share with you how travel companies are adapting to sustainable tourism.

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What Is Sustainable Tourism

Before we tell you about travel companies’ efforts to adapt to sustainable tourism, we must define sustainable tourism. Sustainable tourism, also known as eco-tourism, is a way of traveling responsibly with the environment in mind. It aims to reduce the negative impact left on the environment caused by travel. Not just that, sustainable tourism also aims to support conservation efforts in destinations. We are at a time when sustainability is needed more than ever. According to a study published in 2021, tourism is responsible for 8% of greenhouse gas emissions; this is a large percentage.

Another definition is that the UN World Tourism Organisation states that sustainable tourism is “tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities.” This type of tourism also tries to respect local cultures in different destinations. So here is exactly how travel companies are adapting to sustainable tourism.

Choosing Sustainable Accommodations

One of the efforts made by travel companies in their quest to adopt sustainable tourism is choosing sustainable accommodations. Some travel companies try to recommend sustainable accommodations to their clients with eco-certifications; these certifications can also be called sustainable certifications. So, in hopes of adapting to sustainable tourism, some travel companies check if accommodations they recommend or partner with have sustainability certifications. One well-known sustainability certification is called EarthCheck.

Partnering with sustainable accommodations can help travel companies attract travelers who care about sustainable tourism. Trust is built when travelers see that their chosen travel company recommends sustainable accommodations. Some initiatives that these sustainable accommodations take might include saving water, conservation efforts, and reducing waste. This is why eco-certified accommodations have become more attractive to travelers conscious of how they treat the planet during their travels.

Choosing Eco-Friendly Transportation

It is known that traveling through the air leaves a large carbon footprint. Airplanes might be the most common transportation method, but they are the most harmful. Therefore, some travel companies have started choosing eco-friendly transportation as they offer travelers. This is a great effort to adapt to sustainable tourism. Therefore, some travel companies are introducing eco-friendly transportation options such as trains, hybrid buses, and electric vehicles. Other travel companies still offer airplanes as methods of traveling. They do, however, recommend taking direct flights instead of connecting flights. This way, a lower carbon footprint will be achieved.

Offering Carbon Offset Programs

Travel companies that can’t offer alternative transportation other than airplanes found another solution. These travel companies now offer carbon offset programs to help counter carbon emissions. These programs help travelers offset their carbon footprint in different ways. Some offered ways include investing in renewable energy, participating in tree-planting campaigns, local developmental projects, and many more. Through these carbon offset programs, travel companies have adapted to sustainable tourism. The programs also help travelers feel better about their carbon footprint, which sometimes can’t be avoided.

Supporting Environmental Conservation Initiatives

Travel companies can next adapt to sustainable tourism by supporting environmental conservation initiatives. As more travel companies start caring about sustainability, their methods of supporting sustainable tourism vary. Some travel companies have begun to support and collaborate with organizations that carry out environmental conservation efforts. They might even offer donations to help these organizations achieve their goals. This is a way to ensure that the company is protecting the planet while helping people explore it simultaneously.

Some travel companies that offer activities and tours will also replace activities that harm the environment with more mindful ones. Some wildlife-friendly activities that you and travel companies can choose from include hikes and birdwatching. Travel companies supporting conservation organizations are a way to show their commitment to adapting to sustainable tourism. Therefore, if you find a travel company that helps conservation organizations or makes conservation efforts independently, it is sustainable.

Educating Clients On Sustainable Practices

Another method that travel companies use to adapt to sustainable tourism is educating clients. Travel companies can increase the number of people choosing sustainable tourism by educating travelers on the sustainable practices they should follow and the practices the company adheres to. By offering educational resources, travel companies can also encourage their clients to adhere to the best sustainable practices during their travels.

There is also the fact that some travel companies choose to let their clients know how exactly the company is adapting to sustainable tourism. This level of transparency can build trust between travel companies and travelers. It can also encourage other travel companies to become more transparent when it comes to the efforts they make to be eco-friendly. Even if clients are unaware of sustainable tourism, these educational efforts can change their minds. In return, this will increase the number of travelers who care for the planet’s safety, even during their trips.

Supporting Local Communities

Part of sustainable tourism is protecting and supporting the local communities in destinations. Therefore, travel companies trying to adapt to sustainable tourism must support local communities at the top of their goals. Supporting local communities is very easy, whether from the travel company’s side or that of travelers themselves. Travel companies have encouraged travelers to choose local businesses instead of corporate ones. Some companies even created itineraries that only included activities that benefitted the local community.

When travelers choose to support local communities and buy from them, this plays a role in practicing sustainable tourism. Through this support, travel companies contribute to helping the local economy in destinations. The benefits of the travel industry are then directed to the local community itself, which will benefit the destination as a whole. When a destination has a good economy, the local community can keep preserving it since they have the means to do so.

When travelers see that their chosen travel company supports local communities, they will know it doesn’t exploit them. This is just one of the many ways travel companies are now adapting to sustainable tourism. It is also important to mention that travel companies can educate their travelers on the culture of the local community they are visiting. This can only benefit both sides as a relationship of understanding is built.

Promoting Activities that Respect Nature

Travel companies aren’t only adapting to sustainable tourism and encouraging travelers to do the same. Today, some travel companies have started to promote activities that respect nature. Some popular activities can’t be part of sustainable tourism since they harm nature. These harmful activities include elephant rides and dolphin shows. When travel companies recommend activities that respect nature, such as hiking, some travelers may be encouraged to try them instead. These activities can play a part in slow tourism, which is also included in sustainable tourism. There is also the option of promoting activities that don’t get a lot of hype despite being sustainable.

Encouraging Off-Peak Travel

Another way travel companies can adapt to sustainable tourism is to encourage off-peak travel. It has been proven that traveling during peak seasons causes so much damage to destinations. This is because of the number of tourists visiting a destination simultaneously. Some destinations don’t have the infrastructure to hold many people. This hurts the destination and the local community since they must deal with the aftermath.

Some travel companies have realized that and started to encourage off-peak travel. With off-peak travel, travelers are distributed across destinations throughout the year, not just during one season. This will lessen the strain on each destination’s resources. Off-peak travel also helps spread the economic gains throughout the year, helping the local community; this is part of sustainable tourism. This kind of travel also helps cultural sights that attract many tourists to recover.

Encouraging Sustainable Activities And Eco-friendly Itineraries

Travel companies go further in their efforts to adapt to sustainable tourism. Today, some travel companies encourage travelers to choose sustainable activities and implement eco-friendly itineraries. These eco-friendly itineraries will, of course, include sustainable activities that contribute to sustainable tourism itself. The number one rule when choosing sustainable activities is to ensure that recommended activities don’t harm the environment or animals. This requires research done by both the travel company and the travelers themselves.

This research is necessary to ensure that activities in eco-friendly itineraries are sustainable. These itineraries serve a major role as they minimize environmental damage, reduce waste, encourage recycling, and many other positive results. When travel companies let their clients know why sustainable activities are better than any other, this helps travelers make an informed decision. Some eco-friendly activities include volunteering, such as cleaning beaches in the visited destinations. This activity won’t only help the environment, but it also help cultivate relationships between travelers and the local community. Who could say no to sustainable activities such as hiking and biking? They even rhyme!

Encouraging Using Zero-waste Materials

Some travel companies have started to change their offerings to adapt to sustainable tourism. For example, some no longer use single-use plastics due to the harm they cause. Instead, they use reusable water bottles. Some companies go the extra mile and encourage travelers to do the same. These companies encourage travelers to bring reusable materials, including water bottles.

They might even recommend bringing clothes and bathing suits made from recycled materials. Offering advice on what travelers should pack to promote sustainable tourism can make a significant difference. If travel companies manage to change the minds of one traveler at a time, then real progress is being made. These devices and also offering educational resources can make a difference. It also helps when travelers see that travel companies follow their advice.

Introducing Digital Tickets and Management Systems

Many travel companies have realized how some of their actions in the past didn’t contribute to sustainable tourism. One example of that has to be paper tickets. When travel companies use paper tickets, they increase paper waste, which harms the environment. As more travel companies adapt to sustainable tourism, many are replacing paper tickets with digital ones. It’s not just tickets. Some companies have taken a further step and made all their documentation digitally.

This is an example of how travel companies can use technology to adapt to and practice sustainable tourism. Another method is through digital management systems and electronic check-ins. Some travel companies have already started following the digital road. This helps travel companies become sustainable and makes traveling quicker and safer for the environment.

Using Food Sourcing and Reducing Food Waste

Food sourcing is part of travel companies’ efforts to adapt to sustainable tourism. Some travel companies are now sourcing locally produced and organic food. Due to the need to transport food, even food can leave a carbon footprint. By using food sourcing, travel companies can minimize this carbon footprint. Some companies have also introduced food waste management programs. Some even participate in food donation programs to local communities.

Travel Companies might even encourage travelers to buy and eat only local and organic food during their travels; this is one of the many ways to participate in eco-tourism. Recommending restaurants and shops in each destination that only use products sourced locally is another way to make a difference. After all, reducing food waste is a necessity to help the planet.

Encouraging Travelers to Never Litter

Unfortunately, some travelers still litter in the destinations they visit. This is why some travel companies try to educate travelers about littering and discourage it. By educating travelers about littering and preventing it, travel companies can help protect destinations. It is important not just to leave destinations as they are but also to make them even better. Knowing how to dispose of trash properly is a way to practice sustainable tourism while traveling.

Monitoring and Evaluating Performance

Travel companies must monitor and evaluate their performance to adapt to sustainable tourism. Any travel company can adopt numerous methods to be sustainable, but there should be a monitoring and evaluating process to ensure these methods work. This is why some travel companies would monitor and assess the impact they are leaving on the environment along with their carbon emissions. Through monitoring and evaluating performance, travel companies can decide whether their efforts toward sustainable tourism are working. This offers room for growth and improvement.

How Travel Companies Can Continue to Adapt to Sustainable Tourism

A field such as sustainable tourism keeps changing rapidly each year. This can make it harder for travel companies to keep making efforts to adapt to sustainable tourism. However, there are ways to keep up with this changing field. For starters, travel companies can keep track of any changes by following news sources that report on sustainable tourism. This way, companies won’t miss any important updates. Another way to keep up is by using the new technologies introduced daily. Some of these technologies can help encourage travelers to protect the environment.

An important thing that travel companies should do to continue adapting to sustainable tourism is to ask their clients. By interviewing travelers and listening to their opinions, travel companies can be met with new methods to follow when it comes to sustainable tourism. Knowing the needs of travelers will help travel companies meet them. Plus, these interviews can introduce travel companies to the challenges some travelers face with sustainable tourism. Travel companies will then be able to find solutions to these challenges, encouraging more people to follow sustainable tourism.

Travel Companies Benefit From Adapting to Sustainable Tourism

While travel companies must adapt to sustainable tourism and encourage people to practice it, they also benefit from it. When a travel company becomes known as an eco-friendly one where sustainable tourism is practiced, this is a form of publicity. It offers these companies a great chance to do many marketing campaigns with sustainable tourism at the center.

With travelers’ increasing interest in sustainable tourism, more people will be looking for travel companies championing this way of traveling. By adapting to sustainable tourism, travel companies can help travelers become more sustainable and learn more about protecting the planet. It is usual for people to look for companies that practice things they are interested in. This is why sustainable tourism also benefits travel companies.

Why Travel Companies Should Leave Overtourism Behind

You might ask yourself why any travel company would go through this to adapt to sustainable tourism. Well, there is an important reason: protecting our planet. Now more than ever, travel companies should leave overtourism behind and embrace sustainable tourism. Overtourism negatively affects the lives of locals in destinations, affecting the environment.

Overtourism causes communities to suffer from an increased cost of living and groceries. Due to the high demand for accommodations, many locals can’t afford to own or rent a house. Overtourism also increases product prices, making them inaccessible to locals. Noise pollution is also an adverse effect of overtourism. This can make the locals unable to enjoy their lives or do any activities. This is why some travel companies have started leaving overtourism behind.

We have told you everything you need to know about how travel companies adapt to sustainable tourism. All these methods are just some of the most popular ones. There are many more ways that travel companies can be sustainable through it. Now you know which travel companies to trust and how to know if a company is sustainable or not.