It's time to have a look on another innovative solution towards more sustainable future of the industry.
This time we will dive into CY Cergy Paris Université and their ideas for Dimension 3: Hospitality Tomorrow.
No doubt that 2020 has been a tough year for everyone, filled with stress and unexpected events. Yet, the economy is already on track again and the world after the pandemic will definitely be different. What are the challenges for the next 30 years? We have to shape the world in 2050, where our children and the future generations will live and travel in.
“We are living on this planet as if we had another one to go to.”– Terry Swearingen
Everyday, we are witnesses of huge biodiversity loss, pollution, deterioration of some country's cultural heritage, deforestation, global warming, and more. Is this the legacy we want the next generations to have? We cannot let that happen.
We have chosen to focus our work on mass tourism. It has been defined by The World Tourism Organisation as “the impact of tourism on a destination, or parts thereof, that excessively influences perceived quality of life of citizens and/or quality of visitor experiences in a negative way”. With simple words: too many people travelling at the same time in the same place affects biodiversity, contributes to the pollution of areas, destroys some country’s cultural heritage.
However, the economic importance of tourism cannot be ignored. In Europe, about 22 million jobs are directly dependent on tourism. Moreover, some countries’ economies are based on tourism.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that 4.8 million tonnes, 14 percent of all solid waste, is produced each year solely by tourists. Solutions against mass tourism have already been taken. Some countries have chosen to charge visitors with entrance fees, others are establishing touristic quotas, and others are banning construction of new hotels in the city centre. But is it enough?
It is easy to state what causes overtourism. It is caused by a wide offer and price range of tourist accommodation, home share concepts like Airbnb, the expansion of low-cost airlines, cruise ships and social networks, and mostly, lack of awareness or bad manners. We are not arguing that tourism is bad and has to be banned, but we are convinced that improving people’s travelling habits can only have positive effects.
As many youngsters, we are persuaded that today’s ideas will shape tomorrow’s world. The solution we came up with: an online platform that optimizes travel flows around the world. Through the platform, we will highlight sustainable ways to travel and new destinations. The purpose of our concept to reduce the number of overtourism destination, to sensitize, raise awareness, promote unknown destinations, and above all predict, manage and counter huge travelling flows. On top of that, we have found a way to improve the hospitality industry and make it more efficient.
