ECO PRO
The Business Case for Sustainability by Alex Brylske, Ph.D. , President, Ocean Education International, LLC
A S MARINE TOURISM PROFESSIONALS, we work in an industry where the health of our product can literally
tainable options, and the majority are prepared to change their transport or lodging choices to reduce their footprint.
bleach and die before our eyes. And that reality should completely change how we think about “sustainability.” It’s no longer a charitable extra to support when there’s time and money. For any serious marine tourism business today – dive shops, live- aboards, resorts, eco-tour operators – sus- tainability has become a core business strategy and a primary driver of profitability, not a side project This isn’t a philosophical stance. It’s a re-
Adventure travelers – who should be the natural core of our dive and marine tourism market – tend to stay longer, spend more, and show higher willingness to support conservation and local communities. That pattern is documented in the Adventure Travel Trade Association and IFC report, Shaping the Future of Adventure and Cul- tural Travel. Even more striking, diver-specific data now confirms that our own customers are
sponse to hard market data and to what I see every day under- water and in coastal communities around the world. The evidence is overwhelming, and it all points in the same direction: operators who treat People and Planet as strategically as Profit will still be here in 10–20 years. The others won’t. As evidence, one need look no further than how our customers have already been transformed. Across the global economy, sustainability has shifted from a niche concern to a mainstream expectation. And don’t just take my word for it. IBM’s joint study with the National Retail Federation, covering nearly 19,000 consumers in 28 countries, found that pur- pose-driven shoppers are already rewarding brands that align with their values. About 79% of consumers say authenticity and transparency are essential, and roughly 70% of “purpose- driven” shoppers are willing to pay an average premium of 35% for sustainable, traceable products and brands. Tourism-specific research says the same thing. The 2023 Booking.com Sustainable Travel Report , which surveyed more than 30,000 travelers in 32 countries, found that: 71% plan to put more effort into sustainable travel. ▪ 50% say climate change is influencing their travel ▪ choices. 41% explicitly want to reduce their environmental im- ▪ pact, and 33% want more locally relevant, community- benefiting experiences. Expedia’s Sustainable Travel Landscape study reached similar conclusions: about 90% of respondents say they look for sus-
ahead of many operators. The Reef World Foundation’s global Green Fins diver survey ( Sustainability in a Recovering Travel World , 2,400+ divers) found that: 64% actively look for sustainable alternatives. ▪ 60% say sustainability is a main consideration in book- ▪ ing. 70% are willing to pay more for a sustainable option. ▪ 96% think dive operators should be doing more to con- ▪ serve reefs. Yet 85% say it’s hard to tell if an operator is truly sus- ▪ tainable. So, the demand is real. The willingness to pay is real. The frustration is real. The opportunity is whether we respond clearly and credibly. Sustainability is not a Cost, it’s an Essential The broader business world has adopted the “triple bottom line”: People, Planet, Profit. Tourism standards developed by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council explicitly embed this model in their criteria for businesses and destinations. In our sector, that framework is not abstract theory; it is a precise de- scription of our operating environment. For a marine tourism operation, the causal links are brutally direct: Degraded ecosystems = degraded products. Coral ▪ bleaching, decreasing fish populations, algal overgrowth, mangrove loss, and sediment-choked seagrass: these are not just conservation issues. They are product failures. No amount of marketing will convince guests to return
PAGE TWENTY-SIX | SCUBA DIVING INDUSTRY
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker