INTHEBLACK May 2025 - Magazine - Page 49
“I’d like to see the whole aviation industry move more
aggressively on sustainable aviation fuel development
and then come to a consensus, choosing two or three
[types of fuel] that are going to be the main ones.”
DR ADAM TRIGGS, MANDALA PARTNERS
Some players within the tourism industry
are moving to embrace both adaptation
and mitigation strategies to respond to
climate change challenges. The former
includes investing in resilient infrastructure
such as seawalls and flood defences. The latter
includes airlines, cruise companies and hotels
investing more heavily in energy-efficient
technologies, alternative fuels and
carbon-offset programs.
“I’d like to see the whole aviation industry
move more aggressively on sustainable
aviation fuel development and then come
to a consensus, choosing two or three [types
of fuel] that are going to be the main ones,”
Durband says. “Then producers will start
producing that type of fuel in a big way.”
WAYS TO BEGIN
Coordinated and well-considered solutions
are seen as the best way to promote
sustainable tourism.
This may include engaging in
climate-change-scenario planning to help
government and tourism operators make
more informed decisions; putting more
resources and capital into climate-resilient
tourism systems; developing overarching
policies and guidelines that focus on
climate change mitigation; and promoting
the decarbonisation of tourism facilities
and services.
Triggs concedes that many South-East Asian
and Pacific nations may lack the capital to
make some sustainable interventions.
For instance, struggles to source finance
make it difficult for the government to fund
major tourism-related risk-management and
infrastructure projects.
Greater adoption of insurance could allow
developing countries and tourism facilities
to recover faster in the event of a natural
disaster, according to Triggs. Whereas a
country such as Australia is highly insured,
Pacific and South-East Asian nations often
lack insurance protection. “This means that
the impact of these climate perils is felt
much, much more by people who are
not only having to recover and rebuild,
but who have also potentially been
bankrupted by some of these events
as well.”
Prevention of climate-related disasters
should also be a greater focus. In Australia,
every dollar spent on disaster resilience and
mitigation delivers a return nine times over.
Triggs notes that “we need to focus a lot
more on prevention … and strengthen
our processes to respond when something
does go wrong.”
There is a bigger role to play, too,
for data analysis that identifies climate
risks and informs smarter positioning
and management of tourism infrastructure.
ASSET MANAGEMENT
One of the key challenges for jurisdictions
is striking a balance between deploying
human-made interventions to protect
tourism destinations, without destroying
their beauty.
For example, while sea walls can safeguard
beaches and tourism infrastructure from
erosion and destruction, they can turn
a tourism asset into an eyesore. An alternative
could be to roll out sustainable infrastructure
such as elevated walkways or flood barriers
that are designed to harmonise with
the natural landscape.
These structures could protect against
erosion, flooding or storm surges while
minimising any visual impact. Simple acts
such as planting more trees in coastal areas
and promoting reforestation programs could
also help. Deploying advanced monitoring
systems, including early-warning sensors,
could also result in faster responses
to natural threats without resorting to
intrusive infrastructure.
As he ponders the future for tourism
in an era of climate change, Durband calls
on governments to devote more capital
and resources to the smart management
of tourism destinations in a world where
the population has jumped from 4 billion
to more than 8 billion in the past 50 years.
“We can’t just promote tourism
destinations — we have to manage them.” ■
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