Why Sustainability Must Be Tourism's Default Mode

Destination BC - Tom Ryan

As tourism slowly gets back to business, there’s a lot of talk about whether travelers will be more mindful and responsible moving forward. The people who offer the most holistic value to the places they visit, the people they interact with, and the tourism industry as a whole are the people who aren’t traveling right now. Those who are casual travelers have already gone back to checking their bucket lists and booked their next cruise/tour/flight.

The tourism industry has been focused on an upgrade to the search features on Google Flights, which now show consumers information about carbon emissions displayed alongside flight information. This is a huge step in the direction of radical transparency, because now travelers have more information they can use in their decision-making. For those who are conscious consumers, making this data easily accessible may influence what they purchase. Another relevant fact is that Google Maps now automatically defaults to the most eco-friendly route when the time it takes to make a trip is roughly the same as a higher carbon-emitting route.

According to a poll conducted by the UN Development Program (UNDP) of 1.2 million people in 50 countries, in every country surveyed, most people are very concerned about climate change. The statistics range from Moldova, where 50% of people said they were very concerned, to the United Kingdom, where 81% indicated they were. The United States came in at 65%.

The Google Maps development is an excellent example of the sustainability-by-default concept, but it’s not the only major travel-related brand utilized by casual travelers that has taken this route lately. Booking.com recently updated its animal welfare standards and will no longer contract, offer, or promote direct interactions with wild animals, wild animal rides, or aquariums, among other activities. When folks search for activities on Booking.com, they aren’t even given an option to see these harmful animal encounters as possibilities. TripAdvisor did something similar in 2016.

It’s imperative that everyone working in the tourism industry — from the smallest start-up to the most mainstream search engine — make the most responsible options as simple as typing in a destination and letting the map lead the way.

Google Adds Carbon Emissions Data to Flight Search Results

Google is now showing carbon emissions estimates for nearly every flight included in Google Flight search results. When searching for flights, users can see an estimate of emissions for flights and specific seats, and compare these emissions to average emissions for that flight route. The results can also be sorted to bring the greenest flights to the top.

These emissions estimates are flight-specific as well as seat-specific. For instance, newer aircraft are generally less polluting than older aircraft, and emissions increase for premium economy and first-class seats because they take up more space and account for a larger share of total emissions.

The news follows another climate-friendly travel initiative introduced by Google in the past month – badges that identify sustainable hotels.