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The tourism industry has historically followed an expansion-driven mindset, often neglecting the consequences of climate change. While such an approach has driven the industry’s dynamic evolution, it has also led to substantial carbon emissions. Learn how two creative new projects are driving change in the sector.
Research indicates that tourism contributes to between 5 and 8% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions, so the industry has a pivotal role to play in countries’ efforts to reach net-zero by 2050. To this end, low-carbon tourism has emerged as a crucial route towards a more sustainable and responsible tourism sector.
Low-carbon tourism is an alternative approach to tourism that focuses on minimizing greenhouse gas emissions from travel and leisure activities. Its overarching goal is to achieve a more sustainable and responsible tourism sector that aligns with global climate and environmental goals. Low-carbon tourism can be based on renewable energy sources, local sourcing, reducing and preventing waste, and promoting environmentally friendly practices among tourists and tourism businesses.
As consumers become more aware of their impact on the environment and more sensitive to greenwashing, there is an increasing need for quality programs that oversee the tourism sector’s environmental footprint and audit its sustainability. Good examples are the Green Key programme and the Erasmus+ project VINCI, which empower tourism stakeholders to be agents of change for a sustainable future.
While it’s clear that tourism needs to decarbonize, stakeholders in the sector often lack knowledge on what practical steps to take. So there is a pressing need to provide climate education that can reach everyone in the industry. This is where projects like VINCI, short for Virtual & Augmented Reality Trainers Toolbox to Foster Low Carbon Tourism & Related Entrepreneurship, can play a critical role.
The VINCI project aspires to make carbon literacy a core competence among tourism professionals as well as tourists. The international project partners are preparing a toolbox of educational materials that tourism teachers can use to foster sustainable tourism. The toolbox includes an innovative curriculum of low carbon tourism, case studies enhanced by augmented and virtual reality that demonstrate how stakeholders can reduce CO2 emissions, and an e-book guide on low-carbon tourism for industry trainers.
The VINCI project was set up by a multidisciplinary team of partners, including SEI Tallinn, which shares a dedicated commitment to addressing climate change, with a specific emphasis on the tourism sector. The initiative also aligns with the European Green Deal.
During the project’s initial phases in May 2022, focus group interviews were conducted across six participating countries: Croatia, Malta, Romania, Czech Republic, Greece, and Estonia. The interviews involved tourism professionals and vocational education training (VET) trainers and aimed to assess their existing knowledge on climate change and carbon literacy, as well as identify appropriate training resources and explore existing approaches to low-carbon tourism.
In all six countries a common theme emerged: a strong demand and interest in developing VET curricula and training materials focused on low-carbon tourism and entrepreneurship. While familiarity with concepts like the European Green Deal and carbon footprint varied, there was unanimous recognition of the critical importance of addressing climate change within the tourism industry.
While familiarity with concepts like the European Green Deal and carbon footprint varied, there was unanimous recognition of the critical importance of addressing climate change within the tourism industry.
Preferred topics for learning included climate change threats, green energy solutions, and understanding tourism supply chains. Participants tended to prefer problem-solving and practical learning, supplemented by case studies and simplified scientific explanations. Virtual and augmented reality technology was recognized as valuable tools to enhance learning and immerse learners in real-life low-carbon tourism scenarios. However, barriers to the adoption of these technologies were also acknowledged, including technological apprehension, educational gaps, and financial constraints.
Drawing on insights from the interviews, the VINCI project partners have crafted an innovative Vocational Education and Training curriculum, which stands as a cornerstone resource for stakeholders endeavouring to shift towards low-carbon practices. To enhance accessibility and usability, the curriculum’s content and materials will be transformed into a digital toolbox, offering adaptability and modularity tailored to individual learning preferences and requirements. Additionally, the partners have developed a series of augmented reality-enhanced case studies that illustrate how stakeholders can significantly reduce CO2 emissions across various phases of travel.
Looking ahead, VINCI aims to contribute to the transformation of the tourism industry by empowering stakeholders to shape a sustainable and resilient future for global tourist destinations. To this end, the Green Key programme in Estonia is showing how empowered businesses can catalyse positive change.
The Travel Foundation report (2023) outlines the prerequisites for achieving the net-zero target by 2050: behaviour change in organizations and a firm commitment to action on both the supply and demand fronts. The report argues that businesses must take proactive steps to lead the way, influencing and shaping demand by adapting their operations and positioning sustainability as the sole viable option.
In Estonia, the Green Key programme has emerged as a powerful catalyst for change. This eco-label initiative, in alignment with the broader global objectives of sustainable tourism, has not only stringent environmental standards but has also played a pivotal role in instilling agency and commitment to positive change among hospitality providers and visitors alike.
One of the hallmark achievements of the Green Key program has been its ability to empower tourism businesses (e.g. hotels and hostels, small accommodation providers, conference centres, restaurants, attractions and camping sites). While the Green Key program arrived in Estonia in 2001, businesses mostly had to read up on the environmental topics and the Green Key criteria independently. By 2021, mere 20 businesses had signed up to the program. Then, Enterprise Estonia and SEI Tallinn organized three seminar series, which brought enterprises together at the same time and helped them apply for the Green Key label in a coordinated way – and for free. The past two years have seen a surge to 60 label holders, underscoring the progress made on sustainable tourism in the country.
The past two years have seen a surge to 60 Green Key label holders in Estonia, underscoring the progress made on sustainable tourism in the country.
This success is a result of collaboration between Enterprise Estonia and SEI Tallinn. Their efforts have given tourism enterprises an invaluable platform for engaging with the Green Key criteria and for enriching their ecological acumen and understanding of the broader dimensions of sustainable development – all made accessible through a series of educational seminars, organized by experts from SEI Tallinn. The workshops have been complemented by networking opportunities, including study visits and additional thematic training sessions for Green Key ecolabel holders.
Many Green Key establishments have said that the label, with its international recognition and credibility, serves as a megaphone for their sustainability efforts not only internally but also for the public. For many of them, the Green Key label also represents a pledge – a commitment to uphold and advance sustainable ways of operating in the tourism industry. Fellin, a Green Key labelled café, said:
We are proud of the beauty of our homeland and want to contribute to its preservation. For us, the Green Key label is not a destination, it's a guide. Environmentally sound management is a continuous process that involves changing mindsets, raising awareness and getting involved.
SEI Tallinn is proud to see how Green Key eco-label holders in Estonia are not only empowered but also serve as ambassadors for sustainability among their peers and guests – whether for local sourcing, optimization of energy and water consumption, or the importance of proper waste management.
Projects like the Erasmus+ project VINCI pave the way for a sustainable, low-carbon future in tourism. It is time for collective action and dedication to create a more resilient and ecologically conscious industry that ensures the well-being of our planet for generations to come.
Learn more about the VINCI project.
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