TravTalk India Online Magazine
The COVID-19 crisis may have expedited the adoption of sustainable practices in the travel and tourism world. While it may have been all the rage a while ago, sustainability is expected to take up a more permanent spot in the business of tourism. The industry is unanimous in its opinion that now is the time to walk the talk.
Nisha Verma
One thing that the COVID-19 crisis has re-ignited is the focus on sustainability, and more importantly, its necessity in the post-COVID world. While earlier the subject of sustainability being part of all tourism activities was often debated, today, it only gets a resounding yes from all corners of the travel and tourism world.
Not a choice anymore
Shoba Mohan, Founder, RARE India, says that while there are people who feel sustainability needs to be followed as a strategy, some others believe that it has to be set aside. “It’s all about individual understanding. Today, with nature reviving itself, I hope people take cognisance of the fact that sustainability is not a choice. While COVID-19 might affect many of us, climate change affects each one of us. With earthquakes, locust swarms, etc., what more does one need to be told that we are in the throes of a massive climate crisis?” she questions.
Sustainability is spirituality
Another advocate of responsible and sustainable tourism is Steve Borgia, CMD (Creator, Mentor, Developer), INDeco Leisure Hotels, who has made sure that the brand has the ethos of sustainability and responsibility at its core. He believes that sustainability is the second name of spirituality. “Tourism that does not benefit local communities is not fair tourism. We need to understand sustainability as the other side of spirituality. Just like spiritual rules, we need to frame sustainability rules and make India live longer. We need to have a new relationship with Earth. We must transform our products and the way we offer services. We have to offer them in a way that guests want and feel safe with,” he shares.
Hit the reset button
Echoing a similar sentiment is Suman Billa, Director, Technical Cooperation & Silk Road Development at UNWTO, who says that things will change for the industry. “As an industry, this crisis allows us to hit the reset button. It’s not going to be business as usual once the world reopens. We are going to factor environmental cost beyond economic cost, look at destinations and business establishments getting closer to a zero-carbon footprint, zero food miles, community-centred exercises and meaningful experiences. I think the nature of tourism is going to change and mass tourism or low-cost, high-volume tourism is going to take a hit. It gives us an opportunity to press the reset button and starting now, plan how we need to see that change happening for us to emerge stronger,” he asserts.
To this, adds Olivier Ponti, VP Insights, ForwardKeys, that there exists a need for innovation, as he considers the present the best time for it. He says, “Sustainability is something that people will keep taking into account increasingly, hence, it should be taken as an integral part of the new business model because these concerns are here to stay. It’s not a fad and needs to be taken seriously. The future must take into account innovation, sustainability, sanitisation and health norms prescribed by governments.”
Some brands, in fact, are already bringing in that change. Rakesh Mathur, Director, Lords Hotels & Resorts, says, “In warfare parlance, in such a situation, you take no chances. You adopt a zero-risk policy towards guests, staff, suppliers and all stakeholders. This is the guiding principle behind any workstation, process, service design, procurement that we have to adopt. Hygiene, sanitation, sustainable and responsible practices must become the norm. This is what we have implemented at Lords Hotels. Sustainable tourism practices are here to stay in the post-COVID world, even when a cure is found. Hotels being high consumers of resources and high producers of effluents play a vital role in this. At Lords Hotels & Resorts, impactful initiatives were taken to implement sustainable tourism practices even before COVID-19 spread. Initiatives like minimising plastic, use of glass water bottles, use of dispensers for daily hygiene amenities, water recycling, plants inside property for cleaner air, etc., to mention a few were adopted.”
An opportunity
Billa points out that customers would increasingly prefer sustainable tourism products as we move towards the post-COVID world. “The important thing is, how do we maximise the benefit to communities? We know that people’s fear would be a factor in taking decisions, but there will also be an ethical element to how people will take these decisions. If nothing, the pandemic has chastised mankind significantly and I think people are going to be looking at more meaningful experiences and being more responsible and sustainable. When this comes into play and if consumer preferences are going to follow that line, governments will come up with polices that support. I think it is a great opportunity for India because we have a strong robust tourism sector, but we can’t say that all parts of it work well for the community. This gives us a good opportunity to press the reset button to show our commitment to the environment and social values, and make sure that communities are benefitted not just by way of job creation, but also by way of supplies and being part of that ecosystem,” he shares.
Meenakshi Sharma, Director General, Ministry of Tourism, agrees and says that our emphasis should be on responsible or sustainable tourism. “There are various parts to this subject. Firstly, we should see if policy would support such initiatives, or on the state level, infrastructure projects will take care of it, or whether the industry follows it, and if the tourist is responsible or not,” she believes.
Positive steps
The Ministry is in the process of making some changes in the new tourism policy, with responsible tourism as its foundation, says Sharma. “We can’t discuss responsible tourism as a separate entity; it should be a part of everything we do. More elements will be added to responsible tourism as we move forward. It cannot only be the responsibility of the service provider, but also the one receiving the service,” she says.
