Up in the Air: The Icarus Foundation Blog

First Online Student Symposium on Tourism and Climate Change Announced

The Icarus Foundation has announced they will host a one-day online student symposium on tourism and climate change in spring, 2010.  The conference will be student led with student content.  Participants in the forum will include tourism industry representatives, university and college students and faculty members and The Icarus Foundation.  Confirmed sponsors so far include Intrepid Travel, i-to-i and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. Originally planned to include the Canadian institutions only, initial response has included a great deal of interest from American students and institutions, so the Foundation recently decided to widen the scope to be North American focused.

Scheduled for March 29,2010, students will present and discuss project work that explore the issues and possible solutions surrounding climate change and tourism. Through interactive presentations, including aspects of video, audio, and text, students will foster discussion on the next steps needed for the industry to move forward meaningfully. 

Recent years have seen an increase in research on tourism and climate change amongst academics.  Additionally, dialogue on climate change amongst the tourism industry has also increased.  The goal of this symposium is to connect students to industry in North America on the topic of climate change.  This project is very timely given the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15) scheduled for December of this year.

Contrary to existing research and dialogue, there is little action amongst the tourism industry to mitigate the negative impacts of tourism and few research studies or projects exist that provide actionable tools through which industry can easily learn.  As students will be the leaders of tomorrow and move into leadership positions within the hospitality and tourism industry, it is important that they have the opportunity to share information and engage in dialogue.

Students, speak with your faculty member to ensure that your university or college is participating! For more information on participating in or sponsoring this event please contact aousmand @ theicarusfoundation.com, or go to www.theicarusfoundation.com

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Sustainable Aviation; An Example For Canada's Aviation Sector

 

Photo via Flight History

The aviation sector currently accounts for about 3.4% of all global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Gossling & Peeters, 2007), but because much of those emissions are released at sensitive altitudes and as a result, aviation's contribution may have the  equivalent impact of as much as 9% of all GHGs (T&E, 2006). 

The UK aviation sector has recognized their contribution to climate change and responded to the Climate Change Challenge by establishing 'Sustainable Aviation', a comprehensive strategy for the long term sustainability of the UK aviation industry.

The strategy sets out the industry’s vision for a sustainable future through a series of goals and commitments, including:

• Limiting climate change impact by improving fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions by 50% per seat per kilometre by 2020 compared with 2000 levels
• Improving air quality by reducing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 80 per cent over the same period
• Establishing a common system for the reporting of total CO2 emissions and fleet fuel efficiency

Many of the UK’s industry leaders have committed to the goals set forth by Sustainable Aviation. Signatories include British Airways, BATA and Virgin Atlantic among many others.

'Sustainable Aviation' should be an inspiration for Canada's own aviation industry. Canada is falling behind in our competitiveness as a destination and losing our leadership status.

The Icarus Foundation encourages the Canadian aviation industry to respond to the Climate Change Challenge and reassert Canada’s leadership role.

Citations

Gossling, S., & Peeters, P. (2007). ‘it oes not harm the environment!’ an analysis of industry discourses on tourism, air travel and the environment. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 15(4), 402-417.

T&E European Federation for Transport and Environment (2006) 2006 Annual Report.

About Us

Anna Pollock is a strategist, futurist and change agent who has consulted to the international tourism industry for over 30 years. DestiCorp' s clients include the federal and provincial governments in Canada, the World Travel and Tourism Council, PATA, the European Travel Council, Visit Scotland, the Canadian Tourism Commission, and many other smaller destination marketing organizations. Anna is recipient of the Tourism Visionary Award from British Columbia's tourism sector in recognition of her pioneering work in a number of sectors including adventure travel, spa and wellness tourism, education and development and industry organization. Please contact Anna at 604 218 5103 or email annapollock@shaw.ca.

Dr. Joe Kelly is an accomplished tourism researcher and advisor on climate-friendly travel. With over 10 years of professional experience, he has provided strategic consulting services to numerous public and private sector clients in tourism and transportation. His expertise is in evaluating the environmental impacts of travel and in assessing visitor responses to environmentally sound tourism initiatives. Notably, he was the first to develop a comprehensive model of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions for tourism destinations. Joe is currently the Director of Strategic Services at InterVISTAS Consulting. He is also an active board member of Connecting Environmental Professionals and an Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia.

Dr. Rachel Dodds has over 17 years of experience in the tourism industry and is a specialist in sustainable tourism. Rachel is currently the Director of Sustaining Tourism, a consultancy firm as well as an Assistant Professor at Ryerson University in Toronto. She has worked in all facets of the tourism industry including tour operators, hotels, governments, NGOs and small businesses. Her experience includes working with the World Bank, European Union, Caribbean Tourism Organization, International Business Leaders Forums International Tourism Partnership and WWF as well as Canadian experience with tour operators and Toronto's Green Tourism Association.

Dr. Peter Williams is Professor, School of Resource and Environmental Management and Director, Centre for Tourism Policy and Research at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia. Recipient of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from The Travel and Tourism Research Association, he has made a significant contribution to the development of policy and planning frameworks that guide the sustainable use of natural and cultural resources for tourism purposes.

Pat Corbett is owner, manager of The Hills Health Ranch in central British Columbia. In addition to being a current Vice President of the Board of Directors of COTA, Pat is also the Chair of the Canadian Spa Association and a national distributor of spa products. Past board experience includes the BC Progress Board, past Vice Chair of Tourism BC, and the Canadian Tourism Commission. Pat is also a past President of the Cariboo Tourism Association and past Chair of COTA.

Sonya Graci is an Assistant Professor in the Tourism and Environment Department at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. Sonya is also the Director of Accommodating Green, a consulting firm that focuses on integrating sustainability practices into businesses mainly in the tourism industry.  She has had extensive experience with greening the tourism industry with a focus on the hospitality sector. She has worked on several projects in North America, Asia and Central America working with stakeholders through partnerships to move the tourism industry towards sustainability