Travel industry has new environmental focus
CHRISTINE HICKS- USTA Travel
Environmentalism is nothing new. That it's front and center in nearly every industry, grabbing headlines, Hollywood and national news coverage daily, is new. I'd like to think my baby-boomer, hippie, '70s' generation has had some say in putting this issue front and center. Perhaps there's some truth to it…rather the full circle of Woodstock…

No matter who takes credit though, environmental issues have far-reaching impact. Here are some examples gleaned from '07 travel publications.

In May 2008, IATA (International Air Transport Association, the international arm of air transport) will no longer accept paper tickets for payment processing. This will detach any existing interline (between airline) pricing arrangements that currently exist. That impact is not as great as one might think, as deregulation since the 1970s has unlinked the majority of these previously pervasive agreements. The greater impact will come in saved trees, not to mention time and fuels that drive the process.

At a recent IATA meeting, the world's airlines further pledged to improve their fuel efficiency an additional 25 percent by 2020 and set a goal of zero-emission aircraft within 50 years. They hope that using more direct routings and improved air traffic control systems can reduce fuel burn. It's interesting to note that today's aircraft fly the same distance with three times less fuel than was needed just 40 years ago. And since 1997, aircraft have become 20 percent more fuel-efficient. There's also the "Single European Sky" initiative, dovetailed into the European Union economic package, which is working to eliminate redundancies and feed the improved air traffic plan.

Enterprise Rent-a-Car is inking its contracts and in-flight magazine on recycled paper. Its fleet of cars includes low-emission vehicles and more than 3,000 gas/electric hybrids. The Cayman Tourist Board is implementing "sustainable tourism," and a recent Mexico Travel Market trade show highlighted efforts by that country for the same. Jamaica is promoting a "carbon-offsetting" program in conjunction with Hotel Mocking Bird Hill, an effort to balance environmental impact on carbon neutrality. Hol land America has installed scrubbers on the Zaandam (to start) to lower the impact of fossil fuels burned to propel their vessels. NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line) has signed an eco-friendly agreement to change its in-port energy strategy when docked in Southern California. Costa Lines has implemented aluminum recycling aboard ships calling at Savona, Italy.

Management at Starwood Hotels announced plans to develop an eco-friendly hotel chain called 1. Delta Air Lines customers who purchase a ticket online can donate $5.50 to the Conservation Fund, which plans to use most of that money to plant trees throughout the U.S. - another "carbon-offsetting" program. Continental is partnering with Sustainable Travel International in a similar move. Abercrombie & Kent plants a tree for every client traveling with them in 2007; this, on top of a second initiative called "Climate Change Challenge 2007," which plans to raise money to build awareness of environmental issues impinging on the travel industry.

Joni, I guess we finally listened: "I've come here to lose the smog…we are stardust, we are golden; we are billion year-old carbon…and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden…"

(Christine Hicks-Usta has enjoyed more than 30 years of globe-trotting as a member of the travel industry in various capacities. Direct questions to her at Bee Group Newspapers, P.O. Box 150, Buffalo, NY 14231-0150.)