Travel has been warned it should not take the onset of an environmental disaster to spur rapid implementation of new sustainability protocols.
"We don’t want travel and tourism to go through a disaster for rapid implementation to happen and for people to stand up and take notice when it comes to sustainability," Abta head of sustainability Carol Rose told TTG’s Fairer Travel Sustainability Forum on Tuesday (4 July).
"At Abta, we have identified nine core principles which are aligned with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," continued Rose, speaking during a panel discussion around "economic leakage". "It is not just about climate – it’s about our duty of care to the human race."
Matt Callaghan, easyJet holidays director of customer and operations, outlined to delegates the operator’s work on defining an environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) framework for the tourism industry in partnership with the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the University of Oxford.
"We need a clear set of well-defined measures across the industry," he said. "I’m really keen on rapid implementation – we have to start doing things now and not just talk about them.
"We have got to start taking small steps forward, for example, we have started work with accommodation providers to draft the ECG framework to see their feedback."
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