For what it’s worth, I feel combatting climate change is one, if not the biggest challenge facing all living creatures on this planet.
I was born in the 1980s, which is when the public momentum to do something meaningful about global warming started to – excuse the pun – really heat up.
From an early age, my tree-hugging mother took great delight in showing me how to compost and mulch the garden.
I also proudly submitted several assignments on waste management during primary and secondary school.
While I wish I could go back and shake my seven-year-old self for ever thinking blasting garbage into space was ever a sound solution, that moral imperative to leave the planet in better shape for future generations has always stayed with me.
This is why I tend to feel quite conflicted when I see acts of environmental protest that I feel in my heart of hearts are quite counterproductive to the cause.
This week saw the Director General CLIA in Europe, Marie-Caroline Laurent, react to the recent spate of climate protests against the cruise sector, and the tourism industry more broadly.
Many would have already seen the images of tourists at cafes in Spain being sprayed with water pistols by protestors, joining a long line of headline-grabbing actions by climate groups around the world.
Laurent warned that cruise lines will be forced to take evasive action and change itineraries to keep their guests safe if protests like this were to continue.
Spain has been particularly vocal in fighting back against over-tourism, a genuinely important issue facing major visitation meccas everywhere.
One of the flash points has been the cruise sector.
The Mayor of Barcelona has revealed recent plans to raise the tax for cruise passengers who stay in the city for less than 12 hours.
Whatever policy levers are pulled to enact change, it seems punishing individuals while enjoying a holiday has the potential to do more damage than good.
Whether it’s throwing green dye in the Trevi Fountain or throwing paint at a priceless masterpiece to raise awareness about the oil industry, these acts are unlikely to win over the hearts and minds of the travelling public, which is predominantly who these groups are trying to convince.
It might make the problem of overtourism migrate away from Barcelona, but the travel behaviour is unlikely to change in any meaningful way.
Cruising also tends to have an uncanny knack for being the whipping boy for many of the world’s ills.
If you had only absorbed the pandemic through the lens of A Current Affair, you’d be convinced that COVID-19 could only spread human-to-human while on board a ship.
The fact that cruise ships by their nature are large, easy-to-see forms of transport certainly doesn’t help their cause either.
However, I would suggest it’s also important to bear in mind when it comes to reducing carbon, the spotlight should be shone on a range of sectors, including the ones that are less visible.
Agriculture, a massive industry in Australia, is one of the biggest carbon emitters in the world.
While I think there should be more serious conversations about how to make farming more sustainable, I would argue throwing hamburgers at unsuspecting McDonald’s diners will do little to cajole that conversation forward.
And for the younger brigade out there who wants to make a serious difference to global warming, my takeaway would be to back off social media and stop using cryptocurrency.
The energy needed to mine cryptocurrency and sustain millions of people endlessly swiping through mindless fodder is immense.
Bitcoin mining alone uses more energy consumption than the entire nation of Argentina – something to marinate in while trading away a swag of Ethereum for some lucrative Elon Musk-influenced Dogecoin.
On to other big news, and the full list of National Travel Industry Awards (NTIA) nominees were released this week.
In total, 467 nominations were received across 35 categories, a sizeable increase on the 389 received last year, with some highly creative written and video submissions received.
We all wait with bated breath to find out who will eventually be in the winner’s circle on travel’s night of nights.
NSW also has a new tourism body.
The NSW Tourism Association is the first dedicated tourism body since after the former NSW Tourism Industry Council was absorbed into Business NSW many years ago.
Chaired by Lori Modde, the NSW Tourism Association will seek to fill existing gaps within the industry and propel it towards new heights of success and celebration.
Well, that’s the weekend wrap, folks. Please have a great weekend and as always, stay tuned to Travel Daily and Cruise Weekly for all the latest news happening in travel.
