WTTC Sustainability Head’s Mission: Improve Lives in Tourism Destinations

“A better place to live is a better place to visit, “said Christopher Imbsen, director of sustainability for the World Travel and Tourism Council, in an interview with TravelPulse. He explained that tourism “is a tool, not an end in itself, with the end goal to improve the places that travelers are visiting and to make the lives of those who live there better.”

WTTC, said Imbsen, is an organization of 200 CEOs who are “movers and shakers” in the travel industry – representing every business segment – who have come together to further the interests of providers. Historically, that mission had involved economic research and reporting on such metrics as employment. In recent years, he said, “Members realized that is not enough and the industry needs to have an understanding of the holistic impact of travel.”

Now, with a different emphasis in its research, WTTC can break out each of 185 national economies and provide data on emissions, water consumption, energy use and more – as well as information on social matters such as the age and gender of workers who drive business creation.

Transparency around all of this data, said Imbsen, will help governments achieve sustainable development goals in the interest of positively impacting local communities. This mission has broadened in recent years as it became clear that a special effort was necessary for social sustainability – improving the lives of those who live in tourist destinations.

What he is now hearing from the private sector, said Imbsen, is they want the focus on improving lives. “It makes business sense,” said Imbsen, especially because a large percentage of local tourism businesses are small,

What WTTC provides for governments and members is research, guidance and increasingly initiatives that will actually have an impact on the ground. Toward that end,  a Net Zero Road Map was published at the 2021 COP26 United Nations climate change conference in Glasgow.

“Research, guidance and dialogue are all great,” said Imbsen, “but we also have initiatives.” Already in place, he said, is the Hotel Sustainability Basics, a list of 12 fundamental criteria for hotel sustainability, including measuring and reducing energy, water use, waste and carbon emissions and replacing items such as plastic water bottles and mini toiletry bottles. There is also a verification system aligned with those criteria.

There have already been results. WTTC research shows that travel and tourism generated 8.1% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, and between 2010 and 2019, emissions intensity fell by 15%. A full 40% of the emissions were from transportation, and 20% from utilities, like electricity. With that data, the council is working with members to form a global renewable energy coalition to support members in cutting energy use.

A major challenge in all this, said Imbsen, is the complexity of the travel industry. A cruise line or airline might generate Scope 1 emissions (meaning they directly produce emissions), while a booking engine might be responsible for Scope 2 or 3 emissions, which are produced indirectly. The goal then, said Imbsen, is to create a collective responsibility where all parties need to figure out the issues and work together with governments on solutions. “It’s easy to point  fingers at a transportation company,” said Imbsen, “but we should think twice before we do this and realize that we depend on each other and that we all must work on this together.”

As for travel advisors and other travel sellers, Imbsen said he understands that planning a trip is complicated enough without adding sustainability to the mix. However, he said, extensive research shows tourists do want sustainable options. Travel advisors, said Imbsen, can be great storytellers about how a sustainable trip will make clients feel good about themselves and their choices. If enough travelers make conscious choices, said Imbsen, that will drive change.

There are other good reasons to understand these issues, said Imbsen. One is an ethical imperative. There are also customer reasons as younger generations will be more demanding in this area. And there are savings to be had as less water, energy and waste are used.

And, inevitably, there will be regulatory reasons to change as governments become more active in seeking to deal with climate issues.

Looking ahead, said Imbsen, the industry needs to consider the economic value of environmental assets of tourist destinations. Nature, he said, is the crucial element in what makes a place appealing, and 80% of all tourism goods and services depend on natural resources and the ecosystem. “There are very clear economic arguments to be made for sustainability,” Imbsen concluded.

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