Episode 2. Can Tourism Ever Really be Sustainable?

In the following episode, Anna and Olivier discuss how the tourism industry can be quite damaging for communities, because it can put an enormous stress on local land use, increase pollution and create a local dependency on the industry. But increased critical awareness surrounding the negative impacts of tourism has brought about conversations about sustainable tourism.

To discuss debates surrounding sustainable tourism, the hosts interview Ben Gill who has been working for Bioregional for over 15 years. Bioregional is a charity that aims to promote sustainable practices among businesses. Ben manages the One Planet Living index, a framework the company has created to assess these practices.

He speaks about his various experiences from working on a project called Les Villages Nature Paris to working with a wildlife reserve in the Singita Serengeti, in Tanzania.

And secondly the hosts interview Pablo Pareira, a first year MIA student at the Graduate Institute who grew up in Indonesia. Pablo provides a case perspective into the impacts of tourism, for better or worse, on his home country.

In the episode the hosts and guests grapple with whether or not sustainable tourism CAN be sustainable and where they see the industry going in the next 25 years. To wrap up the discussion, the guests once again gave the hosts and audience a monthly sustainability challenge, tune in to find out what it is!