Tourism industry cynical green marketing spins exposed
Almasalla Travel News – Ashraf El gedawy – New report outlines the extent of misleading green marketing in the industry and includes full analysis of 138 green tourism schemes plus top 20 certifications.
It certainly pays to look green, but the Tourism & Greenwash Report, released today by TotemTourism reveals that all that looks green, honest and wholesome in the tourism industry is often cynical greenwashed marketing spin.
Communities all over the world are doing their bit to minimize energy use, emissions and waste in the belief that this is a healthy and sustainable course.
Recently it has also become apparent that unfair trading practices are economically unsustainable and ‘Ethical Trading’ and ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’, particularly in large organizations, has been the norm for the last twenty years or so.
In the last few years there is massive public buy-in to value based businesses that accord with the general public view on these issues and this has been reflected in their sales, profitability, share price and their brand value.
So it is no wonder that organizations of all sorts in the tourism industry from small B&Bs to massive global players, airlines, hotel groups, OTAs, tour operators and travel agents are all lining up to highlight their goodness, greenness and fair practices in an attempt to tell their stories to their business advantage.
Hence the proliferation of green branding certifications and other schemes to lend weight and authenticate marketing statements – there are now over 150 of them.
And, post the economic crisis – tourism is growing dramatically again – this year creating no less than $2 trillion of global GDP and over 120 million jobs worldwide.
But… it is clear that the vast majority of these 120 million jobs are low-level and low paid and the Tourism & Greenwash Report shows that the vast numbers involved often hide abuses of labour rights, men’s, women’s and children’s rights.
Moreover the Tourism & Greenwash Report’s analysis of green certification schemes reveals that many are not worth the certificates that they freely distribute. Many schemes rely on self-certification, many more have no third-party verification at all.
And as to the statements of individual tourism players, some are truthful and transparent, some are less truthful and transparent and some are downright deliberately misleading.
The Tourism & Greenwash report highlights many of these offenders, exposes many cases of cynical greenwash and includes a fascinating and very useful overview of the current situation.
The report also includes a full, in depth analysis of 138 green tourism certification schemes a chosen top 20, a review of the businesses that appear to offend against the "7 Sins of Greenwash" and a guide to avoid Greenwash in your operation!
Said the TotemTourism Greenwash publisher Valere Tjolle "Green tourism clearly has massive advantages for everybody – destinations, tourists and the industry – but to be really sustainable it needs to be marketed transparently and honestly. The growing practice of Greenwash debases the whole sustainable tourism movement and reduces the opportunities for everybody."
Source : travel mole
