Taking Action with Tourists

Prior to COVID-19, tourism accounted for 8% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, and these emissions are expected to increase by 25% by 2030. The main areas where tourists affect climate change or the environment is through waste and litter, vehicle pollution and congestion, overcrowding, and damage to the natural environment. That might include coastal and trail erosion, greater vulnerability to forest fires, and putting greater pressure on at-risk species.

Rural and coastal communities in Nova Scotia are likely to be particularly affected by climate change, between rising fuel prices increasing the cost of living and cost of doing business in rural communities, and greater damage to infrastructure from erosion and severe storms along the coast. Communicating with visitors to reduce their impacts on climate change and keep our ecosystem pristine for future visitors will be important for tourism communities.

Like the people living in rural communities, tourists can come from a variety of backgrounds and can have very different feelings about climate change. For example, visitors on a Maritimes hiking or cycling trip will likely be more receptive to messaging about climate change than visitors arriving on cruise ships—outdoor enthusiasts generally value the natural environment and will put more effort into maintaining it for future use.

Because of this diversity, it will be important to either tailor messaging to specific attractions or events, or keep wider messaging general enough to appeal to a broad audience. Keeping it general might mean avoiding using the term “climate change” and instead appealing to what visitors can see right in front of them, such as keeping parks pristine by not littering, or keeping skies clear by avoiding vehicle pollution.

In a study conducted on the most effective sustainable tourism communications, researchers found that appealing to tourists’ emotions was the best way to communicate with them about choosing more sustainable options. Showing them quantitative data or charts was alright as well, but only after tourists made their purchase decisions, like where they would be staying or which tour they would take.

Learn More

Learn about the costs and benefits of rural tourism, and how different towns, provinces, and countries have effectively implemented rural tourism projects from the Government of Alberta report on rural tourism across Canada and the world:

Check out these two sustainability guides for tourism businesses and share with tourism businesses in your community to help them become more sustainable and communicate their initiatives with visitors:

Destination BC Sustainability Guide for Tourism Businesses

Government of Canada Green Business Toolkit for Tourism Operators

In addition, these criteria have been built on decades of prior work and experience around the world, and they take into account the numerous guidelines and standards for sustainable tourism from every continent. Share with local tourism organizations, or learn how you can work with local businesses, residents, and visitors to improve sustainability in your area: Global Sustainable Tourism Council's sustainability criteria for tourist destinations