The British and Spanish travel industries unite for the second edition of ‘Spain Sustainability Day’

The Spanish and British travel industries were united during the second edition of ‘Spain Sustainability Day’, which took place both in person at The Conduit, London, on April 18, 2024 and via livestreaming.

Manuel Butler, Director of the Spanish Tourist Office in London, officially opened the event, outlining the special relationship between the United Kingdom and Spain and the aim of establishing a dialogue between the two countries to increase knowledge in the field of travel and sustainability. He outlined Spain’s tourism ambitions in terms of season extension; with peak season visits falling by 1% year-on-year, from 45% to 44%, and geographical diversification, with Spain’s northern regions accounting for a greater share of tourism by 2023 (an increase of 23% year-on-year).

The bilingual conference, moderated by Richard Hammond, director of Green Traveler productions and sustainable travel writer, featured speakers from across Spain and the UK travel and transport sectors with panel sessions on circular economy, biodiversity and accessibility.

The event was sponsored by Visit Benidorm, part of the Valencia region, and the Balearic Island of Mallorca. Leire Bilbao, director of Visit Benidorm outlined the city’s 18% reduction in water consumption over the past 25 years, despite a 40% population growth, while Susana Sciacovelli, director of tourism (demand and hospitality) at the Mallorca municipality, highlighted the responsible tourism of spotlighted the island’s promise and roadmap to transformation.

Circular economy

The first panel included Gabriel Llobera Ramis, Marketing and Communications Manager at Garden Hotels, Nadine Pinto, Global Sustainability Manager at The Travel Corporation (TTC), Carol Rose, Head of Sustainability at ABTA, and Coralía Pino, Head of Sustainability at ITH (Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero ).

The session emphasized that now is the time to adapt our mindset and deploy disruptive thinking. Carol Rose reiterated the need to keep products in the industry longer and pointed out the impact of the hotel industry which contributes not only to food and energy waste but also to textile landfill, which totals 92 million tonnes of waste per year causes.

Coralia Pino discussed Spanish initiatives within the hotel sector and outlined how the 2008 crisis forced hotels to look at energy efficiency. She reminded delegates that food and energy expenditure is the second and third largest cost of all hotel operations, and therefore highlighted how the circular economy is vital, both for business and the environment. Similarly, Nadine Pinto discussed the impact of hotel amenities and making bold choices when it comes to in-room amenities.

Gabriel Llobera Ramis of Balearic-based Garden Hotels showcased the group’s pioneering organic waste management and compost production, as well as the need for public policy, with the Balearic archipelago recently initiating the ‘law of circularity’ for all hotels on the islands.

Biodiversity – impact and interventions

The second panel featured Terry Brown, Destinations Program Manager at The Travel Foundation, Dylan Walker, Nature Tourism Expert at Wildlife Heritage Areas, Blanca Pérez Sauquillo, SG Marketing at Turespaña, José Marí Olano, Councilor for Major Projects, Valencia Green Capital and Zina Bencheikh, director of Intrepid.

The panel discussed biodiversity in tourism and how tourism is crucial in terms of connectivity and education. The emphasis was on community in nature tourism and creating respectful bonds between wildlife and visitors with valuable initiatives, such as MEET (Mediterranean Experience or EcoTourism), creating a network of protected areas that work together to engage communities locally in conservation .

Blanca Perez Sauquillo discussed the need to also educate the conscious consumer with digestible and effective messages, while Zina Bencheikh, Managing Director of Intrepid said: “It’s about doing the right thing and educating our customers. They only always know what the right choice is when we offer it.”

From a more urban context, José Mari Olano discussed Valencia’s status as Green Capital 2024 and how cities can adapt their tourism offer and urban planning for the benefit of both residents and visitors.

Accessibility and inclusivity

The third and final panel was moderated by Meera Dattani, editor-in-chief at Adventure.com and travel and culture writer, and included Angus Drummond, CEO at Limitless Travel, Alberto Gutiérrez Alberca, traffic and mobility manager at Valladolid, Miguel Carrasco, director of tourism at Impulsa Igualdad and Susan Deer, director of industry relations at ABTA.

The session started with an inspiring Spanish welcome from Spanish Ambassador and special guest ‘Spain for All’, Ade Adepitan, who has lived, worked and traveled throughout Spain.

Citing figures from the World Health Organization, Adepitan highlighted how 1.3 billion people worldwide (or 16% of the world’s population) have some form of disability. He said: “While not all of these people want to go to Spain or have the means, even if we are only talking about a small percentage, this is still a large number of people who should be given the opportunity to enjoy what millions of -disabled people enjoy the beauty of holidays every year.”

Angus Drummond, CEO of Limitless Travel, spoke eloquently about his own personal travel experiences that inspired him to subsequently found Limitless Travel. He said: “Ultimately, people with disabilities are the same as other consumers. Yes, they may need an adapted bathroom, but they also want a great travel experience, a great bar and essentially the same as any other customer.”

Alberto Guitierrez from Valladolid spoke about the progress being made in urban transport and the need for digital accessibility, while both Miguel Carrasco from Impulsa Igualdad and Tur4All, and Susan Deer, Head of Industry Relations at ABTA, emphasized the importance of information, transparency and course.

Keynotes

Keynote speeches were given by Nejc Jus, director of research at the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and Charlie Cotton, founder of Ecollective Carbon.

Nejc Jus presented the latest tourism data from the WTTC, with global indicators for 2023 estimating the value of the tourism sector at US$9.9 trillion and visitor expenditure of US$1.63 trillion. Looking ahead over the next ten years, the WTTC expects tourism to represent 11.4% of the global economy and 12.2% of all jobs. The data also looked at environmental and social factors from 185 countries, suggesting that in 2019, when tourism was at its peak, the tourism sector contributed 8.1% of greenhouse gas emissions, with transport accounting for the bulk of accounted for these emissions.

The final keynote, presented by Charlie Cotton from Ecollective, started with the carbon impact of tequila, beer and wine and focused on reduction through design, taking into account our transport, food and hotel choices. His motto “progress over perfection” was an important lesson, as was his recommendation: “become obsessed with your number.”

Manuel Butler, Director of the Spanish Tourist Office (UK) said: “Thank you to everyone who played a part in this important event. We were excited to cover so many important topics within our industry and hear from so many experts in the field. It really is a fantastic opportunity to share key learnings from across the sector, with a specific focus on these two major travel destinations.”

The afternoon conference was followed by the Spanish Media Awards, opened by the Spanish Ambassador and recognizing the best travel content from British writers highlighting themes consistent with Spain’s pillars of sustainable tourism. Ahead of the media awards, a ‘Special Recognition Award’ was presented by Lyn Hughes, Founder and Editor of Wanderlust Magazine, to Luis Gallego Martín, CEO of International Airlines Group (IAG), for his part in creating the roadmap to become the first global to become an airline. aviation group committed to becoming net zero by 2050 and the first European aviation group to set a target of using 10% sustainable aviation fuel by 2030.