A Message From Stewart Moore, CEO of EC3 Global

Right now it is an important time for everyone in the travel and tourism industry, with sustainability at the top of the agenda for governments all over the globe.

Consumers are demanding action on the issues surrounding climate change and governments are beginning to listen to their concerns.  To this end, several important tourism forums have been organised over the next few weeks.  Governments the world over are looking to travel organisations at all levels to play their part in helping to address climate change.

It is important that the travel and tourism industry takes a leadership role in helping to address the issues surrounding climate change.   The industry must take urgent steps to reduce its carbon emissions, or it leaves itself open to increased government intervention, including possible restrictions on travel.

EC3 Global has been working with all levels of industry to help them understand the role they play and how they can contribute to the solution.   This newsletter highlights some of the events EC3 Global has attended, projects we have consulted on, and changes we have made so that we are in the best position to assist industry to address the issues.For more information on how EC3 Global can assist your organisation to become a leader in the travel and tourism industry, please visit our new-look website at www.ec3global.com..

A Practical Approach to Climate Change

EC3 Global is rolling out a number of exciting new initiatives over the next month, to assist the travel and tourism industry take a leadership position on environmental sustainability.  These enhancements will result in a service ready to face the new challenges and competition in the market for climate change solutions.

One of the changes to EC3 Global’s suite of products has been the review and update of the Green Globe benchmarking, certification and environmental improvement programme.  The new changes have been made to ensure Green Globe is now more broadly accessible to the travel and tourism market, resulting in an extended group of operators who are now taking steps to be more environmentally responsible.   

From an industry perspective, the travel and tourism sector must be seen to be leading the call for improved environmental responsibility.   The potential outcome of no action will not only threaten long term sustainability of our destinations, but lead to increased government intervention including potential taxes and travel embargoes.  To this end, several high level meetings have been called by peak tourism industry bodies aimed at engaging the tourism industry in the climate change debate in a way it hasn’t since the Djerba Declaration of 2003.

The UNWTO’s meeting in Davos at the beginning of October, at which EC3 Global’s CEO Stewart Moore met with major industry leaders, was the first in a series of worldwide tourism industry events specifically aimed at addressing the issues a climate change.  This is to be followed by a UN-wide meeting in Bali in December to decide the road forward for when the Kyoto Protocol expires.  EC3 Global’s involvement in these significant planning sessions indicates the long-term strategic position of the company. 

Another progression for EC3 Global’s product offering has been the early stage development, in conjunction with the Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC), of effective supporting data and tools to create a carbon trading calculator, a tool which will eventually assist all industries when government’s introduce carbon trading schemes are introduced over the next 18 months.

For more information on how EC3 Global can help your organisation reach its sustainability goals, please click here.

Leading By Example

Key travel organisations such as PATA have recognised the need to lead by example. “We’ve always understood that the environment, along with culture and heritage, is one of the three pillars of the travel and tourism industry,” said Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) President and CEO Mr Peter de Jong.

“Since the beginning of the environmental consciousness movement, and perhaps even before it, travel and tourism stakeholders have been among the pioneers and innovators of sustainable practices. “Yet never has the industry’s major weakness, its fragmented voice, been more exposed than it is now.”

PATA, the only travel and tourism industry association that counts leading players from all industry sectors among its membership, has joined the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and specific sectoral bodies in building a united response to climate change.

PATA’s “CEO Challenge 2008: Confronting Climate Change”, to take place April 29-30, will encourage leaders of the travel and tourism industry’s key public- and private-sector organisations to agree on a comprehensive response to the issue.

To demonstrate its own commitment, PATA has asked Green Globe to help ensure that the event has a significantly reduced carbon light.

By working closely with the conference organisers EC3 Global, the managers of the Green Globe brand, will utilise the benchmarking and certification processes, a key element of the programme, to help achieve this outcome.

EC3 Globe CEO Stewart Moore says “we are absolutely committed to supporting PATA achieve this result.   However we also need the full commitment from the industry in Thailand and the conference organisers as there are many things to consider for this to be achieved.    The recent Climate Change Forum hosted by the UNWTO in Davos Switzerland, whichEC3 Global participated in, introduced a wide range of processes to reduce the carbon footprint of the event and some of the lessons from Davos can be taken forward to assist PATA’s CEO Challenge 2008 achieve its carbon light target”.

Several industry heavyweights have backed PATA’s initiative, including Virgin Group Chairman Sir Richard Branson and Qantas Airways CEO Geoff Dixon from the aviation sector; UNWTO, Macau and Sri Lanka from the public sector; Accor Asia Pacific and America Hotel & Lodging Association from the hospitality sector; as well as several important tour operators and corporate players. 

By working together, PATA hopes leaders will agree on a united way forward in the interests of both the travel and tourism industry and the planet.

PATA’s CEO Challenge 2008: Confronting Climate Change is being organised in partnership with the Burba Hotel Network and the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

Hosted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the CEO Challenge will take place April 29-30, 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand.

For more information on PATA’s CEO Challenge and to register your interest in the event, please visit www.PATA.org/ceochallenge.

National Working Group Established for the Travel and Tourism Industry

An Australia-wide Industry Working Group, which includes representatives from  EC3 Global have joined forces to develop a national framework for collaborative regional data collection within the tourism Industry through the adoption of IPAT.

IPAT (Industry Performance Analysis Tool) is an internet-based business improvement application, which underpins the online data collection process for both national, state and regional tourism bodies.    IPAT forms part of an integrated suite of products marketed by EC3 Global.

The group will comprise industry representatives from Tourism Tasmania, Tourism Tropical North Queensland, Tourism Sunshine Coast and the South Australian Tourist Commission.  The group will be chaired by Mr Daniel Gschwind, Chief Executive Officer of the Queensland Tourism Industry Council and board member of the National Tourism Alliance.

One of the key objectives of the working group is to develop a nationally-applicable framework for regional data collection which also ensures that once captured it will be relevant and consistent to the needs for data comparison across regions and business sectors.

The group will work towards developing a set of strategies which address the short, medium and long term development plans for IPAT.

Tourism Sunshine Coast representative Mr Ren Van Tulder said “he welcomed the formation of the group and the fact that the industry had been given the opportunity to help plan the future strategic direction of IPAT.  We are the people  at the coal face and certainly have our operators and regions best interests at heart so we are in a good position to know what the industry values and needs”.

In addition the Industry Working Group will develop an ongoing communications and engagement strategy between EC3 Global, participating regions and relevant stakeholders, as well as tourism operators and current IPAT clients.  These strategies guarantee a high level of response from all sectors in the industry, ensuring the outcomes are truly industry-wide.

The tourism industry will be updated regularly as to the progress and findings of the group, as well as how the recommendations will be implemented in the coming months.

The inaugural meeting of the Working Group was held on the 8th of October

If your organisation would benefit from instant organisation-wide access to data comparisons, please click here.

Sustainability a Priority for Gold Coast Tourism

EC3 Global has been invited by Gold Coast Tourism and Tourism Queensland to prepare a ten year Regional Tourism Investment and Infrastructure Plan (RTIIP) which will enable the Gold Coast to reach its full potential for sustainable tourism development. 

The Gold Coast RTIIP aims to inform and motivate tourism industry stakeholders to actively pursue tourism investment, infrastructure and upgrades that are required to support tourism growth. 

Enacted over six phases, the EC3 Global team will actively engage stakeholders through the Project Steering Committee and a wider stakeholder Reference Network to ensure that key stakeholders perspectives are represented in the development of the Gold Coast RTIIP. Gold Coast tourism stakeholders will also be invited to participate in the planning process through targeted surveys and one-on-one consultations which will allow us to gain an understanding of factors that are likely to affect the future growth and development of the Gold Coast region.

The Gold Coast has long been a major Australian inbound and domestic tourism destination, so it is imperative that informed investments are made and the destination meets its tourism infrastructure and investment demands to ensure long term sustainability.

“The Gold Coast has largely been characterised by the style and quality of its tourism based investment, from the early days of hotel accommodation, through to theme-parks and then onto major public and private sector assets such as the airport,” said Mr Steven Holle, Director Corporate Relations and Development, Gold Coast Tourism.

“As the city moves ahead, with strategic goals of expanding new markets and capturing opportunities in high yield sectors, it’s important that planning is undertaken now for the next wave of infrastructure requirements.

“The RTIIP process is part of that planning.  Support for the project will create an awareness about the priority infrastructure projects for the Gold Coast,” said Mr Holle.

Students Key To Educating the Community on Sustainability

It has long been recognised by local councils that engaging the public on how environmental sustainability is relevant to their lives is a difficult task. A large majority of the population struggle to understand the meaning of the term, as well as how it is applicable to them. 

EC3 Global and the Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC) have developed a programme that assists local governments to introduce the concept of sustainability to everyday householders.  This programme is delivered through the grass roots of any community – school children; through which information can then be disseminated to the broader community.

In its initial pilot run, titled the Sustainability Challenge, the programme was trialled in a collaborative partnership with Gold Coast City Council and 13 Gold Coast schools.  Gold Coast Mayor Ron Clarke said of the Challenge’s success:
“The challenge facing all communities is to learn to live more sustainably and this programme has been an important step for our city in that direction.  This information [from the programme] can now become a guide to household behaviour which will help all levels of government to improve their environmental-education programmes and messages.”

It is an interactive, web-based programme that benchmarks key environmental indicators, such as energy, water and waste, helping households to monitor and then reduce their environmental impact.

The benchmarking system can be linked with existing education programmes within schools, allowing students to monitor and discover the best ways to reduce their household’s environmental impact through Energy and Water Consumption, as well as Waste Production.  This education programme demonstrates that sustainability education outcomes and community environmental impact reduction can be facilitated through a combination of action learning in classroom activities and online resources. 

At the community level, the Sustainability Challenge provides a mechanism through which school children are directly educated on the concept and issues of sustainability.  They are provided with the tools and knowledge to monitor and implement strategies to improve the sustainability footprint in their own households. The data collected can be used to implement accurate community sustainability development plans based on voluntary scientific information gathered from within community households.

For more information on the sustainability challenge, please click here.