The tourism industry in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and climate change

A twofold challenge

The tourism and hospitality sector is one of the industries most hit by the coronavirus crisis. Hotels, restaurants, travel agents, providers of sports and leisure activities as well as the associated suppliers and service companies had to completely discontinue their operations. For the businesses that had to close down so rapidly, however, returning to business as usual won’t be anything like as fast. After all, since the health of the guests and staff has to be top priority and the industry is also required to reorganise itself from an already weak economic position, it faces a particularly stiff challenge, which however is also its big opportunity: with a streamlined yet well-considered offering, it can comply with the required hygiene guidelines while at the same time positioning itself on a more climate-aware basis, thereby taking tourism as a whole to a new, sustainable level of quality.

More consumer awareness, more regulation

In recent months, the awareness of consumers for responsible, sustainable and healthy consumption has once again increased markedly. This was also proven by a survey of participants of our ClimatePartner Academy completed between March and April of this year: Almost half of the businesses rated the importance of climate protection among their customers as high to very high. This development is nothing new, however, as a study completed in 2019 found that sustainable products and services accounted for more than half of the market growth between 2013 and 2018. The coronavirus crisis is likely to further strengthen this awareness.

The trend towards greater environmental awareness and sustainability has recently been evident in the tourism industry as well, where it is also set to accelerate. Standards of hygiene, climate and environmental protection, sustainable consumption and understanding the impact of one’s personal behaviour will all play a much bigger role in the travel and tourism of the future than they did in the past. These are joined by the legal regulations which have a major impact on the business operations of the companies in the sector and frequently make structural and organisational changes necessary.

It can nevertheless be assumed that in the near future, most travel will take place on a regional basis, as significant restrictions on long-distance travel and flights are likely to remain in place. “Take a holiday at home” is therefore a phrase which could be seen as an opportunity for the industry. As much as climate protection and sustainability are being demanded by guests and consumers, they can also be both used by hotels and restaurants as key distinguishing features. In addition to the required protection of health, with the path to climate neutrality, companies now have an option to demonstrate their responsibility.

Climate neutrality as the starting point for a new strategy

To ensure that a company is climate neutral, it is necessary for it to offset all its carbon emissions. In this respect, the required process consists of the following steps: It starts with the compilation of a carbon footprint, which means gathering all the consumption data such as energy, electricity and water, as well as the staff commuting. The carbon footprint is then calculated by converting the consumption data into carbon emissions. In the next step, this provides the basis for identifying the possible methods of adjustment and the potential to avoid and reduce emissions. The unavoidable emissions which remain are finally offset by supporting certified carbon offset projects.

Solutions for hotels and the hospitality industry

A hotel or other tourism business does not have to take these steps itself as we are specialised in providing help and support in this very area. Also, the step towards climate neutrality is often the starting point for a comprehensive carbon offsetting strategy which can also take other aspects into account, such as regional catering suppliers, sustainable solutions for laundry, cosmetics, transport and shuttle services for guests and green energy for the entire company.

For hotels in particular, we offer a special IT solution with which they can determine their carbon emissions and report them on a proportional basis for each guest and overnight stay. This solution can also be integrated into the hotel software at the respective hotel on request. In the booking screen, guests can then automatically see how much carbon they are responsible for during their stay and decide for themselves whether they want to make it climate neutral. In this respect, they are given an individual certificate which allows them to see which climate protection project they have supported.

International and regional carbon offsetting

Carbon offset projects provide a major contribution to the fight against global warming because they verifiably reduce carbon emissions. This can take place through the protection of woodland, reforestation projects or expanding the use of renewable sources of energy. In addition to these international, certified projects, there are also regional nature and forest conservation projects, especially in the Alpine region, with which companies and businesses in Austria, Switzerland and Germany emphasize their commitment to environmental protection at the local level. In this respect, we collaborate with the international Commission for the Protection of the Alps CIPRA in Austria, with the Bergwaldprojekt Schweiz (Mountain Forest Project Foundation) in Switzerland and with the Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald (Association for the Protection of the German Forests) in Germany. In addition to this, with the international Vitalpin initiative, a joint climate protection fund has been planned in order to provide regional projects with targeted support and to increase both the number and variety of the protective measures.

Regional projects are relevant to the perspective of tourism in the Alpine region in several respects. On the one hand, the impact of incipient global climate change with melting glaciers, hillside erosion and droughts are particularly severe in this region and must be fought against actively with natural conservation measures. On the other hand, the negative development of mass tourism in the mountains and its impact on the ecosystem are seen to have further aggravated this situation. This gives tourism businesses opportunities to offer a more nuanced range of holiday and recreation offerings beyond the world of mass tourism, to make these climate-neutral, and to therefore make a contribution to climate protection which supports the future security of the industry at the same time.

People still want to go on holiday

The consequences of the coronavirus crisis, including the change in consumer attitudes towards health and sustainability, present both challenges to and opportunities for the tourism industry. All in all, the task is a huge. It extends far beyond what is otherwise usually necessary for the industry to adapt to the changing circumstances. Despite everything that has happened, however, the recent weeks have certainly demonstrated one thing: people still want to go on holiday, take a break and travel. The demand is there, now it depends on the right offer: something that can convince with high quality in terms of both the protection of health and the climate.