A curated collection of can’t-miss news from this week, including sustainable travel trends and more. Sign up to get the TURNER Weekly Download in your inbox.
The effects of climate change aren’t just predictions. They’re happening in 2021. And it’s becoming increasingly clear that the time to act is now. Where does the travel industry fit into the fight for our future? Recently, members of the TURNER team sat in on an illuminating United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) panel, featuring discussions on just that topic. One thing is for sure, writes Whitt Kelly. Sustainability isn’t an option anymore. It’s a necessity.
You’ve heard of sustainable travel. The next step? Regenerative travel. In MindBodyGreen, Annie Daly writes: “Unlike sustainable travel, which encourages globe-trotters to leave no trace behind, regenerative travel encourages you to take that mindset one step further and leave a place even better than it was when you arrived.” It’s not just “do no harm” on your vacations. It’s do some good.
No matter how eco-friendly you may be, we could all use some help in being a better tourist. Time Out has 12 great tips. One of them is to put your money in the right hands. “There’s no better way to say ‘thank you’ than by supporting local businesses,” writes Karen Edwards. “After all, these are the people directly impacted by tourism.”
Some of the most vulnerable destinations to climate change? The world’s island nations. Ironically, most of these nations rely on tourism for their economies. In Afar, Mallika Sens looks at this complex issue. “The predicament these islands find themselves in is essentially recursive,” she writes. “Attract tourism for economic survival, which in turn contributes to climate change, which in turn bleaches the colorful reefs and destroys the pristine beaches that attract tourists. As is, by the end of the century, these low-lying islands could drown entirely.”
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