WHILE the nation [Australia] debates the merits and morality of a carbon tax, our travel industry offers sustainable tourism leadership.
Transport-related carbon emissions account for more than 80 per cent of tourism industry pollutants according to the Sustainable Tourism Co-operative Research Centre of Australia, and given the distances involved in both domestic travel and international arrivals, this reality will be slow to change.
Australia's National Long-Term Tourism Strategy, endorsed in December 2009, provides a "policy framework to position the Australian tourism industry as a sustainable and economically vibrant industry" and aims to prepare it "for a carbon-constrained future".
A wise move, given tourism contributed more than $40 billion to Australia's gross domestic product in 2007-08 and employed half a million people.
Climate Action Australia has initiated a grass-roots certification program that rewards businesses, innovators and leaders in a scheme the public can easily understand.
Under the initiative, tourism operators can register their carbon-reduction efforts and, after assessment, will be certified to display a logo highlighting their green credentials.
Eco-Tourism Australia recently published The Green Travel Guide 2011 (available in ebook from ecotourism.org.au, or print, $19.95) a state-by-state listing of certified businesses, covering tour operators, restaurants, camping grounds and luxury resorts around the nation. Other operators, meanwhile, have online eco-policies, offering travellers earth-friendly holiday options at their fingertips.
During an increasingly fraught time for the world's tourism industry, operators would be wise to heed the growing trend towards carbon-friendly travel. Not only will it help us on the way to a sustainable future, it might also be the key to a competitive edge.
QUOTABLE"Tourists don't know where they've been, travellers don't know where they're going."
Paul Theroux.
