Chapter 10. Environmental Stewardship
10.5 Mitigating Tourism and Hospitality Impacts
In recent years in BC, the tourism industry has felt the impacts of climate change, habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, and increased conflicts over the use of natural areas. The winters of 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 were two of the warmest on record, and numerous low-elevation coastal mountain resorts were forced to close in the middle of the winter season (Hager, 2015). As well, the province is experiencing increased pressure on endangered wildlife species that draw tourists and residents alike. The death of an orca whale off the coast of Vancouver Island in late 2014 raised questions of water pollution and contamination (Theodore, 2014).
Take a Closer Look: The Future of Mountain Resorts
With their dependence on quality snow conditions for guests, ski areas will likely be among the first to be impacted by climate change. Read an article on this topic from the Tyee, “Peak Snow? BC Ski Resorts Brace for Warmer Era.”
In the face of this negative environmental news, there are a variety of initiatives underway that have the potential to implement real change. These include:
- Carbon offsetting
- Energy conservation
- Water conservation
- Food production management
- Waste management
- Accreditation
This section explores these potential solutions.
Carbon Offsetting
Carbon offsetting is a standardized, regulated system that provides organizations with the ability to invest in green initiatives that will counterbalance their emissions, hence creating a carbon neutral situation (David Suzuki Foundation, 2009).
The concept of carbon offsetting stems from a recognition that despite a desire to entirely eliminate carbon emissions, sometimes doing so isn’t immediately feasible. Consequently, carbon offsetting has proven popular with tourism companies that can offset some or all of their emissions, either by themselves or by providing the opportunity for customers to do so. Examples are most commonly found in the transportation sector, where the reliance on traditional fossil fuels makes it challenging to completely eliminate carbon emissions.
Take the small B.C. airline Harbour Air, for instance. Since 2007, the company has completely offset all of the emissions produced by its airplanes by investing in energy-efficiency and fuel-switching projects in BC. The cost of the projects is passed on to passengers through a small levy added to the ticket price, and despite the cost increase, passenger traffic increased by 12% to 15% in the following year (Offsetters, n.d.).
Take a Closer Look: Carbon Offsetting and the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics
The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics were the first carbon-neutral Olympic Games. For more information, read the discussion paper, Meeting the Challenge: A Carbon Neutral 2010 Winter Games.
Carbon offsetting isn’t just for the transportation sector, however. Tinhorn Creek Winery in Oliver has become a tourism destination for wine and c