What IS sustainable travel, anyway?

I participated in my first #ExpChat, a weekly Twitter chat hosted by Expedia on different travel topics, last week. The topic was “sustainable travel”. Admittedly, I was a bit taken aback by what I heard.

“Q1 What comes to mind when you think of sustainable travel?”

Some replied with honest ignorance, like —

“I’m not sure.”
“I’m here to find out!”

Many others centered on another theme—

“Using the same towels and linens for more than one day at my hotel.”
“Yes! I’m annoyed that more hotels don’t offer a discount for reusing your towels!”

That’s when I realized something. I haven’t been doing my job properly. If the travel community does not have a sense of what sustainable travel truly means, I need to help get everyone up to speed.

Sustainable Travel is not the same thing as “green travel” or “eco-tourism”. Absolutely, YES —environmental stewardship is a very important component, but there is a reason why it is not lumped together. The environmental piece is only half of the picture.

Sustainable Travel is just as concerned with cultural preservation as it is with environmental preservation. Without discounting the important of biodiversity, habitat restoration and the like, sustainable travel is about making tourism work for host communities in the long run. It views the traditional culture and beliefs as equally important to protect as the natural setting these communities call home.

Sustainability means “the capacity to endure“. This is where the conversation MUST be elevated beyond reusing linens.

How do we give communities the capacity to endure, and even thrive, in the face of tourism? What broad-spectrum benefits must be built-in for locals to embrace and grow with tourism? A large part of looking at sustainable tourism is the benefit that local communities see – economically, for sure, but also on an emotional/spiritual level.  How do indigenous communities who now deal with tourism on a daily basis relate to it and all it brings? Does it promote cultural pride rather that erode at traditional values? Does it bring new opportunities for prosperity, new access to beneficial technologies and overall, a better way of life? And who determines that?

To me, sustainable travel seeks to answer questions like these, and in the process, create lasting, meaningful tourism structures that preserve and promote the cultural and environmental treasures of the world.

I have no intention of shaming my fellow tweeters on #ExpChat; I gained a lot of insight from the discussion and came away with a feeling of great hope. Even with the limits of definition, there was a genuine interest to learn more, and a couple of very valid concepts and ideas being volleyed around. It’s discussions like this which will move things forward.

So, let’s talk! How do you see sustainable tourism defining itself today? What do we need to focus on to elevate the conversation about sustainability in travel?

Hotel linens photo by violarenate via creative commons

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If you’ve been there, or even have just watched Rick Steves scamper along its hiking paths, you already have a feeling – Italy’s Cinque Terre is a special place.

This small region of five historic villages clinging dramatically to Italy’s gorgeous Ligurian Coast ticks all the travel boxes: undeniable natural beauty, a relaxed pace, and striking traditional villages that have hummed along tucked in the rocky folds of the coastline for over 1,000 years.

Naturally, such a gem of a place has not been lonely for visitors. Tourism in the tiny towns of the Cinque Terre has boomed dramatically over the past decade, and the region now hosts over 3 million visitors annually. And, as is so often the case when tourism explodes like this, it’s brought it’s share of complications too; the simple way of life is threatened by the thunderous hooves of the tourist dollar.

Recognizing its value, UNESCO named it a World Heritage Site in 1997. Then, in 1999, the Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre was created to conserve both the ecology and culture of this prized area. Programs blossomed to protect the environment, such as a ban on plastic bottles, and promote traditional practices like the making of Sciachetrà, the local dessert wine.

Sadly, the great momentum these projects were gaining came to a crashing halt last year when the park’s president, Franco Bonanini, had to be dismissed from his position for creating corrupting rivalries and funneling money to fuel favors rather than benefit the communities of Cinque Terre.

When I explored the Cinque Terre with my sister last spring, I admit, I was unaware of this chequered recent history. We visited during the off-season, when things were expectedly slow, and though we were surprised to learn that most of the famous walking trail connecting the five cities was closed when we arrived, it was easily blamed off on springtime landslides. But when I watched the Vendemmia trailer last week, something clicked. We had been traveling in an endangered place, a place caught up in its own struggle for prosperity without exploitation, and preservation without greed.

Vendemmia: A Documentary Film is the project of two travelers, Sharon Boekle and Krista Lee Weller, who came to the Cinque Terre to document the disappearing way of life. But as they talked with the locals and heard their stories, a larger picture framing the current challenges came in to view. Having immersed themselves in the traditional way of life they had originally sought to document, they want to return now and tell the rest of the story that unfolded before them – a cultural treasure in desperate need of a sustainable future.

I’m thrilled to see this project because this story is taking place in thousands of villages, towns, parks and neighborhoods around the world. It represents the heart of why I do what I do. Travelers have an important role to play in this story. We don’t always have to represent the problem. We can bring new eyes, new attention and appreciation to ancient cultures and traditions that are fading away. We can help create and foster the relationship of host and guest with the people we meet, not landlords or sales agents. As travelers we need to open our eyes and truly see the realities that we are both stepping into and creating, and feel empowered in our position of being able to help steer things in a positive way. There’s a win-win situation to be created by sustainable tourism, where both the hosts and the visitors can benefit and be happy.

You can support Vendemmia’s creators’ return to Italy to tell the rest of the story as it exists today, in a state of flux, following the scandalous departure of Bonanini and devastating landslides in October 2011. They’ve already made their initial goal, but hop over the project’s Kickstarter page to help cover the rest of the costs for this important film.

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Whether the locals are dressing up or partying down, visiting during a major festival or event can really enhance your travel experience. While there are thousands of fetes around the world to catch each year, I’ve made the following picks for the occasions I’d personally like to teleport to each month in 2012. (For a thorough guide to all the celebratory possibilities, check out World Party: The Rough Guide to the World’s Best Festivals.)

JANUARY
Festival au Desert – Essakane, Mali
Billed as “the most remote festival in the world”, this amazing celebration of the Tuareg culture features the sublime tunes of Malian and other world music performers out in the middle of the Saharan Desert. Festival-goers caravan out of Timbuktu and most camp in traditional Tuareg nomadic tents for three (surely unforgettable) days.

FEBRUARY
Carnival – Venice, Italy
This lavish spectacle emerged in the heady days of  the Middle Ages during Venice’s peak as a center of world commerce, but it faded away as the canal-filled city’s power faded over the centuries, eventually being banned entirely by Mussolini. But today, Carnival is back and bling-ier than ever, creating a total dreamscape out of this enchanting water city.

MARCH
Holi – India
A true riot of color! Hindus throughout the country amass in the streets and throw colored powder and water at each other, in a crazy joyful frenetic welcome to spring.

APRIL
Paro Tsechu – Paro, Bhutan
This is one of the biggest festivals in the Land of the Thunder Dragon, a place where Gross National Happiness stands as the guiding principle. Performers in elaborate costumes and traditional masks carry out ceremonial Buddhist dances that are considered an honor to be able to witness. You can also observe the unfurling of the world’s largest religious Thangka scroll, the Paro Thongdrel.

MAY
Dragon Boat Races – Hong Kong
These traditional races actually commemorate the death of a historical Chinese hero called Qu Yuan who drowned himself in the Mi Lo River as an act of protest against corruption. Watching these spectacularly carved and painted dragon boats race is both a spirited and colorful experience.

JUNE
Inti Raymi – Cusco, Peru
The Inca “Festival of the Sun” fills Cusco’s historic streets and ancient ruins with thousands of revelers who connect with the ancient, mystical culture through processions, reenactments and dances. Traditional animal sacrifices may be observed by the less-squeamish, too.

JULY
Olympic Games – London, England
Londoners will wear a particular pride of place when the Olympics’ opening ceremonies take place on July 27th, as they’ll become the first city to host the modern Olympic Games three times. New facilities, including this 377-foot-high observation tower, are sprouting up all over the city to host the expected throng of one million spectators.

AUGUST
Burning Man – Black Rock City, Nevada
More of a spontaneous city than a festival, each year as many as 50,000 people sojourn to Nevada’s Black Rock Desert for a week “dedicated to community, art, self-expression and self-reliance.” Check out the Ten Principles of Burning Man to start to get an idea of what this is all about.

SEPTEMBER
Oktoberfest – Bavaria, Germany
Actually kicking off in late September, Oktoberfest brings beer and culture lovers together in Munich’s great beer halls to quaff brews and dine on German specialties like pretzels, sausages and sauerkraut. Lederhosen and dirndl are optional, but highly encouraged.

OCTOBER
Cirio de Nazare – Belem, Brazil
Second only to Rio’s Carnival in size for Brazilian festivals, this fascinating celebration takes place near the mouth of the Amazon in the northeast coastal city of Belem. The sacred and secular worlds collide as locals dress provocatively and dance and drink with wild abandon in honor of Belem’s Virgin Mary icon. It’s a solid two weeks of partying and, the story goes, the more you imbibe the more honor you show!

NOVEMBER
Loi Krathong – Thailand
Thailand’s own festival of lights is truly magical to witness. Thais light candles and set them adrift on decorative floats along the waterways, as well as sending thousands of paper lanterns sailing into the night sky. The flames of these million candles carry away the wishes of those who send them off.

DECEMBER
Mayan Culture Celebrations – Mexico
With the much-anticipated end of the Mayan calendar on December 21, 2012, Mexico expects to draw a horde of visitors to the Mayan regions of Chiapas, Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Campeche. Ancient rituals and dances will take place alongside celebrations of modern-day Mayan culture while some wait for “the end of the world as we know it”!

Venice Carnival photo by US Army Africa
Burning Man sculpture by Tanais Fox
Loy Krathong lantern photo by adactio

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