Reducing tourism environmental impact: a new way to visit the world

Author: Eve Alcoulombre. September 2023

Sustainability is composed of three pillars: environment, people, and economy. In a sustainable
world, those three pillars are respected, protected and blossom together, and not one against the
other. Climate change and circular economy are critical concepts of the environmental pillar of
sustainability. To give next generations a sustainable future so they can provide for their needs, we
need to change our current way of living. In our daily lives, but as tourists as well.

Climate change is happening
July 2023 was the hottest July month ever recorded since 1880 1 . This is a direct consequence of
climate change. 97% of climate scientists agree that a human-caused climate change is happening 2 . If
we do not change our way of life, the average temperature of the Earth is expected to increase by up
to 5 degrees Celsius by 2100 3 . It might not sound like much at first. But during the last ice age,
20,000 years ago, the average temperature on Earth was 5 degrees Celsius less than in the reference
period between 1850-1900, and 6 degrees less than today. Half of Europe was under 3km of ice and
the sea level 120m lower. England was connected to Denmark by land. It took 20,000 years for the
Earth to warm-up by 5 degrees, while a 5-degree increase is to be expected within 200 years from
1900.
This increase and its consequences started already. Many events and phenomena occur, including
higher frequency of heat waves, wildfires, hailstorms, floods, cyclones, and more. Because climate
change is not only about higher temperatures. The water cycle and ocean balance are disrupted,
impacting our water and food supply; this can lead to human migration movements and armed
conflicts. Unfortunately, many people think that this is the problem of tomorrow, while it is currently
happening, and it will intensify if not enough measures are taken. The Paris Agreement, a legally
binding international treaty on climate change signed by 196 countries in 2015, states that we
should be “pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels”. If
we fail, it will become much harder to mitigate and adapt to the effect of climate change.

Human-related carbon emissions lead to additional greenhouse effect
So what are the causes of this climate change? It is the additional greenhouse effect coming from
the accumulation of greenhouse gases – such as carbon dioxide – in the atmosphere, emitted by
human activities. There is a natural greenhouse effect. Without it, the Earth average temperature
would be minus 18 degrees Celsius 4 and humanity could not exist. But the human-related additional
greenhouse effect leads to extreme and rapid changes. The human activities emitting greenhouse
gases can be separated into four main categories: industry, building, transportation, and agriculture.
The common term used to estimate the climate change impact of an activity or a product, is carbon
dioxide emissions – or simply “carbon emissions”.
Each product bought or used has what we call a carbon footprint. Meaning carbon emissions were
emitted along the manufacturing process of this product, its end-of-life, and sometimes even during
its use phase. This is true for anything that surrounds us: pens, glasses, cars, plastic cups, computers,
washing machines, food, clothes… This is why it is critical to consume better or less.

Circular economy for a better experience
The planet Earth has limited resources humanity can use every year. The sustainable usage of those
resources will avoid resources crisis. The Earth Overshoot Day is the day of a given year in which
humanity used all the natural resources the planet can regenerate that year. In 2023, the Overshoot
Day was on August 2 nd . In other words, we consumed the resources of 1.7 Earths in 2023. It means
we are consuming on credits.
Reusing, repairing, sharing, refurbishing, recycling is important to reduce our consumption of natural
resources. This is the concept of circular economy. While carbon emissions are a common language
to assess our impact on climate change, circular economy is the mindset and the experience of a
sustainable way of living. Many times, a circular economy model can also benefit carbon emissions
reduction.
Circular economy can have different benefits depending on the industry. Second-hand clothes or
repairing clothes will reduce our water consumption and pollution from the fashion industry as well
as carbon emissions. Using reusable items instead of single-use plastics will reduce the impact on
local ecosystems, especially in coastal areas like in Israel.

Small change for each, big impact for all
Sometimes we underestimate the power of the mass. Some people choose to drastically change
their way of life to reduce their impact on climate change and natural resources. And ideally, we
should all do this. But it does not happen. Either because we don’t have the knowledge on how to
handle those changes, or we are not willing to lose our comfort, or we are too busy with our daily
lives to make efforts for the whole world while everyone else continues as usual. Small changes are
easier to integrate into a busy life. But how would a small change at the individual level would have
any impact at the global scale? Well, this is like voting. One voice will not make a change, but when
the majority votes one voice after the other, results at the larger scale are received and this impacts
a whole country, or even the whole world.
It can start with one meatless day per week. With one year practice, a meatless day a week would
save the equivalent emissions to driving 560km by car 5 . Turning off the lights or the air conditioning
when not used is a very simple gesture and can help reduce our energy consumption and thus our
carbon emissions. Replacing single-use plastics by reusable items can have a significant impact on
the long term. Using public transportations whenever possible, reduces our carbon footprint, the
traffic, and improves air quality.
We have the responsibility to integrate those small changes in our way of life as professionals, as
citizens and as tourists.

Sustainable tourism
The Paris Agreement goal to pursue efforts to limit the increase of the average temperature by 1.5
degree Celsius could be met if the average carbon emissions per person were up to 2 tonnes per
year. In 2020, the average carbon footprint was estimated at around 13 tonnes of carbon emissions
per person per year in the USA. In France, it was estimated at 4 tonnes of carbon emissions per
person per year and in Israel at 6.3 tonnes per person per year 6 . A round trip flight New York – Tel
Aviv emits around 1.5 tonnes per person at least, considering a plane using regular fuel. It is 75% of

the recommended 2 tonnes per year. Sometimes sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) 7 are used, and it
appears to be a good alternative that should be developed.
When in vacation, especially abroad, we tend to overconsume and to neglect the local environment.
More food is wasted, more water and electricity are consumed. This has a direct impact on the local
carbon emissions and circular economy. Tourism puts pressure not only on the local environment
but also on local populations. Sustainability implies respecting local culture and people as well.
While tourism contributes to climate change and resources overconsumption, climate change and
non-circular economy impact tourism as well. Tourists would not fly where wildfires burn or where
floods drown towns. Tourists would not visit places where food is missing or where mountains and
beaches are full of garbage. It would have a direct impact on tourism and so on local development
but would also put more environmental pressure on other places – until no place is good enough to
visit anymore.
Sustainable tourism can change the way we see the places we visit. We can share local people’s way
in public transportations. We value more the local food. We respect nature, and thus we might enjoy
it better.

Sustainability in Tel Aviv
In Israel, sustainability can sometimes feel like a relatively new topic, compared to Europe. Though
in Tel Aviv, the city that never sleeps, many sustainable services can be found.
The public transportation system is well developed with many bus lines, trains and even a tram line
opened in August 2023. There is a free bus system offered by the city hall on Friday night and
Saturday, while all public transportation services are closed for Shabbat. Several restaurants offer
100% vegan meals, and many others have great vegan options. Second-hand shops and markets are
also easy to find. Regarding recycling, the detailed guidelines can be found on the city’s website 8 .
For a sustainable stay, The Saul Hotel is a great option. It is the only hotel in the whole country that
is certified as a Green Key site 9 . The Green Key standard focuses on two key areas for a sustainable
tourism industry: environmental management and environmental education. It is applicable to
touristic infrastructures as hotels, restaurants, attractions who commit to specific criteria on staff
involvement, energy consumption, waste management, guests’ information, and many others. The
Green Key standard guides establishments towards sustainable practices. The certified sites are
going through audits and third-party verification to ensure the implementation of sustainable
measures. This program is managed by a non-profit organization called Foundation for
Environmental Education (FEE), which manages other sustainable programs, such as the voluntary
award Blue Flag for beaches. For a beach to be recognized as a Blue Flag beach, it must meet several
criteria related to environment, education, safety, and accessibility. Tel Aviv counts several Blue Flag
beaches, among them the Jerusalem beach 10 at 10min walk from The Saul Hotel.

Sustainability is accessible to anyone and at every level. It is a mindset to adopt step by step, and
everyone’s journey towards sustainability needs to start now. It is better for all that each of us take a
part. Join the efforts: a clean environment for a clean mind to enjoy your vacation.