Let's face it: folks aren't ready to curtail vacation travel, even though transportation is one of the biggest contributors to global warming.

So, the dilemma facing the experts meeting in Davos, Switzerland last week was to figure out how to adapt to a changing world. As Stephanos Fotiou, head of the UN Environment Program's tourism unit said:

The tourism industry is challenged by climate change, and at the same time, it is not an insignificant contributor to climate change.

His comments were reported on OneWorld.net, and were reinforced by UN World Tourism Organization Secretary-General Franceso Frangialli, who added:

Climate change will force the tourism industry to undergo a revolution — not just economic or technological, but also cultural.

One of the risks of a cultural shift would be a significant switch from long-haul vacation destinations to those closer to home.

On the surface that might seem like a good direction for things to head, but Frangialli cautioned:

Tourism is linked to poverty alleviation, and it would be an error to take an overly simplistic approach…[and] lose sight of all other priorities.

As the conference reports notes:

Shifting travel patterns could potentially harm the world's least developed countries, most of which depend heavily on tourism income. Experts say 46 of the 49 poorest countries of the world rely on tourism as their primary source of foreign exchange earnings…

The meeting called for the tourism industry to make commitments on reducing extreme poverty, as laid out in the UN Millennium Development Goals.

So, what's a responsible travel planner supposed to do?

In addition to many other proposals, the delegates suggested there is a greater need for Web-based tools to highlight destinations offering more climate friendly tourism choices.

Changing consumption behavior, for example, by encouraging carbon neutral travel, will be promoted through a new eTourism Climate Change Award, UN officials said at the conference.

The pilot trial for this award will occur next month at the Canadian Tourism Commission's "Canada-e-Connect," an eTourism conference to be held in Vancouver.

Stay tuned for more on responsible travel planning tools.

Carbon Neutral Journal's choices are brought to you by Jorgensen Associates.

Popularity: 2%