Travel operators must speed up their conversion to renewable fuels, says the head of a foundation that aims to develop a climate-friendly tourism industry.
Anna Pollock, president and CEO of the Icarus Foundation, told participants at the recent Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) annual summit in Vancouver that the tourism industry must increase its use of renewables to help offset climate change and show travellers that the sector is sustainable.
"This is the time we feel it's important to pull together," she told the audience.
The Icarus Foundation is a not-for-profit environmental, policy, research and educational organization based in Toronto that provides practical information, programs and research designed to offset tourism-related greenhouse gases.
The PNWER conference, which attracted government, industry and academic leaders from Pacific Northwest U.S. states and Western Canada, aims to develop global business opportunities through regional trade partnerships.
Pollock also called on travel businesses to develop more programs, such as the Vancouver Aquarium's Ocean Wise project, which encourage companies to demonstrate their products and services are from sustainable sources.
Tourism Vancouver vice-president Ted Lee, who appeared at the same seminar as Pollock, said PNWER is just beginning to develop climate-friendly partnerships that will help preserve the region's $39-billion travel sector.
"PNWER provides a great forum for us to collaborate on a regional basis on a solution," said Lee. "On a cross-border basis, let's start sharing the knowledge that we all have. Some of us may be ahead of others. But perhaps we can pool our knowledge and we can all be ahead together."
He also called for PNWER members to develop more inter-regional travel opportunities to help offset airplane emissions.
Stephen Regan, president and CEO of the B.C. Council of Tourism Associations (COTA), said his group hopes to expand the Amtrak service along the West Coast so that it can tie into the City of Vancouver's plan for more foot traffic, public transit and taxi travel on a cab system that already uses a large fleet of hybrid cabs.
The industry, he added, must find a way to embrace carbon taxes and find ways to get tax breaks and other government relief, as the Canadian and American federal governments and provinces and states attempt to reduce emissions.
But transportation is only one component of sustainability, he noted. The sector must also embrace its cultural heritage by showing its welcoming nature - in line with First Nations' philosophy - and reach out to the poor.
The call for more tourism-related sustainability within PNWER comes as American visits to Canada have drastically declined in recent years. Regan said U.S. visits to Canada have declined 37 per cent since 2000, while trips to B.C. have dropped 28 per cent.
Like Pollock, he said travel businesses must do a better job of promoting their sustainability.
"Some hotels, for example, have a really good green-key program," he said. "They're recycling water and towels and trying to be thoughtful about cycling (programs) for their employees ... . The better we can tell those stories, the more motivated people will be to get involved."
Tourism Vancouver president and CEO Rick Antonsen said the 2010 Winter Olympics are putting a huge onus on tourism businesses to prove their sustainability, even more than they already have.
"The world will be watching," said Antonsen. "The spotlight will be here ... There will be no place to hide inefficiencies and poor practices."
Meanwhile, city and Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC) officials say they aim to curb tourism-related emissions and traffic congestion during the Games.
With trips around Metro Vancouver expected to increase by 400,000, the city will ban residents and businesses from selling parking space on private property. Some streets will also be designated only for Olympic travel, and VANOC will use a separate Olympic bus system to reduce car trips.
"Driving to a venue will not be an option," said Jerry Dobrovolny, the city's assistant chief engineer.
(Monte Stewart can be reached at monte@businessedge.ca)
