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Sustainability is a characteristic of development that ensures the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations. This is a pending task in all areas globally, but especially in the tourism sector, which no longer has room for further postponement. That’s why, at the International Congress of Argentine Tourism, organized by the Argentine Chamber of Tourism and the Ministry of Tourism of the Nation from May 12 to 14, sustainable tourism was one of the central topics.
As a promoter of sustainable tourism for the past 20 years, Bettina González, the director of Boomerang Viajes, participated in the virtual panel titled “Sustainable Development. Its Time is Now.” She shared that Boomerang Viajes was inspired by the Economy of Communion, “a model of new economies centered on the person that recovers the values needed in the market.” She also highlighted that “since 2019, we have been the first tourism company to be certified as a B Corp.” These are “the two pillars that provide us with the tools to implement sustainability in the company,” she said.
In their journey to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) throughout the trip planning process, they created four seals that define the degree of sustainability for each proposal: Responsible, Ecological, Intercultural, and 100% local. “As a travel agency, we work throughout the supply chain with the principle of fair pricing and convey it to the traveler, who ultimately applies sustainability because they must respect the value and work of the community they visit,” explains Bettina. In this sense, the agency’s main challenge is to “valorize the work and culture of others, help the community formalize entrepreneurs to lift them out of poverty, and for this, we must establish a connection with the locals, also pursuing responsible production and consumption.”
Even in times of a pandemic and great complexity for the tourism sector, Boomerang Viajes’ purpose remains intact, and sustainable objectives continue. Thus, aligned with the global commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, in 2020, they began measuring the Carbon Footprint generated by the agency and managed to offset negative impacts with 15 tons of reforestation in the native forest of Jujuy. This year, they are working on developing a calculator to measure travelers’ carbon footprint “to show them what things they are willing to change,” anticipates Bettina.
Before concluding her talk, she mentioned the Solidarity Tourism Course “Together We Achieve Sustainability,” which she resumed with her sister, Paula González, and is now in its seventh edition. “It is a training space to share our colleagues’ experience with the aim of training travel agents, who are the direct link with travelers, so they arrive informed at the destination.” She also mentioned the alliance with Ekhos to carry out the Impact Route, “a travel program focused on training, conscious tourism, and local immersion to get to know social enterprises and entrepreneurs in different areas of Argentina.” In this regard, she concluded with a wish: “My dream is for this to become a reality, to go beyond Boomerang Viajes, and for that, we must do it in alliances with others.”
Heritage, Environment, Rural Tourism, and Entrepreneurship
The rest of the panel also addressed sustainable development in tourism, sharing their different experiences:
Claudio Bertonatti (Argentina), a professor at the Azara Foundation at Maimónides University:
“We need to value the assets of our tourist destinations, such as archaeological heritage and natural reserves. This added value must be inclusive.”
“Tourism is a hospitable act because it promotes respect for the destination and the local community while also demanding or requesting; it is an educational act.”
“The current challenges are to create tools to train guides in adding value, appealing not only to information but also to emotions; to equip destinations with better infrastructure and interpretive signage, with self-guided trails; management plans that consolidate the identity of different cultures.”
“When tourism is not careful, it ends up parasitizing destinations and local communities.”
“Tourism must create memorable, unforgettable experiences that touch the heart.”
Ana Báez, President of Tourism & Conservation Consultants (Costa Rica):
“We are at a critical moment on the planet, regardless of the pandemic and Covid-19; we have abused its resources.”
“We need to find a purpose.”
“We need to look for a new model where sustainable development and sustainable tourism strike a balance between using the raw material, which is heritage, the harmonious and equal development of our communities, and economic development as a model with greater awareness that doesn’t focus on wealth but on well-being.”
“The great challenge for tourism is climate change, as it is one of the protagonists in facing the reality we have.”
“When we talk about sustainable tourism, we talk about sharing; we forget about competition and generate principles in which we can understand that the win-win position is that if the other is better, I will be better. When we agree on sustainability, we agree on the commitment to well-being for all.”
Marcelo Gandolfi, Project Director of CODESPA Foundation:
“Given the information from the ILO (International Labour Organization) that international tourism may not recover until 2022, 2023, or 2024, rural tourism proposals are at an incipient risk, so the time to act is now.”
“The new traveler profile after the pandemic shows a preference for outdoor getaways, greater environmental and social awareness, and demands safety and hygiene. They are mainly domestic travelers, young, and highly digitalized. All of this requires strong innovation in rural tourism offerings.”
“At the same time, the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) states that travelers in the new era seek outdoor activities and authentic experiences.”
“Eighty percent of rural and community tourism ventures will close or have to change course this year due to the international tourism crisis.”
“How do we transform rural tourism into tourism for the new era? It is important to formalize these ventures because they are the ones that will move forward.”
“There are three main challenges: digitization – before traveling, there is much interest in knowing what can be done at the destination, the Covid-19 prevention plan, and during the trip, reducing personal contact and conducting digital operations such as payments and reservations; ensuring that rural communities are not left out; and launching initiatives that reduce environmental impacts, such as offering travelers 100% compostable products.”
Lucy Vilte, Manager and Owner of Ecohotel Posta de Purmamarca (Jujuy, Argentina):
“I took over the family venture at 25, after living in Germany, where I experienced responsible consumption and wondered why I couldn’t carry out a sustainable project in northern Argentina, to add economic value without neglecting Andean culture, connection to the land, and our relationship with Pachamama (Mother Earth).”
“I merged my travel experience with my own culture.”
“I set out to manage the environment with what I had, starting with waste separation. Then we looked at how to optimize paper use until we developed a waste management program.”
“I understood that my hotel had 200 km2 of surface area, which I had to care for and manage. Seeing that biodiversity, our environment, is healthy, only then will our business prosper.”
“I realized that if I didn’t ally with the government, I wouldn’t scale. I offered to take on the role of the Secretary of the Environment in my town for free, and in less than 3 months, we implemented waste separation and began training rural areas on water conservation.”
“What I most want is for my hotel’s name to become obsolete in a few years, for ‘eco hotel’ to be a word that no longer serves because all hotels will have environmental management and social impact that spills over into everything and becomes the norm.”
The discussions were coordinated by María Pérez Márquez, National Director of Tourism Investments at the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Argentine Nation, who emphasized that “a crisis is a transition to discover new places; these are moments of opportunity to generate significant changes.” She emphasized three concepts: SDGs, territory, and resilience. Undoubtedly, the path to achieving Sustainable Tourism’s Purpose.