A successful tourism destination requires situation analysis.
Traveling to a destination can feel like an individual journey. But, did you know that most tourism destinations develop thoughtful strategies to ensure their destinations attract visitors in intentional and measured ways? A tourism strategy is designed to highlight a destination’s best aspects, such as food and history, while also offering solutions to tourism challenges that a destination might face, such as limited infrastructure. A successful tourism strategy is a first step to making a country safe, educational, and enjoyable for travelers. Essential to every tourism strategy is a situation analysis that details the supply and demand of tourism to the destination along with the opportunities and challenges that a destination faces using techniques such as stakeholder interviews, online data analysis, and on-the-ground assessments.
Why is a Situation Analysis Important?
The tourism industry is a critical source of jobs and economic growth, as well as a decisive factor in a nation’s sustainable development. While a tourism strategy is necessary to help develop tourism, a cookie-cutter approach will not be effective at addressing each destination’s unique circumstances. Thus, individualized situation analyses are critical for creating an effective tourism strategy. In this blog, we will examine some guidelines for performing an impactful situation analysis, as well as the use of situation analysis in one growing destination, Tunisia.
Situation Analysis, as Explained by the World Bank
Data analysis is a crucial aspect of conducting a situation analysis.
How do tourism practitioners go about conducting a situation analysis of a destination? Solimar International, for example, follows the strategy guidelines outlined bythe World Bank, a global partnership dedicated to using sustainable solutions to combat poverty. Per the World Bank’s method, there are four essential steps to conducting a successful situation analysis.
Project planning
Desk-based research
An in-country evaluation
An analysis of their data to compile a report detailing both their research and conclusions
Each step requires complex research, discussion, and analysis. Within these guidelines, the World Bank also offers detailed suggestions on how to complete each step: A situation analysis team must interview a range of stakeholders within a country’s tourism industry, everyone from artisans selling goods to travel booking agents. Desk research entails compiling and studying all documents relevant to the destination’s tourism, and the statistical analysis of comparing the performance of the country to similar countries. This data must then be analyzed to identify the opportunities, challenges, and solutions surrounding the destination. Finally, the World Bank advises the team to use all their data, research, and analysis to create the final tourism strategy document.
What Should be Included in the Final Report?
Because the main objective of a situation analysis is to identify both the biggest opportunities and constraints associated with a given destination, the report therefore must outline the destination’s offerings. These can include anything from thriving wineries to well-preserved cultural sites. However, the report must also acknowledge the challenges that were pinpointed by the analysis. Issues such as poor infrastructure or lack of safety can be major hindrances to tourism. In addition, a proper analysis should identify potential solutions to the constraints, and these should be included in the report as well. It is also crucial for the report to list key stakeholders in the local tourism industry, in addition to potential partners that may help to implement the plan. This detail ensures that the plan includes everyone who has a vested interest in helping the strategy succeed.
Practical Application: How A Situation Analysis was Used in Creating Tunisia’s Tourism Strategy
Tunisia is a beautiful destination for tourists to enjoy
Tunisia is a wonderful destination, with numerous activities for tourists to enjoy. It is rife with opportunities for successful tourism, from a Mediterranean coastline to historical sites. However, the destination is not yet on par with nearby destinations such as Morocco and Egypt. Tunisia receives approximately a million tourists per year, and the country hopes to grow its tourism sector. To achieve this, Solimar is currently working on the USAID Visit Tunisia program Tunisia’s tourism visibility. One of the program’s initial goals was to develop a national tourism strategy, which included a comprehensive situation analysis.
To complete the analysis, Solimar interviewed major stakeholders in Tunisia, including those in the public and private sectors. It is critical to converse with stakeholders in order to understand the expectations for the plan’s results and to provide further insight into the destination’s current tourism situation. Extensive desk research was conducted this included comparing Tunisia’s data to that of competing countries, and reading previous strategies and relevant documents for Tunisia. Solimar also reviewed all available tourism sector data from Tunisia. Through this data, Solimar was able to better understand both the problems and advantage tourism faced in Tunisia. Finally, Solimar analyzed the statistics from Tunisia’s tourism sector. Using this data and analysis, Solimar was able to form a solid foundation of the country’s current tourism industry to inform the development of recommendations for the National Tourism Strategy.
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Tourism is truly a booming industry and affects many people around the world. Some destinations have flourished, but many have had to endure the negative aspects of tourism.Taking into account all of the global issues we face nowadays, such as climate change and pandemics, it is now more crucial than ever to assure a destination is thoroughly planned and effectively managed. In this blog we cover the question of what a destination development plan is, what process it undergoes and why every destination needs one.
What is Destination Development?
The development of a destination is the process of evolving the location’s supply side of tourism in order to meet the area’s tourism demands. This can be achieved by adding supporting infrastructure, including accommodations, transport, technological advancements, but also intangible aspects like workforce development. Destination development will automatically occur when the demand for a destination increases; so it is vital to ensure it is a strategically executed process.
Why is it important to plan a destination’s development?
Planning a destination’s development is a crucial process, which provides tourism organizations with the needed tools to achieve a common goal. In any destination the necessary steps must be taken early on in the process to prevent unhealthy growth.
How do destinations change over time?
Destinations can evolve quite drastically over time, especially emerging destinations. Emerging destinations typically have more local participation. As they become more developed, they get an influx of foreign investors and business owners who can change the feel of a destination.
What are the social impacts of tourism?
It is more or less inevitable for a destination with an attractive tourist offer to become popular. Take for example an emerging destination. With an increase in visitors, more and more outside business interests will see it as an opportunity. Once international interest for the area starts to increase, new challenges and barriers emerge for service providers as they don’t have the training and knowledge to capture markets coming from outside the country.
Without a destination development plan that considers growth, as well as the needs of tourists and service providers, destinations are going to miss that market entirely. This can lead to another investor from the outside with the necessary expertise taking advantage of the growing market.
This in return will entirely change the visitor experience. The destination will lose its authenticity: its uniqueness and with that its ability to compete and differentiate itself from other destinations.
How can tourism planning help the environment and its protection?
Generally global tourism isn’t known for being environmentally friendly. Increased demand leads to an increase in travel, as well as the destruction of nature to acquire greater space and resources. Even further, this is all done for the few “good” months of the year, in which tourism is optimal.
However, by introducing a tourism strategy, it is then possible to minimize these effects and maximize the environment’s protection.
By including a careful assessment of the region’s environmental problems as well as possible threats it could face with an increase in tourism into the destination analysis, one can set a clear goal. One can include these critical environmental aspects into the objectives and incentivize the creation of policies that can protect the destination’s environment.
In addition, tourism generates two key resources that can be harnessed to protect the environment.
Increased financial income: Earmark a portion of the profits and direct them towards local environmental conservation activities.
People’s engagement: Reach agreements with local beneficiaries to make an individual commitment to support the project outcome.
Set the roots and groundwork for sustainable and maintainable growth early on.
What is a Destination Development Plan?
Destination Development Plans (DDPs), also known as Destination Development Strategies or Destination Management Plans, are all closely related tourism plans.
Tourism plans are holistic strategies, dedicated to a defined tourist area, which based upon intricate destination research and a market analysis, form destination specific objectives and correlating approaches. The strategy is designed to create a guiding plan to develop and manage a destination to its specific needs and reach a common goal.
The strategy should always have an outcome in mind to maximize local economic profit and set the groundwork for sustainable and maintainable growth.
Solimar International refers to the term Destination Development Plan, as for most of their sites, development is a major part of the objective.
What does a Destination Development Plan generally include?
Destination Development Plans can generally be split into two halves.
Situation Analysis:A detailed evaluation of the destination’s current state. This would include information on existing tourism assets, available tourism services, the industry’s performance and its competitors, as well as involved parties for tourism policy, management, marketing and investment.
Future Goal: Concluded from the analysis, the future goal is both the desired outcome for the development of the destination as well as the means to get there. It is vital to agree upon a shared vision and form several strategic objectives to focus on.
Make sure you chase a shared and reasonable goal.
How do you make a plan for a Tourism Destination?
The process of making a plan for a tourism destination can differ. This is greatly affected by the type of stakeholders that are involved and especially whether the destination already has a Destination Management Organisation. However they usually all follow similar steps of action.
In the Visit Tunisia Project, where Solimar was contracted to develop a National Tourism Strategy and six regional destination development plans aligning with the national strategy, the process underwent the following steps.
Destination development planning should be a step by step process.
Understand the place and all of its attractions.
This is especially important for consulting companies like Solimar. Foreign entities cannot just come in and create a plan for a destination; in order to gather on-site knowledge and incorporate different local perspectives in the plan, it is imperative to involve local stakeholders in the process.
Understand the visitor.
This step will directly influence the path a destination will take. It is important to figure out what kinds of people visit the destination, for how long and when. Once this is understood, it will provide vital information on visitors’ behavior and how to better attract your target audience. This will shape the future of a destination.
Inventory what services are available.
It is crucial to understand the destination’s existing human capital, as well as infrastructure (including accommodations, tourist facilities, transportation, signage, retail, hospital facilities, payment options etc.)
Bring it all together with the SWOT Analysis.
The SWOT Analysis is a final conclusion, drawn from the situation analysis, which displays all of the internal, as well as external positives and negatives to a destination: the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Develop the future vision and its major objectives.
With the accumulated in-depth knowledge fromthe situation analysis, you have the groundwork for what the obtainable future vision will be. The main goal will then be divided into several clear objectives and the needed approaches. Here the destination asks itself, in what direction should this development go?
Set the plan up for success by ending with an Action Matrix.
The process of making a DDP already brings its own benefits, however it can easily be abandoned once development begins. Therefore it is indispensable to create a plan of action to accomplish the objectives aimed for. Each strategic initiative should have several actions dedicated to it. For each action it is important to identify the partners responsible for its implementation and create a timeline (near-, mid-, and long-term).
What entities are involved in the process of making a Destination Development Plan?
The question of who is in charge of making a destination development plan, as well as what kinds of entities get involved, mainly comes down to whether the destination already has a DMO which in addition needs sufficient resources and knowledge to complete such a process. In the case where there is not a DMO or they don’t have enough of an experienced workforce, they hire a consultant such as Solimar.
Apart from the DMO or consulting company, there are three separate levels of partners involved in the process of making a destination’s strategy.
Donor: With emerging destinations especially, donors make up the first layer. For example, in the case of the “Visit Tunisia Project,” the donoris USAID.
Local industry associations, such as tour guide associations, hotel owner associations or artisanal associations. This third level, especially for emerging destinations without an established tourism organization, creates a deep connection with local stakeholders and lets the local community be represented.
What is the purpose of a Destination Development Plan?
The general purpose of a destination development plan is to guarantee a long-term positive outcome for a destination. It takes into account a destination’s assets as well as opportunities that it’s missing out on. Among the goals of the destination development plan, one is to ensure the destination is competitive and delivers a strong product to satisfy visitors. However more importantly, it creates the framework and guidelines for sustainable development of the destination.
What are the main objectives of tourism planning in a Destination?
The main objectives for any tourism plan are to:
Increase visitor satisfaction
Assure a destination’s competitiveness (and foster its uniqueness)
Maintain participation and integration of local communities
Use of resources and the environment in a sustainable manner
Protect cultural heritage
Stimulate Economic growth
In order to achieve these goals, destinations will set up several objectives tailored to its specific needs.
What are the benefits of destination planning?
In addition to making a destination competitive, proper tourism planning will provide perspectives for local communities, ensure the protection of environmental and cultural resources and protect the destination from being overwhelmed by the industry.
So by taking a destination’s assets into account these strategies serve as a guidance tool to tourism organizations. If executed correctly, this creates benefits for more than just economic growth. Planned destinations can:
Involve the local community and provide income
Minimize environmental impact and drive some of the profits towards its protection
Support a destination to stay true to its traditions and uphold its culture
Improve understanding of different cultures and relations between guests and hosts
Destination development plans help define the desired direction and reach the goal.
What makes Solimar International’s help effective?
Although each destination is different, the process of making a destination development plan doesn’t change significantly. Not only is the knowledge needed regarding how such plans are structured, but experience and knowledge of the tourism industry is also necessary.
Through Solimar’s vast experience, gained from 200 projects and over 500 destinations, the organization boasts the complete suite of tools needed to help destination’s reach a sustainable goal. This knowledge includes:
Developing a well-defined and well-successful formula for such plans
Incentivizing the participation of various stakeholders and create a space for collaboration
Having the understanding of the most effective marketing tools that exist
Being well-networked within the private sector of the tourism industry and being well versed in investment promotion
Having repeated experience with the later implementation of such plans
If you want to learn more about how tourism can help destination’s develop in the right way, and how our work makes a difference, check out our Virtual Internship Program!
The Sundarbans Reserve Forest, located in the south-west region of Bangladesh, is the world’s largest mangrove forest and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nearly three million people live in and around the Sundarbans. Generations of this population have become highly dependent upon the forest for its environmental protection and nature-based economic opportunities. Conservation of this high-biodiversity and sensitive forest is vital for the livelihoods of the people of the Sundarbans.
Solimar International is currently leading implementation of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bangladesh Ecotourism and Conservation Alliance (BECA) project. By forming BECA, or the Alliance, private sector members in Bangladesh are united to generate sustainable development activities that protect both the Sundarbans Reserve Forest and the people that depend on it. The desired outcome of this project is to maximize tourism as a tool for both poverty alleviation and conservation. Solimar aims to achieve this outcome through tourism development efforts centered around community capacity building.
This article will highlight the significance of capacity building in tourism development, and how it can serve as a mechanism to transform the socioeconomic standing of women.
Why Capacity Building?
USAID identified the need to utilize tourism in Bangladesh for social and environmental benefits, but in order to do so, Solimar will find ways to stimulate the tourism industry and tackle the barriers hindering its growth. Some of these barriers include, but are not limited to, a lack of industry knowledge, weak governance, and a lack of organizational strength. The overarching issue at hand is the lack of collaborative capacity within the tourism sector in Bangladesh.
To overcome this challenge, the Solimar team has devised many opportunities for capacity building. For example, the Alliance hosts tourism planning workshops across Bangladesh so that local stakeholders can network and learn about tourism innovations. The Alliance also supports the business development of local enterprises by providing shared resources. To improve local governance, Solimar engages community management organizations and institutions to consolidate viewpoints and strengthen impact.
Evidently, capacity building is a central component of the Bangladesh project. However, I want to highlight its relation to a foundational goal of this project – gender equity.
Capacity Building for Female Empowerment
Gender equity is a thematic element noticeable across several project activities. The living conditions of women in Bangladesh are in constant struggle despite government initiatives. Women’s participation in the workforce is limited to low-paying sectors, such as the dangerous, labor-intensive garment industry. This economic inequality stimulates numerous social issues, including gender-based violence and child marriage – where 59% of girls are married before the age of 18 (USAID).
Tourism opens doors for women in Bangladesh. The range of employment opportunities the tourism industry provides can help women break into the workforce. Globally, 54% of people employed in tourism are women; yet, it remains a rather male-dominated industry due to gender discrepancies in earnings. Solimar and the Alliance aim to equip women with the skills and resources necessary to not only reach employment opportunities, but also to grow within the industry. This effort does not stop at conventional job growth but further assists women with financing opportunities, network development, and individual capacity building.
Here are some examples of programs that demonstrate these actions:
1. Network Development through the Women in Tourism Club
As in any enterprise, it’s crucial to create peer networks to be able to grow within that industry. Working in a male-dominated space, women in the tourism industry across Bangladesh, particularly around the Sundarbans, lack skill-building and networking opportunities. To resolve this concern, the Alliance established the Women in Tourism Club to bring together female professionals looking to enter or grow in the tourism sector. From tourism marketing to tour agencies to hospitality management, women from all backgrounds in tourism have joined. The club has both online and in-person opportunities. Virtually, club members can connect on online platforms to support one another and access educational material. Offline, the Alliance hosts in-person meetings and workshops where women can receive training on leadership and entrepreneurship as well as share their experiences and ideas for collaboration. The club also promotes women-led national advocacy to break additional barriers that these women may face.
Women in Tourism meeting led by Solimar’s Director of Community Development, Chloe King
2. Individual Capacity Building for Women in the Sundarbans
The communities living on the edge of the Sundarbans Reserve Forest are incredibly dependent upon the forest for its environmental protection and economic opportunities but primarily live below the poverty line. Through its Student Research Placement Program, Solimar sent researcher Catherine Padgett from the University of Edinburgh to the Sundarbans to assess the relationship between the food security and regional stability for the Banojibi people, a community living in and around the Sundarbans, and conservation efforts that take place in the mangrove forest. During her time in Bangladesh, Padgett worked with the Bangladesh Environment and Development Society (BEDS), an Alliance member, to study the deeper impacts of their current initiatives.
Student Researcher Catherine Padgett at a BEDS program in Bangladesh
BEDS’ current programs provide a platform for the Banojibi people to share the profound knowledge of the Sundarbans they possess to visitors while simultaneously promoting conservation. By creating nature-based income opportunities such as community-based nature education programs and conservation efforts like mangrove nurseries, women are given a chance to hone their skills and transition from home labor to an alternate livelihood. Padgett found that providing women with a chance to develop their individual capacity serves as a holistic solution. These initiatives not only strengthen food security and regional stability, but also provide women with more agency to control their finances.
Solimar and the Alliance continue to promote research and initiatives that look into the needs of women in overlooked communities so that they implement activities that build capacity within these communities.
The Future of Women in Tourism
Though women stand as the majority of the global tourism workforce, they earn almost 15% less than their male counterparts. By creating the aforementioned models of capacity building for women, Solimar is helping the industry bridge this gap while also promoting social and economic empowerment by creating innovations for women in tourism. Beyond Bangladesh, there are many examples of how community-based tourism is utilized to build capacity for women. Check out how the Artisan Development project in Southern Morocco promotes the business of hundreds of female-owned stalls in artisan markets.
To many, the positive impacts of the tourism industry at first glance seem limited to leisure and economic development. When you take a closer look, you see the immense social change tourism prompts when people are equipped with the right tools.
Solimar is here to create those opportunities. Contact us to learn how you can be a part of that mission.
When it comes to tourism experiences in the United States, there is arguably none as large in scale or impact as the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail (LCNHT). The trail spans 4,900 miles and is accompanied by over 6,000 miles of driving routes across 16 states, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the Oregon’s Pacific Coast. It is a trail equal in size to the distances from Anchorage to Cancun, from Paris to Mumbai, or from Cairo to Cape Town. Needless to say, the trail is massive, and has a potentially huge impact on any town or community it runs through as a result.
The interesting part about the trail however, is that even though it is administered by the National Park Service, they own almost none of the land along the trail. Instead, the route is owned and operated by the stakeholders that call each place along the trail home. They are the people who can help better the trail, and, in turn, make the trail better for them and their communities. But who are these stakeholders? What importance do they actually play in the trail’s success? We hope to answer these questions as we discuss the roles these people have in one of the biggest tourism networks on the planet.
Gateway Arch National Park, the former start of the Louisiana Purchase exploration
Who are the Stakeholders of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail?
Stakeholders are individuals or groups that have an interest in, or are impacted by, the decisions, operations, and success of a business. In this case, it is anyone who has an invested interest in the success of Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. These stakeholders can range from federal government organizations to individual business owners. Most stakeholders for the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail fall into one of the following six categories:
1. States
The trail is split up into five regions. It begins in the Ohio River region, which includes Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It continues through the Missouri Traverse region, which includes Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa. The trail then flows through the Great Plains region of North Dakota and South Dakota, and the Plains to Peaks region of Montana and Idaho. It finishes in the Columbia River region of Oregon and Washington. People from every state mentioned here collaborate to run activities along the trail, whether they are from official state tourism departments, state parks teams, or any other state-level government agency.
2. Native American Tribes
The American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA) helps the project by leading the charge to promote native-owned businesses and communicate with tribal lands along the trail. The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail passes through 15 reservations, as well as the historical lands of many more tribes that have since moved. Each tribe has interpretive centers, museums, festivals, and restaurants that all showcase Native traditions and their side of the Lewis and Clark story. The American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association is our valued partner in facilitating these relationships.
3. Federal Land Managers
The National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Forest Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service all oversee and manage land on the trail. Anytime the trail passes through a national park, national forest, or any other land operated by the federal government, these guys help keep it the healthiest and most thriving it can be.
4. Volunteer Groups
Many local destination marketing and management organizations, interpretative teams in parks, or local museums are made up of volunteer groups working to bring people to their town. They do incredible work and are deeply passionate about their jobs. The LCNHT provides them with great opportunities to grow tourism in their hometowns and achieve their goals.
5. Nonprofit Groups
Nonprofit groups like the Lewis and Clark Trust and the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation work to educate the public and preserve the land and history of the trail. They contribute greatly to the interpretive information presented about the trail’s history. Many other local nonprofits that have a mission to solve a problem or promote a topic lie along the trail. The popularity of the LCNHT makes it easier to bring visitors to their communities and raise awareness for their causes.
6. Private Sector
Lastly, the private sector comprises all the privately-owned businesses along the trail. This includes hotels, bed and breakfasts, restaurants, gift shops, tour operators, wineries, breweries, and more. This is mainly made up of local residents who live along the trail, and they have a huge impact on its success.
Wineries are great businesses to feature on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
Why Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Stakeholders are Essential
As previously mentioned, the National Park Service may be advertising and managing the trail, but the actual attractions and points of interest along the trail are owned by the locals. This is a type of tourism called geotourism, in which the goal is to promote the unique character of a place. This is best done through local collaboration. People are usually proud and passionate about the place they live, or the community they are a part of. The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail hopes to tap into that passion by asking the locals along the trail to help with its promotion and marketing.
The main way of doing this is via the LCNHT website and its interactive map. The tourism team at Solimar International who operate the website know that a full knowledge of everything to do in every town along the trail is hard to have, if not impossible. The way they combat this is by having local business owners submit their business to be featured on the website’s map. Soon enough, the whole map will be filled with local spots to eat, shop, drink, and play. This gives a sense of authenticity to tourists, and economic and cultural prosperity to the locals. Research shows that local collaboration makes tourism destinations succeed and be viewed positively in the eyes of locals. Stakeholders of the Lewis and Clark trail are what make the trail what it is, and their collaboration is paramount to the success of it as a tourist destination.
The Lewis and Clark Trail is an iconic cross-country trip, perfect for families
How You Can Get Involved in the LNCHT as a Stakeholder or Tourist
There is a lot of potential for the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail to impact communities around the United States in a positive way. If you or someone you know lives along the trail, the best way to get involved is to make an account on the Lewis and Clark Travel website. From there, you can submit local points of interest to be featured on our interactive map. The listing could be as big as a national park, or as small as your local small business. Other than that, it comes down to learning more about the relationships between communities and the tourism industry. Learning how to showcase your town, no matter how small, can help attract people from all around the United States and beyond.
Travel greenwashing and the challenges of an environmentally conscious tourist: who to trust, how to spot authenticity, and more.
From backpackers to luxury travelers, the climate crisis affects us all. As travelers become increasingly aware of the issues impacting the Earth, they seek to reward and fiscally support businesses in the tourism industry with environmentally friendly practices. A subsection of the tourism industry known as “eco-tourism” has emerged in response to the demand for eco-friendly options. Some tourists are consciously opting to use their vacation time to do things like take a domestic road trip along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail instead of flying thousands of miles to an all-inclusive resort.
There is also no shortage of travel businesses touting their sustainability practices. But when businesses decide to skip a step, reaping the rewards of sustainable efforts without actually implementing sustainable alternatives, it can leave travelers struggling to navigate between who is actually sustainable and who is simply doing travel greenwashing.
Traveler taking in the view from Ciucas, Romania (David Marcu, Unsplash)
Back to Basics
What is Greenwashing?
In general terms, greenwashing is a marketing style that falsely advertises a service or product in an environmentally friendly light. Given how pervasive greenwashing is within the tourism industry, it can be particularly tricky for a traveler to identify. For example, when a hotel claims to use sustainable practices in order to cater to a more ecologically conscious market, they would be greenwashing if they are unfaithful to those claims.
How to Spot Travel Greenwashing
Keep an eye out for lone buzz words like “eco”, “environmentally-friendly”, and “sustainable” in descriptions. If there is no information or detailed examples to back it up, it is likely false. A business committed to sustainability will not shy away from getting into specifics.
In case the irony didn’t give it away already, these plastic cups labeled “Eco” that were found at a beach cleanup on Long Island, New York are a great example of greenwashing (Brian Yurasits, Unsplash)
When in doubt, ask!
Any eco-entrepreneur worth their buck will gladly engage in conversation with a potential customer on their sustainable practices. When planning your trip, it is always a good idea to contact a business and ask for more details. Don’t let language barriers deter you either! Google Translate can be a great communication tool when using simple sentences, especially if email or instant messaging is an option.
Are they legit?
A genuinely sustainable business will typically present evidence alongside their environmentalist claims. If you want an example of what to look for, then look no further than the numerous guest houses in the Dahar region of Tunisia. Many businesses like Ouled El Khil (pictured below), boast farm-fresh dishes produced via sustainable agricultural methods like permaculture and provide pictures with in-depth descriptions to add legitimacy to their claims. If you are still on the fence after reviewing the evidence, it never hurts to engage the service provider for more information.
Let’s Put Our Knowledge of Travel Greenwashing to the Test
The whole point of marketing is to influence an audience into feeling a certain way, and greenwashing is no different. When done well, greenwashing can be deceiving, so let’s go for a test drive:
After a quick web search, you find a hotel for your next vacation. It looks nice enough and claims to be “eco-friendly”. The question of the hour: is it really — or is this greenwashing?
Some key questions to ask:
How does the hotel support local residents and the surrounding community?
How does the hotel prevent harming the natural habitat around them?
What is the hotel’s waste management policy?
Do they recycle and avoid single use plastics?
How do they work to conserve water?
How do they prevent pollution?
Questions that probe further into the company’s future are also a great way to get to know the ethos of the establishment you are considering to support. For example, ask about their plan to reduce their carbon footprint. The more you can target your questions, the more direct and useful the responses will be. Most business owners who prioritize sustainable practices will happily discuss their efforts with a potential guest. In fact, they likely appreciate and share your passion for solving the complex problems our planet faces.
On the off chance they do not engage, it is likely they do not have the evidence to support their claims. At this point, you may be better off taking your business somewhere that you deem truly worthy of your patronship, but at the very least you have given them something to consider by reaching out.
Litter on a beach near a resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Dustin Woodhouse, Unsplash)
Preventing Travel Greenwashing in the First Place
The World Federation of Advertisers recently updated its code on greenwashing. Their new guidance emphasizes that any environmentalist claims in a service or product description must be clear, readily backed up, and precise. Misleading by omission is also ill-advised. However, despite these strides in anti-greenwashing policy, there is no global enforcement of such initiatives. It is up to individual nations to legislate anti-greenwashing regulations. Therefore, when looking to travel abroad, it can be helpful to check the greenwashing laws of the country you are visiting. If a nation enforces anti-greenwashing advertising regulations, then claims made in descriptions may be more readily trusted.
Better yet, if you don’t feel like spending hours trying to understand anti-greenwashing legislation, there are organizations that weed out the greenwashing for you. Groups like Solimar International can help you find businesses that align with your ethical and sustainable values. Check out Solimar’s recommendations for your next eco-friendly adventure!
“We rely confidently on Solimar's deep technical experience and professionalism as tourism consultants. You always are exceeding our expectations.” Leila Calnan, Senior Manager, Tourism Services Cardno Emerging Markets
