Green Economy in a Blue World-Full Report

Enabling conditions Tourism can have positive or negative impacts depending on how it is planned, developed and managed. A set of enabling conditions is required for tourism to contribute to social and economic development within the carrying capacities of marine ecosystems and socio- cultural thresholds. As outlined in UNEP (2009), this will require overcoming barriers in the areas of • private-sector orientation; • destination planning and development; • fiscal and government investment policies; governance and investment; and • local investment generation. 3.3 Private-sector orientation While all tourism stakeholders can and should benefit in the medium to long term from greater sustainability in the sector, greening will require very different actions and investments. A coherent strategy for green tourism growth must, therefore, cover all segments and activities, and the ways in which they interact. Enabling conditions for engaging the industry Tourism promotion organizations, environmental management agencies and destination management organizations (DMOs) should link marine and coastal tourism products more closely with market positions and destination branding. This will ensure a consistent selling position in world tourism markets based on high-value experiences at natural and cultural sites. Tourism industry associations and wider industry organizations play an important role in engaging tourism businesses in sustainability. Still, measures such as triple-bottom-line (environmental, social and economic) reporting, environmental management systems and certification appears to be prevalent only within a selection of larger firms. Tools to educate and support action by SMEs are critical, and most effective when accompanied by scale and place-specific, actionable items. Programs that foster peer-to-peer experience sharing and knowledge transfer among SMEs and local communities have large potential. International development institutions, such as multilateral and bilateral cooperation agencies, and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) should engage directly to inform, educate and work collaboratively with the tourism industry to integrate sustainability into policies and management practices, and secure their active participation in developing sustainable tourism.

3.1 Description of the sector as a business Tourism is a heterogeneous industry where hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of actors operate in multiple market segments, even within a single country or region. These segments include conventional mass tourism as well as more niche areas such as ecotourism 1 , adventure and cultural tourism, rural tourism, sports fishing, cruise tourism and health and spa tourism. The principal businesses within the tourism industry are accommodation, tour operation, and transport (land, air, and sea). In addition, tourism has diverse linkages through several economic activities, from lodging, entertainment and recreation, to transportation, professional services and advertising, among others. Ecotourism is the tourism industry’s fastest growing sector globally. Well planned sustainable tourism can support conservation efforts such as marine protected areas (MPA). During MPA planning and implementation, positive economic, socio-cultural, environmental and climate considerations are incorporated. Healthy intact landscapes are the most desirable for sustainable marine tourism, and they also store themost Blue Carbon (UNEP/ GRID-Arendal, 2011b). Numerically the tourism industry is dominated by owner-operated and small andmedium sized enterprises (SMEs) (UNEP, 2009a). Although online travel agencies and large conventional tour operators control an important share of international travel from Europe and North America, tourism destinations are characterized by the predominance of smaller businesses. For example, close to 80 per cent of all hotels worldwide are SMEs and, in Europe, this figure is 90 per cent (UNEP, 2009a). Additionally, providers of goods and services for the industry tend to be small, local businesses. 3.2 Cost-benefit analysis of greening the sector No valuation of global coastlines and the costal and marine environment for tourism has been made, and consequently, it is impossible to provide a relevant cost-benefit analysis at this stage. Further, no assessments exist that would point to the funding requirements for such an effort. However, as has been outlined, marine environments are key assets of global tourism, and their preservation is ultimately a precondition for the survival of marine and coastal tourism.

in a Blue World

1. Ecotourism is nature-based tourism that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.

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