DO YOU TRAVEL? READ THIS!
We learn new things every day and sometimes what we learn can really benefit us if we take action upon our newfound knowledge. In the documentary, “How The Travel Industry Affects Our Lives”, the VPRO Documentary team explains the bigger picture of the traveling and the effects it has on our environment and the people who live in these so-called “destinations.” VPRO creates this video to spread awareness on the environmental issues that are caused when it comes to discovering the world. The documentary that was posted in January 18, 2019 mentions how easy and accessible travel is nowadays and describes the different reasons people travel as well as provides statistics that show just how popular and large the travel industry has become.
The statistics provided in this film allowed me to gain more knowledge about the issues that come along with being apart of the tourist community and industry causing me to have a new mindset for the next trip I take. I knew that tourism had to have some effect on our lives but I was unaware of how big it was. I also learned more about the ways I can help by bringing the sustainability tips it mentioned into the planning of my next adventure, which I was not informed prior to this video.
The narrator mentions the different reasons people travel and how they do so. People go on trips by plane, car, train and they do so for reasons such as relaxation, business and others. Not only are there so many different forms of transportation added upon the many different reasons one has the desire travel, but the travel industry encourages us tremendously to come to their destinations and it is much easier now to do so than it was in the past. These reasons being piled up have not been helpful to our current environmental crisis. According to the video, “the annual turnover of the tourism industry is a whopping 8 trillion dollars.” Something so impacted is highly likely to have a huge affect on our lives. A statistic provided by VPRO states that “Tourism is the fastest growing industry and is “responsible for no less than 8% of global warming.” This may not seem like that much but if you think about it, that is almost 10% caused by simply going to another place. It is not simple however and Tony Wheeler, founder of Lonely Planet, says “You can’t look out the terminal window and see all those aircraft there and not think ‘this has to have sort of affect.’” He is completely right because the 39,000 planes in the world today are only a small part of this issue.
What can we do about all this? Unfortunately we can not completely erase the damage created to our environment but we can reduce it and hopefully one day get to the point where the damage has been reversed. The documentary talks about something called “The Carmacal,” which is a CO2 calculator. The narrator says “it helps tour operators calculate their footprint per travel segment.” It is still being developed but it will eventually help tour operators who want to provide a sustainable travel industry do so by picking the best options for their customers. When choosing a flight you should try to see which one is the best for the environment by doing research, it is usually not the cheapest flight unfortunately but groups like ANVR, “the travel trade association in the Netherlands representing approx. 230 tour operators and 1100 retail agencies” who support sustainable tourism are working to change that. If you have a chance to take a train instead of a plane do so because it is a better choice if you are hoping to reduce your carbon footprint. According to an independent research by Eurostar, “choosing the train over flying cuts CO2 emissions per passenger by 90%.” If you have the chance to make a difference, jump on it.
Although some people are aware of the affects travel has on our lives, many others are not and they need to be. By creating this video VPRO provides information that even I was unaware of about the affects our adventures have on our planet. It was created to spread awareness on a serious issue and allows the audience to take action when planning their next trip by choosing the more sustainable route.
