CHAPTER 5

The Facilitating

Sectors

Chapter Objectives

After complete this chapter ,the readers should be

able to:

Describe the strategic role and significance of travel

agencies, guidebooks, outbound tour operators, air

carriers, cruise ship and hospitality sector

Identify pattern of sustainability related practices

within featured sectors of the tourism industry

Discuss the opportunities and obstacles faced by

each sectors in pursuit of sustainability.

Introduction

Sustainable tourism is an important objective of

government and international organization;

Conventional tourism industry imitate to

alternative tourism by sustainability agenda;

Green consumers and green tourists indicate a

social paradigm shift.

Travel Agencies

Travel agencies operate in origin

regions and provide a combination of

retail service such as carriers, car

rentals, tour operators and

accommodations on a commission

basis.

Travel agencies foster sustainability

throughout the tourism system by

providing information about

appropriate behavior, green tourism

businesses/products and giving

preferential exposure to the latter.

Sustainability initiatives

ASTA(American Society of Travel Agents)

focuses on tourists responsibilities, tourists' right,

avoidance risk and hot destination;

US based travel agency, the World Travel Club,

marketing seeks to offset the greenhouse gas

emissions of travellers by investing in the

installation of natural gas boiler to reduce the

emissions.

Also, the club attempts to establish connections

with environmentally friendly tourism related

business and donate 1% of revenue to

environmental clean up efforts

Sustainability initiatives

Internet technologies allows travel

agencies to incorporate with green

products and organizations;

Tradition face to face as an

opportunity to work in highly

personalized way with clients on

more complex specialized

purchases.

E.g. extended long haul vacation or

occasion travel for wedding or

anniversaries.

Specialized merchandise:

guidebooks

There are:

Guidebooks

Luggage

Backpacks

Post cards

Souvenirs etc.

Guidebooks are established component of

alternative tourism, responsible or sustainable

tourism.

E.g. Footprint Caribbean Islands

Outbound tour operators

Outbound tour operators situated in origin

region, make contracts with:

Airlines

Inbound tour operators

Compile package tours

Organize travel groups

Arrange travel schedules

Sustainability related sentiment and

practices

Direction of sustainability among some segments

of the outbound tour operator industry:

• International Federation of Tour Operators; proactive

environmental and social action

• Germany-based TUI; sustainability product quality

long-term survival

• UK-based outbound operator; sustainability

awareness and practices

Sustainability related sentiment and

practices

Most prevalent practices cited by

respondents include:

Provision of ecotrip in brochures

Donating to local charities

Supporting research related to

sustainability

Promoting green holiday

Lobbying in destination to improve

infrastructure

Recycling brochure

Selecting tour guide from the local

community

Tour Operators Initiative for

Sustainable Tourism Development

Europe played a leadership role in the Tour

Operator Initiative(TOI) for sustainable Tourism

Development;

In cooperation with the Global Reporting Initiative,

the TOI is developing an extensive set of coded

indicators that are relevant specifically to the

outbound tour operator sector;

Indicators are grouped into categories that include

product management and development, supply

chain management and cooperation with

destination.

Transportation providers

Issued related to

sustainability include:

• The extraction and production

of fossil fuels to meet tourism-

related demand;

• Atmospheric and other

pollution (noise, visual);

• The consumption of fuel and

non-fuel natural resources in

the production and

maintenance of vessels used

to transport tourists;

Transportation providers

(cont.)

• The provision of supporting

infrastructure, services and facilities

such as road, airport,

accommodation, airport

concentration;

• Parking garages;

• Problem of traffic congestion and

safety.

Airlines

Sustainable forms of transportation, dramatic

increase in the volume of air traffic during the

latter half of 21th century;

Commercial airline, 4% of all atmospheric carbon

dioxide ozone depletion and nitrogen oxide

emission, contribute to global warming;

Airline industry implicated as a major contributor

to stratospheric ozone depletion, while inflight

services generate large volumes of solid waste

Airlines

o Airline industry

enforced through the

ICAO’s committee on

Aviation Environmental

Protection, include

standards

environmental impact

reduction.

Airport issue

Congestion

Noise

Elevated pollution

Water pollution

Increased crowded

Cruise ships

A reputation for irresponsible environmental and

social practices of Cruise Ship industry:

Unusual nature of activities; transportation, accommodation, hospitality and attraction

High levels of pollution, congestion and waste

Waste and congestion levels

Reducing economic benefits to the broader local community

Flags of convenience, avoid corporate taxes

Globalized sector cannot be easily regulated or policed

Fostering bad environmental track record, release toxic wastes

Sustainability initiatives

International Council of Cruise Lines initiates

Cruise Industry Waste Practices and Procedures

programme;

US Environmental Protection Agency applied to

engage in international commerce:

Marine Sanitation Device,

Discharge black water,

Environmental awareness training,

Aggressive recycling,

Process cruise ship wastes

And testing of waste treatment technologies.

Sustainability initiatives

In 2003, Ocean Conversation and Tourism

Alliance partnership with Conservation

International with

Protect biodiversity of cruise destination

Improve waste water management

Protect historical and natural resources, partner

with destination group

Promoting environmental awareness among staff

and tourists.

Hospitality providers

Hospitality sector influence over destination

sustainability;

The decision of build, type, size of hotel influence

the type, number and their activities;

Hotel provide the visible evidence, easily

overwhelm the local places if designed and

situated insensitively;

Hospitality sector, enormous consume resources

and produce wasted.

Large block of accommodation, integrated resort

enclaves, internalize tourist activities and

expenditure.

Pioneering sustainable

tourism

Inter-continental Hotel and resort positioned

environmental ethics at the core business

principles;

International Hotel Environment Initiative, the

largest hotel chains as one of the first formal

organization-wide sustainability programs within

tourism;

Magazine Green Hotelier

Guide environmental best practices for hotel

Web-best benchmarking tool to assess and improve

environmental performance

Discussion Question