Circularity in the hospitality sector could do a lot for our Oceans - Happy World Ocean Day

The hospitality industry pride itself in their remarkable growth over the past two decades, with international arrivals doubling from 600 million to over 1.4 billion in 2016. In 2018, the travel and tourism industry saw a growth of 3.9%, outpacing that of the global economy (3.2%). Soon mass tourism will comprise 1.8 billion travelers.

Customers value the quality of their travel experience, cost and choice. They now also expect reduction in the environmental impact of travel without compromising on quality of service, cost or destination choices.

Without changes to tourism business model however, which is currently based on commodification of travel hotspots, homogenization, standardization and automation; natural places of beauty, habitats and communities will be destroyed.

Degradation of the immediate environment by overuse of resources (water, energy supplies, plastic pollution, waste, etc) will result in competition of scarce resources with the local population and rising costs putting pressure in already thin profit margins. Increased occurrences of climate shocks drive insurance prices up and risk asset damages and/or stranded assets costs, at worth, loss of lives. Adopting a sustainable tourism business model is the only way to ensure business continuity.

Hospitality market leaders have the responsibility to show the way in sustainable management. They have the remarkable advantage to benefit from economy of scale when switching to sustainable products, enough reach to partner will leading world actors on sustainability and the strength of their global networks.

If harnessed properly, switching to a sustainable tourism model could unlock remarkable value for the business whilst making it more resilient.

Conservation project successes like the Atlantis Blue Project shows how business value can be created whilst simultaneously taking care of the local environment in which the business can thrive whilst creating unique experiences tourists can enjoy.

Signing up UNWTO global tourism plastics initiative can save the cost of single use plastics whilst reducing carbon emissions and improving brand reputation.

Finally developing hotel energy solutions that use energy management systems like LnkTechnologies ' CarbonLnk and renewable energies can significantly reduce the reliance of hotels on fossil fuel, the cost of their energy and minimize waste.

Whilst sustainable tourism is not a new, its success depends on systemic approaches to tackle multiple risks, using new technologies to increase resilience and engage all stakeholders in behaviour, policy and business changes.