International tourism is headed back to pre-pandemic levels, with double the number of people travelling so far in 2023 than in the same period last year. This is a huge industry: between 1980 and 2019, global travel arrivals rose from 177 million to nearly 1.5 billion per year.
But unsurprisingly, tourism is a big contributor to the global plastic pollution crisis. Eight out of 10 tourists visit coastal areas, adding to the 8 million tonnes of plastic that enter the ocean every year. Many hotels are also filled with single-use plastic shampoos, toothbrushes, and combs. While cruise ships dump large amounts of microplastic-laden wastewater into the sea.
A joint 2021 report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) highlighted the need for coordinated actions, policies and infrastructures to drive the industry toward circularity.
Never has this been more urgent. Every year, humanity produces around 430 million tonnes, two-thirds of which are short-lived products which soon become waste. Ninety-nine per cent of plastic is the product of chemicals derived from dirty, non-renewable sources. Most of it never really disappears. Instead, it becomes smaller, with particles being swallowed by fish or farm animals and eventually consumed by humans in their food and tap water.
Nonetheless, plastic continues to grow in popularity, with production increasing more than 22 times in the last 50 years. In a ‘business as usual’ scenario, plastic could emit 19 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
The link between plastic and tourism is no coincidence. Single-use plastic products are an efficient and inexpensive way to comply with health, safety and hygiene standards while also ensuring worry-free holiday experiences to guests.
Transforming tourism
As part of the Transforming Tourism project funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), hotels in the Dominican Republic, Mauritius, Philippines and Saint Lucia are proving that it is possible to develop innovative business models to reduce GHG emissions and improve resource efficiency.
Joegil Magtanggol is the Hotel Manager at Club Paradise Palawan in the Philippines – a hotel that also works closely with UNEP to phase out single-use plastic products and raise awareness of the issue among its guests through the Transforming Tourism project campaign, Phasing Out Problematic Single-Use Plastics. Familiar with the challenges of sourcing large quantities of eco-friendly products while also remaining within a limited budget, Magtanggol describes the transition as a series of “small steps.”
But these small steps have had a big impact. The hotel now furnishes guests with Australian-sourced food-grade bath amenities in refillable pumps; packages takeaway meals in boxes made from biodegradable materials like cassava starch; sources and purifies its own still and sparkling water and serves it in reusable glass bottles.
In addition to eliminating the need to purchase bottled water, the overall reduction in disposable amenities means that there is also less waste – and fewer expenses for its removal from the island. Moreover, adds Magtanggol, while the immediate overhead costs may be greater, “the long-term effect on the protection of the environment is worth every cent.”
Protect and conserve
For Club Paradise Palawan, the water and shores surrounding its location on the Philippine island of Dimakya are among its most valuable assets. By helping to conserve the marine ecosystem, the hotel is also protecting the spectacular coral reef for which the area is renowned – and continues to attract divers from all parts of the world.
Dimakya Island lies within the UNESCO biosphere reserve. So reducing plastic waste is not just idealistic; it’s also pragmatic. “The best way to amplify this unique selling proposition is to ensure the island is kept clean, green and sustainable,” says Magtanggol.
And guest experiences stand as evidence. In 2020, a particularly challenging year for tourism, the hotel was awarded as a Sustainable Destination and named Trip Advisor’s Traveller’s Choice: Best of the Best.
Through the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, led by UNEP and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, governments, industry and citizens are taking action to reduce plastic pollution and participate in the move towards circularity.
This partnership is part of the systemic change sought by the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment to support the travel and tourism sector in joining these global efforts. Over 500 institutions and businesses representing more than 20 per cent of the plastic packaging used globally and governments from five continents are already delivering on this commitment through concerted actions.
Rethinking our habits – particularly our use of single-use plastic products – is not a matter of change at one hotel or even in one industry. Instead, it requires the support of every stakeholder, from governments, policymakers, business owners and consumers.
This story was originally published on 29 June 2021 and has since been updated.
About World Environment Day
World Environment Day on 5 June is the biggest international day for the environment. Led by UNEP and held annually since 1973, the event has grown to be the largest global platform for environmental outreach, with millions of people from across the world engaging to protect the planet. This year, World Environment Day will focus on solutions to the plastic pollution crisis.
