Polluted beaches and overtourism are factors affecting sustainable tourism

Friday, June 4, 2021

As per a survey of a majority of Indian travelers, polluted beaches and overtourism, followed by single-use plastics and energy inefficiencies, are among the top concerns affecting sustainable tourism.

In India, the top practices associated with environment-friendly or sustainable travel are accommodations that make use of renewable energy and resources like solar, wind, hydroelectric and water. The Sustainable Travel Trends Survey, which was conducted among 18,327 travelers worldwide including 1,020 from India, was carried out to mark the World Environment Day on June 5.

When asked about what Indians link the most with sustainability, renewable resources (36 per cent), natural cleaning products (32 per cent), and eco-friendly design or furniture (31 per cent) topped the list.

Globally and in India, people consider governments as most accountable for making positive environmental changes around travel, followed by tourism authorities and individuals themselves.

In India, 24 per cent of the total respondents consider that the government is most responsible when it comes to making changes to travel with sustainability, followed by 22 per cent who cited tourism authorities and 20 per cent who said that travelers themselves can bring in this change.

Agoda CEO John Brown said, “We can see from the survey that the messages of taking simple steps such as switching off lights and air conditioning when leaving the room or reducing waste by minimizing use of single-use plastics are being embraced by the public across the globe.”

He added that the governments need to take the initiative regarding managing sustainable travel.

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