Climate Change and Tourism - UNEP - Division of Technology ...

154 Climate Change and Tourism – Responding to Global Challenges
times), better reliability of public transport systems, increased personal security, and improved transfer
facilities to connect different types of public transport.
The role of urban planning is increasingly recognized as central to achieving sustainable cities (Wheeler,
1998). Since much tourism is taking place in cities, these developments are highly relevant for tourism.
Wheller suggests a framework for sustainable cities, which includes compact, efficient land use; less
automobile use yet with better access; efficient resource use, less pollution and waste; the restoration of
natural systems; good housing and living environments; a healthy social ecology; sustainable economics;
community participation and involvement; and preservation of local culture. 694
There are a number of examples that illustrate different solutions for local transport management in
tourism, indicating that it is possible to provide tourists with a chain of public transport options:
•
•
•
•
Copenhagen Free Bike Program (Denmark)
Between May and September, the city of Copenhagen offers visitors to use free bicycles all over the
inner city. The 1,300 bicycles can be borrowed at 125 stations all over the inner city for a deposit
of about € 3. 695
NETS (Europe)
A Europe-wide Network for Soft Mobility in Tourism. 696
City of Málaga Tourist Mobility Management Plan (Spain)
This new plan includes the implementation of the following services: design of a new website for
tourists, new tourist bus service, tourist maps and leaflets, funicular to the Gibralfaro castle, and
the creation of the Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA). 697
United Kingdom’s National Cycling Network
The network offers over 10,000 miles of walking and cycle routes on traffic-free paths, quiet lanes
and traffic-calmed roads. An up-to-date map can be downloaded from the web. 698
Destination management can also include a closer cooperation with destination marketers. Marketing
campaigns could, in the future, take issues such as energy use and GHG emissions into account. 699
For instance, Sweden currently seeks to establish a massive inflow of Chinese tourists, despite strong
growth in incoming tourism from European countries. This will substantially increase national emissions
in both Sweden and China. Conversely, Norway decided to not focus on Chinese markets, in order not
to increase national emissions. To assess the consequences of shifts in marketing more strategically, ecoefficiency
could be used as a technique to guide tourism promotion strategies. 700
Box 31 Sustainable mobility in the Alpine Pearls of the European Alps
In 2006, 17 Alpine towns in five nations (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland) founded
the Alpine Pearls Association (APA), and membership has grown to 20 communities in 2007.
The objective of the APA was to ‘break away from conventional tourist mobility’ and emphasize
sustainable mobility getting to holiday destinations and once there to take action on climate
change. Travellers are guaranteed mobility without the use of a personal motor vehicle or airplane.
Through the APA, several pre-existing initiatives in each community were combined to offer the
traveller a brand of destinations and tourism operators that are committed to sustainable mobility
options that comply with the following criteria:
• Super-regional mobility: Accessibility to/from each Alpine Pearl is provided via train or bus
at minimum four times per day.
On-Site mobility:
• When at an Alpine Pearl, guests can expect a mobility system to provide
connections to the most important local tourist attractions with a maximum waiting time of
30 minutes each day from 9 am to 8 pm.
UNWTO, 9 July 2008