Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
within the supply sector. Suppliers will adopt minor changes which pay lip
service to the greening of tourism (Bianchi, 2004). Many suppliers are cur-
rently gaining from this equivocal position. Furthermore, resistance will persist
in the system as some destinations would stand to lose. For example, island
tourism, which relies on long-haul flights, is predicted to decline as oil prices
increase (Becken, 2008, p696):
Initially, a peak in oil production would manifest itself as rap-
idly escalating prices followed by worldwide oil shortage.
It may even spell near total decline for such destinations, as markets dwindle.
Thus, a scenario which outlines new approaches and including some reduction
in tourism supply signifies uncertainty and most probably risk for some sup-
pliers. It will therefore almost certainly be denounced as unworkable by core
institutions. Lobbying by advocates seeking to maintain a semblance of the
current mainstream, high-carbon tourism economy will continue to work to
avoid change; the stance of the aviation sector alone provides evidence to sup-
port this argument (Gössling and Upham, 2009).
This type of shift in market or supply condition is, of course, not a new
phenomenon. Destinations have always suffered from the vagaries of chang-
ing fashions and the consequences of economic disparities. Many destinations
in Central and Eastern Europe took a severe blow with the demise of the
Soviet bloc. The transition period has not been easy for the fledgling Central
and Eastern European states. Many Latin American states have reorganized
tourism in the face of economic collapse. There are also examples of external
climatic impacts affecting many tourism destinations, such as New Orleans, in
the USA, which was seriously damaged by a hurricane in 2005. In almost
every case, destinations have set out plans to seek recovery. Thus, there is a
degree of flexibility within the existing tourism system to meet natural, insti-
tutional and market challenges to tourism. After an initial shock and disrupted
demand, many tourism providers will be able to respond to a changing
tourism system.
There is another key matter worth reiteration at this point in the discus-
sion. Much of the tourism that occurs across the world involves primarily
short- to medium-distance travel and is essentially domestic or cross-border in
nature. There are many examples of where short-distance, longer-stay tourism
has remained an essential part of social life. For example, in Scandinavia the
practice of staying at a holiday home for several weeks in the summer is still
commonplace, although, as 95 per cent of these trips are by car, the travel ele-
ment remains unsustainable (All et al, 2008). There are also aspirations to
encourage a renewed domestic market in some countries (Dwyer et al, 2009).
This is where slow travel can be developed to good effect in the world of
domestic tourism. It is where the greatest potential lies to move to a low-car-
bon tourism economy.
Markets are nurtured by global companies in the tourism system. Thus,
these companies will have an important role as an agent of change in the tran-
sition phase to a new green tourism order. Governmental incentives to adopt
