Earlier this month, when the tourism office of Copenhagen announced it would reward travelers with freebies for taking conscientious actions like using public transportation, proponents of sustainable travel cheered the adoption of a strategy that would encourage responsible behavior.
“Tourists want to feel good about doing something sustainable without feeling ashamed,” said Paloma Zapata, the chief executive of Sustainable Travel International, which works with destinations and travel operators to address climate and community impacts.
“These programs make sustainable tourism very tangible.”In the carrot-versus-stick debate, punitive policies like charging day visitors a fee in Venice have dominated the conversation.
But an emerging set of policies is designed to guide and reward travelers’ good behavior.
A new Booking.com survey of 31,000 travelers globally found that while 75 percent of travelers want to travel more sustainably in the next year, 45 percent admitted it was not a primary consideration when planning a trip.
Persons:
”, Paloma Zapata
Organizations:
freebies, Sustainable Travel International
Locations:
Copenhagen, Venice