Technology & Sustainable Tourism. Quebec City, March 18 th, 2009

Transcription

1 Technology & Sustainable Tourism Quebec City, March 18 th,

2 My Scope & Purpose Today Re thinking Sustainability The Need for Innovation The Role of Technology in Changing the Agenda 2

3 Sources of Inspiration In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell 3

4 The Future of Tourism When This Conference Was Conceived But what s sustainable about this picture?

5 A Failure in Understanding Sustainable development a process to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Bruntland SUSTAINABILITY The triple bottom line approach based on the balance of social, economic and financial factors. as if they were equals BUT the economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment! Social Economic Environment

6 What s the Real Problem? We re living beyond our credit limit! 6

7 We ve Only One Home 7

8 But we Need Three to Support Our Current Population & Current Lifestyles A Mortgage that = 300% value of house & no known buyers! We haven t had to pay for our life support services our economic system is flawed 8

9 Is this sub-prime real estate? The economic system has long been nothing but a "global Ponzi scheme," Paul Reitan, a geologist and climate expert at the University of Buffalo, 9

10 Wishful Thinking: Pre Q3, 2008 The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) predicted in January 2008 that the UK travel industry would only be moderately impacted by the effects of the global economic downturn.

11 Impact on Air Transport 15 Air Traffic (RPK) % change over same month previous year * 2009 IATA - Global International AAPA - International Asia Airlines Source: IATA; AAPA

12 Second half on the negative 12 Monthly evolution of worldwide international tourist arrivals % change over same month previous year Easter effect Jan Feb March April May June July Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. 0.6 Source: World Tourism Organization

13 Climate Change as SYMPTOM or SIGN. That we re living beyond our means The atmosphere provides an essential service There are limits to its capacity to absorb waste Air and water have been freely available In our society, what s free is not valued In nature everything is connected 13

14 Climate Change as CATALYST Climate change is the synthesis of all other environmental issues; energy inefficiency, pollution, species extinction, water use, desertification, urban sprawl many of the most pressing environmental issues are related intimately to the problem of climate change Canadian Environmental Grantmaker s Network 14

15 The Urgency Is Not Understood 15

16 The Urgency Is Not Understood 16

17 The Urgency Is Not Understood 17

18 Perceived Lack of Leadership

19 Perceived Lack of Leadership 19

20 The Language at the top How do we de couple growth from carbon? How to we stimulate behavioural change fast enough? How do we move from one economy to another How do we transform? is Changing 20

21 Need for a New Green Deal 21

22 Need for a New Green Deal 22

23 Brand & Destination Credibility BCDEAA736315/0/TheGreenLinktoHighPerformanceinRetail.pdf 23

24 Destination Commitment has to be Real, Tangible & Measurable 24

25 Role of Technology 1. Technology enables scrutiny and necessitates transparency 2. IT is being used as a change agent Powerpoint decks can change the world! Enabling conversations & knowledge sharing Activism and mobilization: nowhere to hide Necessitating transparency and truth telling Collaboration, knowledge sharing Innovation Fund raising 3. Technology can be used to increase efficiency, lower costs, generate higher yields 4. IT can enrich the experience combat commoditization 5. IT can substitute some travel where appropriate 25

26 The Web is One Big Conversation Driving Change Digital Swarming 26

27 Not a Friendly, Forgiving Place 78% of consumers don t trust brands 83% do trust each other Some individuals have enormous influence Word of mouth is now the most powerful marketing tool Power of Community

28 Everyone Has an Opinion Anyone can now be: Author Journalist Film maker Reviewer Marketer Leader

29 and they have the tools 29

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35 This Guy Understood IT 112,000 followers on Twitter 3.3 million friends on facebook, 500 groups & 33 applications Over 14 million people watched the Yes I can video MyBarackobama a selfmanaged social network had over 2 million people create profiles Raised over $639 million 35

36 Do You? What happens when users rate suppliers and destinations on their green credentials? What might happen if you tapped into the collective intelligence of employees within a destination? What might happen if residents were mobilized to say no to more tourism in their community? 36

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38 ADAPTING TO A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT