Popular tourist spots from Montreal to Milan have an unlikely protector in the travel industry, as more practitioners of ecotourism’s cousin “sustainable urban tourism” spread the word that cities are sensitive environments with their own unique preservation needs.

“There are multiple effects of tourism on these areas,” says Dr. Rachel Dodds, assistant professor at the Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, and director of Sustaining Tourism. “Over use, poor planning, a high number of tourists per year, increased water and energy use, and output of garbage, to name a few.”

Because tourists aren’t as visible in heavily populated urban areas, their impact there tends to garner less attention than it does in more remote natural settings. But in cities, travelers use water at up to double the rate of residents, and they tend to generate twice as much solid waste, presenting huge challenges to local infrastructure.

Along with raising awareness of the potential environmental burden these trips create, some in this growing sector, also known as urban eco-tourism, are focusing their efforts on preventing the disintegration of the indigenous cultural fabric of heavily touristed cities.

As tourism thrives in Venice, Italy, for example, full-time residents have increasingly fled. In the Oltrarno neighborhood of Florence, a growing number of the traditional artisans that draw visitors to the area cannot compete with global companies for the apprentices they need to pass on their crafts.

One tour operator, Context Travel, uses a portion of its profits along with donations from clients, to help master craftsmen at an Oltrarno wood-working shop pay their apprentices. This is just one example of how the company has integrated principles of sustainable urban tourism into many aspects of its business model.

Context leads small groups of travelers on foot around several European cities. In Rome, the group leaders share the delights of local eateries that “represent the Roman culinary tradition and embrace the sustainable food philosophy,” explains Context’s Petulia Melideo. In Istanbul, participants wander ancient streets, visit local merchants, and learn of the city’s history as a center of trade.

Traveling on foot minimizes the tourists’ carbon footprint, and participants gain a deep understanding of their surroundings from guides who hold PhDs in their fields. This appreciation can lead people to take part in preservation efforts, even after their journey is over.

“We have a whole set of guidelines that we follow on our walking seminars that
help people be aware of the social and cultural effects of their visits to the cities where we operate,” says Context founder Paul Bennett. “And we run a bunch of projects that try to bolster local communities that suffer under mass tourism.”

In the United States, tapping into customer conscience has considerable market appeal. A study published by the Travel Industry of America found that there were 55.1 million potential geotourists in America alone. And that group, with its “ceaseless expectations for unique and culturally authentic travel experiences that protect and preserve the ecological and cultural environment” tends to be affluent.

While Context trips represent a full-service sustainable travel experience, a number of maps published internationally help travelers navigate an environmentally friendly course through the world’s major cities on their own. Green Maps list resources like public transportation, recycling centers, and volunteer centers. National Geographic MapGuides feature destinations that adhere to the principles of another off-shoot of sustainable urban travel, geotourism – defined as “tourism that sustains or enhances the geographic character of a place, its environment, culture aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents.”

Whether the sustainable urban tourism model has grown out of a sense of ethical or environmental responsibility, or whether it has been driven by the industry’s need to rebrand and sustain itself, a growing group of stakeholders is embracing a bottom line that recognizes the importance of climate, environmental, social, and economic factors.

Dodds notes the federal body responsible for marketing tourism in Canada is now promoting sustainability. And an increasing number of awards from major industry organizations – such as the World Tourism and Travel Commission, which gives out the yearly Tourism for Tomorrow prize – are aimed at recognizing green contributions in the industry.

No matter how successful responsible tour companies are in reducing plastic water bottle consumption or keeping the doors to the local pizza joint open, a major hurdle for urban tourism reaching eco-friendly status is the vexing issue of transportation. Air travel, taxis, and tour buses contribute to the industry’s generation of 5% of the world’s carbon emissions, generating hundreds of millions of tons each year, according to the UNWTO.

Non-profit organizations like the Icarus Foundation, of which Dodds is a board member, have responded by raising awareness of how the industry can be a positive force in the fight against global warming. And the WTTC has called for a 50% carbon reduction in the industry by 2035. Context Travel is one of an increasing number of businesses that participates in a carbon off-set program to mitigate the impact of car travel by clients and plane trips by staff.

In the past, says Dodds, the principles of sustainability seemed to be linked only with ecotourism in the public’s mind. But she sees them being applied more broadly in the case of sustainable urban tourism, as what was once a niche moves to the mainstream.

“Now people are starting to understand that 'ecotourism' is travel to natural areas, whereas all forms of tourism – cruise, adventure, resort stays – can be more socially and environmentally conscious in addition to just focusing on the economic bottom line.”



About the Author
Janelle Weiner is a high school teacher and mother of two. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor’s degree in English and holds a Master’s in Special Education from Boston University. Janelle has taught in city schools in Oakland, Boston, and Sacramento, where she currently resides.