NEW TREND IN TOURISM AND SUSTAINABILITY: INVESTING IN DESTINATIONS RATHER THAN THE DEMANDS OF TRAVELERS

RENEGOCIATE TOURISM FOR A BETTER FUTURE

Many of us who work in the tourism industry wonder how we can make travel a much more sustainable activity. The challenge is enormous, since practically all our actions have consequences (many of them negative) for the destinations, the flora, the fauna and the people who inhabit those places.

And there is a phrase by Jean-Claude Razel (mountain climber, adventurer, guide and entrepreneur) that has caught our attention: "Don't sell what the customer wants. Start selling what the destination needs." And especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, tourism was hit hard, and in the following months it has been reactivated in such a way that many are wondering if we should go back to working with the rules and forms prior to 2019, or should reformulate how we do adventure tourism.

That said, the industry faces some conflicts such as excess of tourists in some destinations, climate change, environmental degradation. From the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) they indicated that there must be changes in the philosophical bases to understand that traveling is a privilege, not a right, and that the client is generally not correct.

From there arises the need - they say - to start investing resources in what destinations need, over what tourists demand. And the figures in tourism are impressive: in 2030 it is expected that there will be 1.8 billion travelers in the world, which forces us to take the necessary measures soon to achieve the long-awaited sustainability. We must therefore modify the idea that passenger arrivals are synonymous with success, and rather it implies taking increasingly complex measures regarding health in our destinations.

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Categorías - People - Adventure - Education - Challanges

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