World Environment Day: Top smart hospitality tips for building sustainable tourism

The travel and tourism sector has grown by leaps and bounds over the years. As per the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) annual research, the sector grew at 3.9% to contribute a record $8.8 trillion and 319 million jobs to the world economy in 2018. Such growth also brings the need for sustenance. With a growing population and increasing tourists, the hospitality industry is looking into ways they can make tourism more sustainable and eco-friendly.

This World Environment Day, let's look at some measures that the hospitality industry is undertaking to practice sustainable tourism and doing its bit. 

1] Judicious use of energy: Energy usage makes for a significant percentage of a hotel’s carbon footprint. While transforming into clean energy, by installing solar panels could warrant major capital investments, there are some smaller ways in which hotels are taking an eco-friendly approach - timer switches and thermostatic radiator valves to control the heating system’s output, and opting for low-energy lightings such as LED lamps or T5 tubes

2] Water reuse/ recycling is becoming core to sustainability efforts by the hotel industry with initiatives like rainwater harvesting that helps in saving an enormous amount of water in hill stations and other tourist hotspots. OYO Hotels & Homes has equipped 83% of OYO hotels in Shimla with rainwater harvesting systems under OYO Reach - CSR assistance program. Implementation of this technique will lead to an enormous increase in the savings of potentially 81,000 litres of water requirement for hotels in the hill station. Since tourism has been one of the most important contributors in boosting the state’s economy, the adoption of such techniques will also promote sustainable tourism practices across the hotel industry

3] Other smaller yet impactful initiatives are being taken to practice sustainable tourism, like - usage of glass water bottles instead of plastic bottles; usage of dispensers for daily hygiene amenities, which can be refilled and used for longer periods as compared to plastic bottles; encouraging guests to save water by practicing use of towels and bed sheets for 2-3 days instead of requesting change every day; plants inside the properties for cleaner air; using key cards to automatically turn off electrical devices when not in use are some measures taken proactively by many hotels

4] While the hotel industry is doing its bit, tourists are also playing a big role. There are a number of eco-friendly practices and alternatives that a traveler could adopt to contribute to the cause - adopting green practices while in the hotel, taking care of heritage sites and maintaining cleanliness, using city public transport, cycling or walking around wherever possible, using vehicles running on natural gas, using recyclable bags and not littering around

One of the biggest challenges, hoteliers face in implementing some of these initiatives is the mixed feedback from customers. While some understand and comfortably adopt, there is a need for a complete change in mindset at multiple levels.

Important to note that sustainable tourism is all about adapting and re-focusing. There is a dire need to strike a balance between setting limits and changing usage habits and continuously plan, implement, monitor actions and then course correct as needed to ensure real impact.