Green growth and tourism plan for the future

Lipman sets out sustainable tourism plan for the future at masterclass, calls for spring summit

Professor Geoffrey Lipman, the highly placed and connected boss of GreenEarth.travel and a number of other green tourism initiatives, set out his vision for a green and growing future for the travel and tourism industry – creating millions more jobs, fostering sustainable economic growth, managing and delivering positive environmental, social and cultural impacts globally.

The next two years are critical for world tourism sustainability as key meetings will take place in 2014 focusing on sustainability and on the global climate change and emissions agreement. In New York, in Lima and in Paris, the background and legislative climate for travel and tourism’s future will be decided.

Professor Lipman called for a summit of travel and tourism interested parties next spring, so that the volition gained by the industry’s earlier seminal meetings related to the world climate change and sustainability agenda (at Gothenburg 2007 and at Davos in 2008) – should not be lost. In his view, it is crucial that the travel and tourism industry should prepare a cohesive response.

Said Lipman "Frankly we have not put anything like the same emphasis on the impacts side and this will become more necessary as the world focuses on new sustainable development goals in 2015 and as climate driven extreme weather; carbon driven extreme pollution, increasing social disparity and hyper-connectivity force a massive global reaffirmation of a green growth agenda. What I am calling for is a Triple Bottom Line Plus (Economic, social and environmental plus climate change)"

"It will need new strategies, management & structures in place – beyond model projects, champions, certification, awards, indicators, aspirational goals and the like. The travel value chain will have to be re-jigged with green growth at the core."

"More financing will be needed for transformation & climate adaptation, mostly for hard and soft Infrastructure. This will increasingly be private sector, as government budgets remain under siege. Here impact investment has the potential to be a game changer."

"Next year will be crunch time, with decision making Climate and Sustainable Development Goal Summits"

"I have been arguing that as a sector we need to step up to the plate with a new Davos style Climate Conference following up from the one held 5 years ago by UNWTO, WMO and UNEP. It should   pick up the comprehensive Davos Declaration Framework and addresses the Green Growth Imperative. Only this time with a follow up system with money and teeth."

Lipman also revealed that Greenearth his EU based global research and commercial he set up to advance "Green Growth and Travelism" (the Travel & Tourism value chain) has been hard at work. He has signed agreements with 20 organizations around the world sharing the same philosophy. Most recently with TotemTourism to integrate its work in sustainable tourism with GreenEarth’s into a new Green Growth and Travelism Agenda – with Master Classes, Think Tanks & Reports and a variety of other tools.

Work has also been just completed on a second volume of ‘Letters from Leaders’ this time from academics & practioners – advancing concepts & creating a basis for a new curriculum.

And, just now, the brand-new university-based  ‘Green Growth and Travelism’ Institute has connected with 10 other university-based organizations around the world to spread the message – first summer school to be held next year.

Valere Tjolle

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