The Future of Travel Lies in Sustainability

The theme for World Tourism Day 2022 is “Rethinking Tourism”. I believe that this is timely, considering the fast-changing economic landscape that is prompting the industry to develop a new vision of tourism in 2022 and beyond. According to a 2022 survey by Expedia , 95% of APAC travelers indicated interest in sustainable travel options. While the pandemic may have hindered the progress of sustainability in the last two years, it also gave us time to reflect and rethink how sustainable tourism should look like in the future.

The hospitality sector currently accounts for 1% of global carbon emissions , which is set to increase, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. Furthermore, the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance recommends hotels to reduce their carbon emissions by 66 per cent per room by 2030, and by 90 per cent per room by 2050.

Most industry players already have sustainability on their agenda, but there is so much more that we need to do beyond swapping out disposable toiletries bottles for refillable ones. To reach the ambitious targets ahead, we will need to take a deeper dive and rethink how we can make hospitality a sustainable industry at its core.

A collective effort on the road to recovery

Sustainability is no longer just a buzzword, but an urgent call-to-action that needs to be inculcated in all aspects of a hospitality business. It requires the integration of a long-term environmental vision, science-based targets, advanced technical solutions, social inclusion, education, and most importantly, the unwavering commitment of everyone who has a part to play.?

Across Asia, government bodies are laying out solid foundations to establish policies and incentivize greener practices. Organizations and companies are also seeing impressive progress and growth in terms of implementing net-zero emission models, but as of right now, our collective decarbonization efforts are still falling short. This signals a need for greater collaboration among industry players and region-wide legislation schemes to accelerate the adoption of green technologies and emissions reduction to meet our sustainable development goals.

Regenerative tourism is the new way to travel

Regenerative tourism has gained momentum in the past year as it takes a holistic approach to address the environmental and community impacts of tourism to restore natural ecosystems. It stems from the idea of ‘building back better’ and is a call for industry players and tourists to take responsibility by leaving a destination in better conditions than they found it, which can include supporting and improving the livelihoods of local communities.

We expanded Good Travel with Marriott Bonvoy , a program that offers meaningful travel across Asia Pacific, offering our guests the opportunity to interact and build connections with local communities and the environment during their stay. Guests can involve themselves in a range of experiences during their stay, from cleaning up the Gold Coast Seaway’s waters; to planting mangrove seeds in the forests of Langkawi; and helping to preserve and restore a temple in India.?

With our reach and scale, we want to be a part of the solution as we work alongside our partners and stakeholders to bring local communities and the industry together to create a positive impact and rebuild the tourism sector responsibly.

Working towards a green future starts with us

The final and most important ingredient for our road to sustainable hospitality is people. As a people-centric industry, we should lead by example and go the extra mile to ensure that everyone feels empowered to contribute to a sustainable future in their own way. This sentiment can then be passed on to the guests to create a ripple effect.?

The pandemic has taught us to be more resilient and responsible than ever before, and it falls upon us to steer this industry forward responsibly and holistically for the people and the planet.?