When sustainable tourism embraces the environment

If we carefully read the Report prepared by the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) we can understand how sustainable tourism is to be considered "tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, responding to the needs of tourists, industry, the environment and host populations". And it is precisely this type of responsible travel, better known as ecotourism, that is becoming increasingly popular in recent years. This is evident in the Report, which points out that 81% of travellers worldwide consider it important to travel sustainably. For Property Managers who want to align themselves with the values of travellers and directly address this sector, assuming sustainable habits is a fundamental and consequential step towards changing travellers' choices.

Various motivations of Italians influence their preference to take a certain type of vacation. According to research by Nomisma "when travelling or going on excursions, Italians want to relax and have fun (in 27% of cases), immerse themselves in nature (23%), and enjoy cultural activities (21%). Moreover, the pull of enotourism should not be overlooked, as well as the need to discover the excellence of a territory, indicated by almost one visitor in five. Confirming this data are the interests of Italian travellers and excursionists when they visit a location: the main ones are nature (for 57% of those interviewed), i.e. the possibility of visiting landscapes and natural beauty, and history, art and culture. In the last 4-5 years, more than 34 million Italians have undertaken trips that required overnight stays or day trips out of town, for fun or to discover the natural, historical and artistic heritage'.

The promotion of Italian territories is to a large extent also due to enotourism, a lively sector of the Italian economy, an important financial resource, an indisputable economic driver. The offer of wine tourism is varied and differs in its original proposal: the 'wine roads'. These are special tours through vineyards to appreciate the natural beauty of locations in Italy. The project has two objectives: to make the routes through wine-growing areas known; to make wine consumption more responsible, proposing a tourist development that respects the environment and cultural heritage. And here we again find a call forsustainable tourism, because there is always a constant concern for the environment. Wine tourism represents a unique basic endowment; an opportunity to promote territorial products; an alternative local development paradigm for the future.

Ecoturism represents the most significant environmental tourism choice. The success of this tourism asset are the organic agritourisms, which are spreading rapidly throughout Italy, offering a varied range of eco-friendly services to satisfy every desire for contact with nature, good food and relaxation. Tourists choose to be in contact with the environment to get to know the peculiarities and discover the richness of nature. This holiday, called ecotourism, becomes an opportunity to discover first-hand the environmental heritage of our planet, where an infinite variety of animal and plant species live.

The farm is a way of spending a holiday that allows the tourist to be in contact with nature. It is the most popular tourist choice to stay in a farmhouse, also for reasons related to organic farming. In fact, agriculture takes on a crucial role, redefining those standards of hospitality that ensure new attendance records. The numbers paint a clear picture: with more than 25,000 agritourism operating in Italy, in 2021 39.2% of agritourism businesses recorded an increase in direct requests from guests, while 75.2% of these businesses even activated new services during the year.

It is the tourists who actively and convincingly seek out eco-friendly accommodation when deciding to spend a holiday. Revealing this trend is a 2023 survey showing that travellers are determined (78%) to stay in eco-friendly facilities. Not only that. Recent studies show that tourists who favour sustainability are also willing to pay more to stay in eco-friendly facilities. This trend of travellers suggests a potential increase in revenues of sustainable holiday homes, without neglecting the opportunity to offset the costs associated with the change to more natural situations. Tour operators need to have things in place that are responsive to the needs of travellers, who are constantly seeking stays where environmental sustainability is valued. And it is precisely for this reason that every facility must also offer sustainable transport options.

tourists today demand more commitment from travel companies towards the environment. This trend emerges when asked who is responsible for positive environmental changes in travel. 26% believe that the government is responsible for these changes, 23% the tourism boards, 20% themselves, 8% property managers and 6% OTAs. Travel companies have already started to make structural transformations, as demonstrated by the "Future of Tourism Coalition". It is worth mentioning that this coalition was formed by no less than six non-profit organisations in order to create a set of principles to promote sustainable growth within the international tourism industry.

Forming partnerships with local businesses is a winning path to follow. It is worth remembering that during their travels, 42% of people choose to shop in small businesses to support the local economy. Therefore, it is useful to encourage this trend because tourists appreciate and voluntarily choose to buy local products. A good and synergetic collaboration with a small local business therefore allows accommodation facilities to gain a number of benefits, both in economic terms and in terms of image and reputation.

There is a growing interest among travellers in a new way of tourism that is close to the environment and succeeds in promoting good practices for its protection. Sustainable tourism responds to these needs, bringing out a new way of conceiving travel: in the direction of safety, sustainability and the possibility of working remotely. Several reasons motivate a person to look for eco-friendly accommodation or to turn to eco-friendly tour operators. According to the Sustainable Travel Report 2022 released by Booking, "almost half of respondents (46%) said they had chosen a sustainable accommodation during the past 12 months. Among the main reasons, the following often recur: helping to reduce environmental impact (31%); the idea that sustainable structures are more respectful of local communities (24%); the desire to live a more "authentic" travel experience that is more connected to the territory (21%)".

Sustainable tourism allows the impact on the environment to be limited as much as possible, but it also encourages the discovery of new cultures, traditions and unique natural settings. The accommodation facilities such as hotels, hostels and farmhouses have the opportunity to combine comfort and high-quality services with the opportunity for their guests to participate in sustainable initiatives. Indeed, 3Bee provides support in the creation of authentic biodiversity oases that become refuges for native flora and fauna, allowing biodiversity to flourish. Protecting biodiversity with one's own tourist facility is possible thanks to green regeneration initiatives and technological monitoring, to demonstrate a tangible commitment and involve guests directly, including with routes such as the Biodiversity Adventure. Do you want to become an active player in the promotion of biodiversity with your structure?

Article edited by Francesco Fravolini