Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Tourism

Why should Scotland become carbon neutral?
There are huge benefits to becoming carbon neutral. Not just for the tourism industry, but for everyone living and working in Scotland. Being carbon neutral would give Scotland a chance to gain a competitive edge on other tourism destinations.

Is there a target date for Scotland to become carbon neutral?
No target date has been set at this stage. VisitScotland’s Chairman Peter Lederer has set out an aspiration for Scotland to become the world’s first carbon neutral tourism destination. To achieve this aim, it will require action from all sections of community, from tourism businesses, to individuals themselves.

What can tourism businesses do to become carbon neutral?
There are many ways that tourism businesses can get involved.

Firstly, they can work out their carbon footprint on websites like www.carbonfootprint.com.
Businesses can take simple steps to measure and reduce their energy use (see the Energy Savings Trust website www.est.org.uk). Tourism businesses can also join Hospitable Climates, a free advice service for tourism businesses interested in saving energy, www.hospitableclimates.org.uk.
As well as improving their energy efficiency and reducing their energy use, businesses can help by reducing the miles that they and their visitors travel. They can highlight public transport on their website, offer to pick visitors up from the local railway station, provide bikes and maps showing local cycle routes and join VisitScotland’s Walker and Cyclists welcome schemes.
If they employ a number of staff they can help organise car sharing for them or even offer bikes to those who want to cycle to work.
Businesses can also help by finding and using local produce that doesn’t have to travel so far to get here.
All of these actions would get a business points under the Green Tourism Business Scheme, so why not join and benefit from the advice, support and marketing opportunities the scheme presents (see www.green-business.co.uk).
For more ideas and suggestions see the sustainable tourism website, www.greentourism.org.uk

If you want Scotland to be a carbon neutral destination, should you be working to attract more direct flights to Scotland?

Transport is a key issue. It is central to tourism, but it also puts pressure on our natural resources and makes a contribution to our global environmental impact. Tourism is crucial for Scotland’s economic future and it is important this industry still continues to grow. However, for tourism to grow, we must accept that air travel will continue to be important.
We support the aviation and transport industries own efforts to reduce their impact on the environment by developing cleaner aircrafts and fuel which has a less harmful impact on the environment. Some airlines have their own carbon off-set schemes.
VisitScotland works with the full range of transport providers including ferry companies, bus and train companies as well as airlines.

Is there going to be a carbon off-set scheme for Scotland?
The idea of a carbon off-set scheme was raised by the sustainability sub-group of the Tourism Innovation Group in June 2006. If established, this voluntary scheme would enable visitors to offset the CO2 produced as a result of their visit, investing in Scottish projects to regenerate forest habitats and other initiatives to reduce or ‘capture’ CO2 already produced. Carbon offset will be central to the potential scheme, and it is anticipated that this will be delivered via renewable energy projects, rather than carbon sequestration by trees or other means. An independent feasibility study has been commissioned to investigate how such a scheme may work and how it could benefit Scotland. VisitScotland is contributing to this study.

Would the potential carbon off-set scheme work like a ‘green tax’?
No, this would be a purely voluntary scheme, which would give visitors with a ‘green conscience’, the opportunity to offset the carbon they produce getting to, and around Scotland.

SECTION 2: SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

What is sustainable tourism?

‘Sustainable tourism’ is often confused with ‘eco’ or ‘green’ tourism, but it is simply sustainable development achieved through tourism. Sustainable development is economic development that takes a long-term view that balances the benefits of economic development against any environmental and social costs. Just as sustainable developments assumes continued economic growth, so sustainable tourism assumes continued tourism growth.
As well as encouraging continued tourism growth, sustainable tourism will ensure that Scotland’s key tourism assets, our natural heritage, built heritage and our communities, will survive and thrive.
Genuinely sustainable tourism requires that all the benefits and costs, economic, environmental, social, of tourism activities be taken into account in the planning and development process.

How will Scottish tourism benefit from becoming more sustainable?

Because it safeguards the very assets on which Scottish tourism depends, taking a sustainable approach to tourism growth is the only way to ensure long-term tourism growth in Scotland. Ignoring the environmental or social impacts of tourism development will ultimately undermine the success of tourism in this country.
Visitors benefit from a sustainable approach to tourism through better links with local communities, a high quality tourism experience and a natural and built environment that is cared for.
Becoming a sustainable tourism destination will give Scottish tourism businesses a competitive edge by generating greater community support for tourism, achieving cost savings and creating new marketing opportunities.

What does sustainable tourism mean in practice?

Greener transport – Transport is central to tourism, but it also puts pressure on our natural resources and makes a contribution to our global environmental impact. Measures like encouraging visitors to use public transport, and innovations in cleaner forms of transport will help in this area.
Seasonal and geographical pressures – A more even spread of visitors reduces pressure on natural and built environments and on communities, and maximises the economic benefits. VisitScotland tailors its marketing campaign to encourage a spread of visitors throughout the year and around the country, e.g. Autumn Gold, Spring and Winter campaigns.
Understanding the impacts – sustainable tourism requires a balance to be achieved between positive and negative impacts of tourism. We need to work with partners to measure the environmental and social impacts of tourism. This has been identified as a priority by the newly formed Sustainable Tourism Partnership.
Greener accommodation – a sustainable tourism industry will be one in which all accommodation providers minimise their waste, energy and water use. VisitScotland has developed the Green Tourism Business Scheme to encourage businesses to reduce their environmental impact. With over 700 members the scheme is one of the largest of its kind in Europe.

What is the difference between sustainable tourism and eco-tourism?

Wildlife, green and eco-tourism are growing in popularity, and Scotland has a lot to offer consumers interested in these kinds of holidays. A recent poll by responsibletravel.com named Scotland as the leading eco-tourism destination in Europe.
Sustainable tourism differs as it is an overall approach to tourism and achieving growth in a way which will not harm the natural or built environment, and will support economic and social development.

SECTION 3: VISITSCOTLAND’S ROLE

What is VisitScotland doing about protecting the environment and sustainable growth?

VisitScotland is committed to the Scottish Executive ambition to grow tourism in Scotland in a sustainable way, both through its own activities and advice for the tourism industry in Scotland. Initiatives to assist with this include:
Green Tourism Business Scheme, which encourages tourism businesses in Scotland to reduce their impact on the environment (link to question below). VisitScotland’s own offices are members of, or are working towards membership of the Green Tourism Business Scheme.
VisitScotland has established a Sustainable Tourism Unit to incorporate sustainable tourism approaches into all of VisitScotland’s activities (link to question below)
VisitScotland has developed an environmental policy, which will be presented to the VisitScotland Board in January 2007, and made public thereafter.
VisitScotland is a member of the Sustainable Tourism Partnership
VisitScotand has provided £5,000 to fund research into the potential of a voluntary carbon off-set scheme for Scotland through the Tourism Innovation Group (link to question below).
Key to VisitScotland’s marketing campaigns is the aim of dispersing visitors throughout Scotland and encouraging them to see all parts of the country throughout the year. This helps to spread the benefits and the pressures of tourism more evenly.

What is the Sustainable Tourism Partnership?

The Sustainable Tourism Partnership (STP) was set up by the Scottish Executive in August 2006. Its aim is to build up links with tourism businesses interested in the sustainable development of Scottish tourism.
STP comprises private sector and public sector representatives, including the Scottish Executive, VisitScotland, Scottish Tourism Forum, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and visitor attractions including the Scottish Seabird Centre. STP is chaired by Tom Brock, of the Scottish Seabird Centre.
One of the first issues for action for the group is to identify indicators for sustainable tourism in Scotland. These will be used to measure progress towards the goal of becoming Europe’s most sustainable tourism destination.

What is VisitScotland’s Sustainable Tourism Unit?

With the issue of sustainability becoming more and more significant, VisitScotland agreed with a request from the Scottish Executive to mainstream sustainability and incorporate some of the past functions of the Tourism and Environment Forum into its own operations in 2006. The Tourism and Environment Forum was established 10 years ago and supported by VisitScotland, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
The Sustainable Tourism Unit, which is based in Inverness, is working to ensure the incorporation and promotion of sustainable tourism practices into all that VisitScotland does internally and in its activities with tourism businesses. The Sustainable Tourism Unit has been working with colleagues in VisitScotland to develop an environmental policy and targets for VisitScotland.
For more information, please go to www.greentourism.org.uk

What is VisitScotland’s Green Tourism Business Scheme?

The tourism industry in Scotland needs to share in the responsibility to protect our tourism assets. VisitScotland has developed one of the world's first Green Tourism Business Schemes, to do just that. All sorts of tourism businesses from hotels to visitor attractions can a play a role in protecting our environment through the Green Tourism Business Scheme so that we maintain all we've got to offer our visitors well into the future.
There are currently around 700 Scottish tourism businesses involved in the scheme.
The Scottish Executive have laid down a target for tourism businesses and VisitScotland to increase membership of the green tourism business scheme each year, so that by 2010, 30 per cent of businesses who participate in the VisitScotland Quality Assurance schemes will also be at entry level or above in the Green Tourism Business Scheme. The aspiration is to have all ‘Quality Assured’ tourism businesses at least at entry level by 2015.
For more information visit www.green-business.co.uk
For case studies of businesses who are members of the scheme, please visit www.visitscotland.org/green_tourism-6.htm

When will VisitScotland be carbon neutral?
As part of its environmental policy, VisitScotland will establish its ‘carbon footprint’ then make efforts to become carbon neutral. The process of establishing the carbon footprint is likely to be complete by 2008.

What will be included in VisitScotland’s environmental policy?
The main areas which will be covered will be energy, water, waste, transport and procurement.

SECTION 4: GENERAL

How important is the environment to Scottish tourism?
VisitScotland and its partners commissioned research into why visitors come to Scotland. The Tourism Attitudes Survey found that Scotland’s beautiful scenery and natural environment are our most important tourism assets.

What is the Scottish Executive’s position?

Scotland’s Tourism Framework for Change (TFFC) sets the twin challenge of establishing Scotland as Europe’s most sustainable destination by 2015 and also growing revenue from tourism by 50 per cent over the same period.
Various initiatives have been put in place by VisitScotland, tourism businesses and other public and private sector partners to work towards these aims. These include the Sustainable Tourism Partnership and VisitScotland’s Green Tourism Business Scheme.

What sort of environmental damage do tourists cause?
An increase in the number of visitors to Scotland has potential to impact on the environment in terms of climate change and resources however with sustainability being a key factor in the tourism strategy our aim is to manage this impact so that we achieve our growth ambition at the same time as Scotland aiming to be Europe’s most sustainable tourism destination.

Is there a demand for ethical, or sustainable holidays from consumers?
As many as 1.2 million British people would be "very willing" to pay a premium for an ethical holiday, a new survey has revealed. Results in a survey conducted by TNS revealed 3 per cent of 2,000 respondents said they were "very willing" and a further 25 per cent "quite willing" to pay more for such a holiday.

Is Scotland currently perceived as a sustainable or eco destination?
A poll of 60,000 consumers making booking enquiries through the online travel agency responsibletravel.com ranked Scotland as the top European eco-destination, 9th in a worldwide listing as reported on Travelmole.com, 2005.

6 December 2006