A World for Travel event in Seville: Travel & Tourism’s GHG emissions continue to fall
Research by the World Travel & Tourism Council has revealed that last year, Travel & Tourism’s global GHG emissions were 12% below the 2019 peak, while its economic value was just 4% below.
That was the message from Virginia Messina, Senior Vice President at WTTC during her speech at the ‘A World for Travel’ event taking place Seville, Spain, this week.
Addressing the audience, Messina added; “Our sector is experiencing unprecedented growth. Our research shows that whilst Travel & Tourisms’ GHG emissions fell to 6.7%, the focus must remain on reducing absolute emissions. Whilst we are seeing some improvements in the use of renewable energy and less dependency on fossil fuels, there is still a long way to go.”
Christian Delom, the Secretary General of the AWFT, stressed that “travel is not acting fast enough. Globally we have already reached 1.5 degrees, which makes becoming sustainable even more demanding. We must try to make more collaborations and alliances to combat this. We produce the AWFT annually to power this mindset and help the industry cope with challenges.”
Focused around three pillars, the Radisson Hotel Group is ready for the future with a commitment to Net Zero by 2050, promotes sustainable travel, and provides sustainable guest experiences. The company takes a full approach to green buildings, green energy, and green operations.
RHG spokesperson, Inge Huijbrechts, Chief Sustainability & Security Officer, Radisson Hotel Group shared that the host hotel Radisson Collection Hotel, Magdalena Plaza Sevilla is LEED GOLD certified, operates 100% on renewables and has achieved 30% lower water consumption than other comparable hotels. “As a responsible business pioneer, Radisson believes that we all must move beyond the reason, we’ve seen the impact of environmental disasters across the globe. It is about the how and the actions to be taken.”
Trip.com Group, Jane McFadzean, Senior Director, Global Sustainability and ESG stressed that the Chinese owned firm’s mission is “to pursue the perfect trip for a better world with emphasis on the better world. We are battling the say-do gap from travelers, 92% consider sustainable options, 56.9% actual practice what they preach. We must remember that behind every piece of data is a person making a choice about their travel. How do we help them make the right decisions?” He continued by stressing that “there are regional differences around the world which require more education of the public and acceptance by the OTAs that it is their responsibility to provide clearly labelled sustainable solutions that are clear and uniform across the globe.”
Also present at the press briefing was the insurance industry represented by Alastair Crossley, Global Head of Travel for AXA Partners. Alastair shared that it is the insurers’ job to identify and manage risk associated with sustainability within the travel sector. AXA’s job is to mitigate that risk. “We have recently released a report where 25k people were surveys across the world on their perception of risk. The results indicate that 66% of respondents feel vulnerable to cyber-attacks in their daily lives. Geopolitical unrest also plays a major concern as it has a ripple effect beyond the areas of conflict. Other sectors are also impacted, beyond travel, including energy and the financial markets. Finally noted as the number one risk for respondents is climate change. Confidence in governments tackling that risk has dropped from 22% to 5% year over year. And 70% of respondents believe the insurance industry is well placed to mitigate some of that risk, and we are collectively working on just that,” he closed.
The car rental industry is also an important part of travel, Jehan de Thé, Group Public Affairs Director from Europcar Mobility shared that it is hard to discuss sustainability with 260,000 on the road, but we must remember that we are sharing the cars. Customers are not requesting electric vehicles for good as they still believe EV’s are an unknown entity for longer international, multi-language trips. They are concerned about the amount and locations of charging points and if information is provided in their language. Europcar has an optimistic view recognizing many opportunities within the travel industry can develop. We need to close the gap with a younger audience by providing clear, consistent information with tips on being sustainable. Closing he noted, “Our role to give them right information at the right time in the right way. Travelers are not interested in science; they want visuals and to learn what is the impact of their actions.”
The A World for Travel conference started on October 23 in Seville.
-BreakingTravelNews
