Events – International Institute of Tourism Studies

TOURISM IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE CHANGE

GW IITSNovember 13, 2019Leave a comment

Rising seas, melting snowcaps and rampant wildfires make destinations increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. While the tourism industry is certainly responsible for contributing to the emission of greenhouse gases that lead to a warming climate, the solution is not to stop travel. Because tourism plays a vital role in driving economic growth and development, as well as conservation, travel companies, tour operators and individuals need to find new approaches to responsible travel in the face of climate change.

On October 30, The George Washington University’s International Institute of Tourism Studies and the Adventure Travel and Trade Association (ATTA) co-hosted AdventureConnect, which brought together adventure travel industry leaders, educators and students to discuss the future of sustainable tourism. The event was moderated by attorney Chunnie Wright, who provides legal counsel to adventure travel companies, and featured panelists Karl Egloff, Director of Travel & Conservation at the World Wildlife Fund; Jeff Bonaldi, founder & CEO of The Explorer’s Passage; and Russell Walters, who serves as ATTA’s North America Strategic Director and AdventureEDU Educator.

Panelists and participants addressed a number of key issues during a lively discussion that drew an engaged crowd. The following are some of the key takeaways from the evening:

SUSTAINABILITY MUST BE A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY.

While the tourism industry as a whole—including airlines, cruise ships and hotels— needs to take the lead on adopting practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, consumers must do their part to drive efforts by demanding more of businesses and supporting those that demonstrate good environmental stewardship and leadership.

TOUR OPERATORS HAVE A KEY ROLE TO PLAY.

By fully understanding the sustainability of their own supply chains—including guides, vendors, and other suppliers—and by engaging with those companies and individuals who are demonstrably reducing their environmental footprint, tour operators can wield significant influence. They, too, can drive environmental initiatives internally by offsetting all of their trips.

TOUR OPERATORS AND DESTINATIONS CAN WORK TOGETHER TO EDUCATE TRAVELERS.

Around the world, tour operators are partnering with destinations to increase public awareness through climate-focused, educational trips. For example, renowned primatologist Jane Goodall recently joined a group to plant trees at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro, an area that is exhibiting the harsh effects of climate change, partly due to large-scale deforestation. The expedition, a partnership between adventure travel company The Explorer’s Passage and conservation group ClimateForce, raised proceeds to fund large tree-planting projects. And in Iceland, where higher temperatures are melting glaciers, companies like Into the Glacier, which leads visitors through ice tunnels, are educating the public about the impacts of climate change.

TRAVELERS SHOULD MAKE INFORMED CHOICES WHEN FLYING.

While overall air travel is responsible for 2.5 percent of the world’s gas emissions, studies estimate that by 2050, aviation could take up a quarter of the world’s total carbon budget—or the amount of carbon dioxide emissions permitted to keep global temperature rise to within 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. Tour operators and travelers can contribute to lower emissions by adhering to the NERD rule: Choose NEWER aircrafts, buy ECONOMY seats, fly on REGULAR (medium-sized) jets and fly DIRECT, without layovers.sus

SPREAD THE WORD.

Because it can be challenging to understand—much less adopt—sustainability-oriented solutions, small businesses in particular often need support. Destinations and experienced businesses could help to scale sustainability by sharing their stories, experiences and recommendations for best practices.

Overtourism Forum Draws Thought Leaders From Around the World

GW IITSOctober 18, 2018Leave a comment

In collaboration with our colleagues at the Center for Responsible Travel, on World Tourism Day—September 27th—the International Institute of Tourism Studies gathered industry leaders from around the world to share their approaches to the vexing challenges that stem from overtourism.

The forum, Overtourism: Seeking Solutions, was a great success in terms of attendance, media coverage and the sharing of ideas for possible pathways forward. As all presenters stressed, overtourism stems from a complex set of challenges; solutions will need to be multi-faceted and site-specific.

Francesca Street—who interviewed three of our panelists for her CNN feature Can the World Be Saved from Overtourism?—summarized the key takeaway as follows: “Speakers agree that government, locals and tourism companies working together is the best recipe for success. Events such as the World Tourism Day Forum also allow for cross-pollination and sharing of ideas on a wider scale."

Johanna Jainchill, in her Travel Weekly story Experts Talk Threat of Overtourism and Possible Solutions, said: "Among the clearest takeaways from the event was that governments worldwide need to step up and recognize they are the first line of defense in saving their historical cities and natural treasures from being "loved to death."

A few additional takeaways...

Recognize the tipping point: More isn't always better. Determine maximum capacity for your destination and monitor social media to determine whether it's on traveler hot lists.
Plan ahead: Make tourism part of comprehensive urban, regional and destination plans.
Stay flexible and adaptable: What works for historic sites doesn't necessarily work for beach communities, for example. Needs differ and change over time.
Rethink good governance and management: DMOs have a vital role to play beyond marketing; they need to participate in the sustainable management of destinations.
Redirect visitors: Encourage visitors to travel smarter, to seek out hidden gems and to contribute to the protection of the places they visit.

For those unable to attend the forum in person or via livestream, we've posted video recordings of the entire day on the International Institute of Tourism YouTube playlist.

Tourism & Debate Students Travel to Indonesia: Competition Awards Ceremony Provides New Appreciation for Innovative Approaches to Sustainable Tourism

GW IITSDecember 15, 2016December 13, 2017Leave a comment

Visitors to Rawa Pening, a lake in Central Java, Indonesia, describe their experience as “peaceful”, “calm” and “joyful.” But the tourist destination is threatened by an influx of invasive plants, which scientists warn may cause the lake’s waters to dry up within a few years. So Inasa Ori Sativa, a student from the from Bandung Institute of Tourism, came up with the innovative idea of using water hyacinths as a craft material for local artisans. Her proposal, submitted to the 2017 Forum on International Tourism and Environment (FITE) Business Solutions competition won first place among more than one hundred entries.

For the competition—sponsored by the George Washington University International Institute for Tourism Studies, the GW Debate and Literary Society, the Bandung Institute of Tourism, the Embassy of France to Indonesia and the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism—students were invited to submit proposals for business ideas in support of sustainable tourism. In addition to the students in Indonesia, George Washington University students also applied to the competition. Debate and Literary Society organizers Bailey Fischer-Columbo and Jeffery Lear along with GW competition winners Stephanie Westhelle and Sarah Marin, received all-expense-paid trips to attend the award ceremony in West Java, where they helped to prepare the Indonesian students for the event by coaching them on presentation and English language skills.

The GW students were joined by Director of Debate Paul Hayes and International Institute of Tourism Studies Executive Director Seleni Matus, who in her presentation underscored the importance of this particular year, which has been designated by the UN as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. She remarked: “When carefully managed, tourism has the transformative power to be a force for good—it can enrich lives, strengthen communities and help protect resources and hertiage.”

For the students, the opportunity to work with counterparts in Indonesia and witness first-hand their commitment to sustainability, was truly life-changing. As Westhelle observed, “In America, too often we take our education for granted. But it’s clear that the Indonesian students I met value the opportunities their universities provide in terms of shaping their careers. They were so proactive. Also, sustainability is well-integrated into the culture. The competition submissions were truly inspiring.”

This was the competition’s second year. According to Paul Hayes, the YouTube video submissions from last year where students proposed their ideas for sustainability now have more than 60,000 views. For more information, please visit the FITE website.

Managing Earthquakes, Terrorism, Health Epidemics & Other Crises

GW IITSApril 21, 2016Leave a comment

Immediately following the devastating April 16^th earthquake that killed and wounded hundreds of people in Ecuador, the country’s Minister of Tourism Fernando Alvaro issued the following statement: “Visitors traveling to Ecuador or planning a visit to unaffected areas can feel confident that their trip will not be impacted and can feel secure to continue with their plans to visit the country.”

The earthquake itself and the minister’s prompt response, just three days before the annual George Washington Tourism Alumni Network Colloquium, a collaboration with the Organization of American States, highlighted the importance of smart and timely disaster response and management, particularly for a country like Ecuador that has invested heavily in its tourism sector.

In his presentation, Dr. Neil Parsan, Secretary for Integral Development of the Organization of American States, stressed that “To remain competitive in today’s travel market, destinations must maintain the safety and security of their people and tourists.”

The event, attended by tourism leaders including Jonathan Grella, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs, US Travel Association and Marcos Espinal, Director of the Department of Communicable Diseases and Health Analysis at the Pan American Health Organization, discussed the various organizational approaches to crises and the fundamental steps involved in managing them.

As Grella pointed out, “Crisis come in different forms: terrorism, health crisis, budget shutdowns, cyber-attacks, political boycotts, and they all have different implications on travel. In a crisis you have to acknowledge the gravity of the situation. If you are responsible for the crisis, you need to hold yourself accountable as an organization.”

Espinal focused on prevention: “Let’s have strong systems in place to prevent the crisis from happening in the first place," he said. He has been taking that approach in regard to the spread of the Zika virus, for example, which has experts scrambling and is already affecting the tourism industry.

Panelists from various destinations discussed their country’s approaches to safety and security:

Gloria Polastri, Alternative Representative of Ecuador to the Organization of American States and former Vice Minister of Security, explained how the history and geography of Ecuador has long made national security and safety a top priority, and that during the recent earthquake the Ecuadorian government was able to deploy 10,000 soldiers and 4,600 police officers to the affected areas.

Rodrigo Esponada Cascajares, Regional Director of the North America Mexico Tourism Board, addressed the public sector’s responsibilities and the re-positioning of Mexico following 9-11. “The tourism industry was never the same.” Not only did Mexico essentially halt tourism for two weeks to meet the UN health and safety guidelines, but the country publicly stressed to North American tourists that the country’s proximity to the US allowed visitors to drive as opposed to fly across the border. Through the tourism board’s strategic efforts and collaboration with the private sector, Mexico was able to increase the number of tourist arrivals last year to 32 million.

Malia Asfour, the Jordan Tourism Board’s Director for North America, explained how Jordan, in addition to struggling from internal crises, continues to work to counteract public misconception stemming from its geographical location and proximity to countries impacted by terrorism.

Jordan promotes its natural and historical assets to offset the challenges posed by its geographic location.

If you were unable to attend the Spring Colloquium, you’ll find the recorded presentations here.