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Travel ’10 to 15 years behind’ other sectors in action on the environment
The tourism industry is “playing catch-up” with other sectors such as oil and mining when it comes to environmental issues, it has been claimed.
Speaking at last night’s TravelMole TIQT ‘Just How Green is the Travel Industry?’ debate, Responsibletravel.com managing director Justin Francis said he believed travel was 10 to 15 years behind other industries.
“Three years ago if you talked about corporate social responsibility to the managing director of a travel company you would get a blank look because there was no comprehension whilst in other sectors it has been alive and active,” he said.
Francis attributed the lack of action within the industry to its fragmentation as well as the fact that within other sectors there are more public companies answerable to the city.
He added that although big tour operators are doing well with green policies and there are some “shining examples of good practise” among smaller operators, still too many sectors of the industry, such as cruising, need to do more.
Federation of Tour Operators director general Andy Cooper also singled out medium-sized companies for criticism.
“In the last three years there has been a cultural shift in big companies and the small guys have been doing it for a long time. There is that gap in the middle,” he said.
“The big guys can influence the rest if we think and act in a certain way it is easy for the rest of the industry to fall in line behind that.”
Cooper added that the FTO is developing a handbook for suppliers on understanding their carbon footprint as well as a website on the issues.
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Report by Linda Fox
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