Sustainable tourism – simple, quick solutions

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Sustainable offer development for 2021

Sustainable tourism is probably a must in the long run.

But already now, more and more people want safe and sustainable travel offers. This is because the Corona pandemic has quickly and strongly changed travel behavior and guest preferences: Sustainable travel usually also means safe travel!

So it’s a matter of developing sustainable offers that are ready to go as early as this summer.

What is sustainable tourism?

According to Wikipedia, sustainable tourism is a form of travel that has three main concerns:

having as little impact as possible on or harm to the nature traveled,
experiencing nature as closely, intensively and originally as possible,
adapting as much as possible to the culture of the country visited.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) puts it this way:

“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.”

So the term “sustainable tourism” is very broad and goes far beyond eco-tourism. Therefore, it takes years, and costs a lot of money to make a tourist destination truly sustainable.
Of course, this is completely impossible in a few months. But there are very real solutions to better position a destination for sustainable tourism in a short time and with little money.

Sustainable tourism in the great outdoors: an elderly couple in sportswear riding IeBikes in a meadow. In front of them are flowering trees, in the distance high mountains still covered with remnants of snow.

Alone for two, fresh air, beautiful nature and exercise: That’s sustainable tourism!

Sustainability in the spotlight!

Almost everywhere, sustainable tourism is already being practiced by individual service providers and community institutions.
So start with collecting info about all sustainable projects and providers, e.g. waste separation & recycling, clean electricity, hotels & restaurants with eco-certificate, organic farmers, beekeepers, craftsmen and farm stores…and of course intact nature! There is certainly more than you think!

Then it’s a matter of developing cool marketing messages from them!
Sustainable tourism is perfect for “storytelling“. After all, the target audience wants a “close, intense and original” experience. So sustainable tourism brings an increased interest in nature, culture, culinary and lifestyle.

Isn’t that just greenwashing?

This means putting on a “green” cloak just for PR reasons. We think: No, not greenwashing. Just bringing sustainable initiatives into the marketing spotlight. And the killer argument “The most sustainable trip is the one that doesn’t happen at all.” we don’t accept either. Because it only refers to ecological impacts. And is therefore not comprehensively sustainable!

Admitting that sustainability is still a long way off softens critics right from the start. Because sustainable tourism is not a project that is completed at some point. It rather is a process of continuous development and improvement. And every step in the right direction, no matter how small, is something positive.

Sustainable tourism offers for 2021

You have collected all suitable service providers and existing offers? But there are not enough sustainable vacation experiences to set you apart from other destinations?
Then it’s time to create additional offers! And find simple, fast and affordable solutions that are ready to go in 2021!

Examples:

Turn existing hiking trails into themed trails such as: “the life of mountain farmers/fishermen”, “the forest”, etc.
Offer guided tours (personal and/or with smartphone audio guide) to sustainable farms. e.g. to the animal-friendly organic dairy farmer. Even the new, organic sewage plant can wow visitors!
Offer outdoor courses as safe small-scale events, e.g., medicinal herb knowledge, safe alpine cow encounters, cheese/butter making, etc.
Arrange e-bikes or car sharing.
Put together packages with eco-friendly travel and sustainable activities.