Tourism has been an important industry in Tasmania for many years providing income and employment to the state. However, like all industries it needs to adapt to comply with the global need for a low carbon future.
In 2023, industry and government combined to jointly release a plan for taking the industry to 2030. One of the themes of the plan is for the industry to be ‘tourism positive’.
This article will look at various descriptions of tourism including ‘tourism positive’, and then discuss how this inadequately addresses the important underlying challenges that tourism poses for being a major contributor to climate change.
Since mass travel took off in the mid 1960’s many terms that have been applied to tourism around the world, including Tasmania, to lift its image. An early descriptor from the 1970’s, and one still in use today, is ‘ecotourism’. Ecotourism is invariably associated with taking a trip into and through nature with a hint of adventure and the unknown.
In Tasmania there are many businesses that fit this category from walking and cycling tours, smaller bus tours, and boat trips. They might include an animal experience, trips to hard to reach places and/or an introduction to palawa culture.
Over many years ecotourism has been ‘professionalised’ through an international and Australian national body. Tasmania has played an important part in this evolution both at the business and administrative level. Apart from providing a nature experience, now if tourism operators are to be eco accredited they are judged on their impact on the environment, community, culture and local economy.
Words like ‘sustainable’ and ‘responsible’ are now part of the lexicon being applied to and by ecotourism bodies – and this is where it gets more complicated because there are other groupings of tourism operators that also claim these attributes. There is a Center for Responsible Travel whose vision is “a world where travel benefits communities and environments”. There is also a Global Sustainable Tourism Council that has a vision for “tourism to be a vehicle for social, cultural, and economic good while removing and avoiding any negative impacts from its activities in terms of environmental and social impacts”. Great ideals and hard to argue with!
The most recent travel term that has come to prominence post-covid is ‘regenerative tourism’. This movement is about giving back to the planet; not taking, treading lightly, nurturing local communities, involving communities in designing tourism for the future and taking a far more holistic view of the world.
There is a regenerative tourism project on Flinders Island – (see https://www.islanderway.co/) – that makes Tasmania a potential leader in this field although the project is still to be fully implemented.
This brings us back to sorting out what the industry through the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania (TICT) and government mean by the words ‘tourism positive’.
The ‘2030 Visitor Economy Strategy ’aims to make a difference to people place and planet. It wants the industry to be valued by Tasmanians, to grow and prosper, make a positive impact on the environment, be in harmony with the community and provide a great guest experience. While it doesn’t go quite as far in its social, cultural and environmental aspirations as some other tourism groupings it represents a significant shift in the aims of previous plans for the state.
It is also taking practical steps to assist operators reduce their carbon footprint, waste and water use through workshops in the state run by TICT. (A similar internationally-recognised scheme called ‘Green Tourism’ was run 15 years ago by the Huon Valley and Kingborough Tourism Association but wasn’t then taken up then by the TICT.)
The question needs to be asked – is this new plan going to deliver positive impact for Tasmania? In a number of ways the answer – at least for ‘big tourism’, is yes. It aims to improve training and employment, develop a longer term tourism infrastructure plan, grow the contribution of visitors to the economy and attract visitors year-round. But in one significant area it is seriously deficient as it ignores the green-house-gas (GHG) emissions generated by travel to and from the state.
The rough rule of thumb is that 90% of emissions in tourism are incurred through travel to, through and back home from a destination. This means that however effectively you reduce emissions ‘on the ground’ the major problem of emissions from travel remains.
Calculations show that from 2023 emissions from air travel to and from Tasmania will more than double from 1.6 million tonnes to 3.3 million tonnes due to the planned growth in visitors to 2030.
In discussions with an officer from Tourism Tasmania it was argued that emissions from flying were the responsibility of Qantas et al to sort out and not the Tasmanian tourism industry.
Of course this is duplicitous nonsense when you consider the 2030 Plan is actively encouraging more flights, more airlines and more visitors to Tasmania. Greenwashing is alive and well!
The generation of GHG from tourism is a vexed topic which has challenged the industry in recent years whether they apply the word eco-, responsible, sustainable etc. to their business. Very few organisations, companies or websites are straightforward with the truth about emissions from flying. One website blog worth consulting on this is ‘Earth-changers’.
A comprehensive approach is found in ‘Envisioning Tourism in 2030 and Beyond’ by Paul Peeters, and Bernadett Papp. Their report addresses the same period as the new Tasmanian plan, 2023 – 2030, but their analysis of what needs to happen is very different to the Tasmanian plan.
Tourism has come a long way in Tasmania over the last fifty or so years. It has grown from a fledgling industry to one that now employs over 30,000 people and is widely dispersed across the state. As it has grown it has changed and the recent 2030 Plan reflects a greater concern for the environment, cultural practices and community – and that is badly needed. But it has not yet come to terms with the underlying challenge of the carbon footprint of travel to and from these islands.
If there is to be a future for tourism in Tasmania the important issue of transport emissions and the resulting changes this will bring, needs to be addressed. The business as usual and perpetual growth model is a planet and industry destroyer. A new vision is urgently required. This is a commitment that needs to be addressed by all political parties and elected independents in the new Tasmanian lower house parliament.
Gerry White is a member of Circular Economy Huon.
The next article will look in more detail at measures that need to be taken by Tasmania to develop a more regenerative and low carbon tourism industry by 2030. There are opportunities requiring a different approach together with investment to develop and implement them. They are changes that need to be embraced to secure the future of tourism in Tasmania.
