I was recently at the Canadian TTRA conference and was encouraged to see the large number of research presentations that were linked to sustainability issues. A presentation that I think has real implications for people in the ecotourism industry was done by Michael Ennamorato of TNS Canadian Facts. They surveyed over 1000 online travelers in July 2007 to learn more about how travelers were reacting to issues such as climate change, poverty and child labor. The results were surprising. "When the issue such as global warming is linked to tourism people stop associating it with the bigger issue," Michael said. Basically people do not get the connection between tourism and bigger issues or how their travel choices can combat problems like global warming. As someone who believes in ecotourism I was dumbfounded to hear how few people "get it" when it comes to ethical travel. The bright note came when Michael shared his opinion on whether sustainable tourism is a trend or a fad. I was beginning to think I might be doomed to fad status and a possible career change, but he was optimistic things would improve. By researching the views of "Futureshapers" (people who lead opinions and trends) TNS is predicting that many more people will soon see the connection between travel and global warming, poverty and other world issues. That time can't come soon enough; it seems like we need to be much more effective in educating travelers about green travel practices!
If you'd like to see another TNS survey on online travel planning check out their website at
http://www.tns-cf.com/conferences/ttra/tns...el_planning.pdf
Carol