Tourism: what if we went from ‘all culpable’ to ‘all capable’?

Executive Director for Digital & Sightseeing at RATP Dev’s Tootbus sightseeing operation Arnaud Masson considers matters of the environmental impact of tourism

For a company in the tourist sector like Tootbus, getting through Covid-19 wasn’t an easy task. We might have expected summer 2022 to come as a relief as it brought tourists back to European cities, and our business back to something close to pre-Covid levels.

However, it was with a certain solemnity that our vehicles hit the roads again, as another crisis is unfolding. And, like Covid-19, it concerns every one of us on the planet. We’re talking about the climate crisis, of course. Last summer, everyone saw for themselves the damage it causes, and it can no longer be denied (for those who were still trying). But whereas the pandemic was largely beyond our control, the climate crisis is directly connected to our actions. At a time when even the CEO of Paris Airports is calling for restraint regarding flights, how can the tourism sector possibly avoid taking a long hard look at itself?

By subscribing you will benefit from:

• Operator & Supplier Profiles
• Face-to-Face Interviews
• Lastest News
• Test Drives and Reviews
• Legal Updates
• Route Focus
• Industry Insider Opinions
• Passenger Perspective
• Vehicle Launches
• and much more!

SUBSCRIBE

LOGIN

Because, and let’s be clear about this, the tourism sector is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions: it is responsible for 5% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the French Ministry for the Ecological Transition. And 77% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the tourism sector in France are generated by travel and transport.

Tourism: benefit or threat?

Let’s go straight to the heart of the question: is tourism a threat for the planet to the same extent as other human activities? The answer is unequivocal: Yes, it is, if it carries on in the same way as it has for the past few decades, with no restraint and no consideration of its impact.

Nevertheless, as a business in the tourist sector, we refuse to look at tourism solely through the prism of its only negative impact, as it also has undeniable benefits. Firstly, its cultural value. From the pyramids in Giza to the one at the Louvre, from the leaning Tower of Pisa to the Tower of London, our collective imagination is shaped by these iconic places that help bring us closer together despite the distance. This cultural value comes, more than anything, from on our encounters with other people. Improving ourselves through our differences, building bridges between cultures, that’s the essence of this sector that is quite different to others.

Finally, tourism also has positive socio-economic impacts. In a recent report, APUR, an agency which analyses and develops strategies which address the urban and societal evolution of the Greater Paris region, says: “We estimate the tourist sector to be responsible for 7.5% of GDP in 2019, a figure that has remained fairly stable since 2010.” The World Travel & Tourism Council estimates that the sector will contribute around 10% of GDP in 2028 and create 430,000 additional jobs, making a total of 3.3 million (11.3% of total employment).

If we want to reconcile the value that tourism brings with the absolute need to exercise greater restraint, the sector needs to undergo a cultural transformation, both in its own interests and in the interests of the planet, of tourists and of locals. Our business has been very much heading this way over the past few years by operating, for example, the first fully electric network of tourist buses in Brussels on behalf of transport operator STIB, and introducing a 100% low-emission fleet in Paris, which will eventually become fully electric. We have done this with conviction, making sure our teams and our passengers are involved in our approach, and with the strong feeling that this is the right thing to do. However, one question remains unanswered: the finances.

At what cost?

With the help of OpinionWay, we carried out our first barometer study on sustainable tourism. When asked about the importance of environmental criteria in their choice of leisure activities, 56% of French and British people and 55% of Belgians said they were important… as long as it didn’t cost them more. Only 17% of French people, 13% of Belgians and 19% of British people are prepared to pay a surcharge for an environmentally friendly feature. When they are prepared to pay, the acceptable surcharge is 10.8% on average for the French and 11.8% for Belgians.

As we’ve already said, businesses in the tourism sector cannot, in good conscience, carry on without changing the way they do things and working towards greater moderation. This will come at a cost, but one that is an investment in our future: the future of the sector and of the planet. Let’s also ask the question about sharing this cost with those who benefit from it: our passengers, with the condition that we don’t want tourism to become elitist but remain an opportunity for all, including the less well off.

The reality is that low-emission equipment such as electric buses is expensive. We have chosen to equip our fleets with European vehicles, in the interests of buying local, which is also more costly. Users will need to participate to some extent in this financing. It’s only right that we bear most of the investment costs. But should it all be down to us? Let’s start a discussion, together.