Nature Positive Tourism in Action

The National Park Service mission is to preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The abundance of natural resources attracts visitors to the parks; to preserve and protect these resources sustainable, nature positive tourism should be considered in concession operations. The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) in collaboration with Animondial published the 2024 Nature Positive Travel & Tourism In Action report in April 2024; this article outlines ways in which concessioners can promote nature positive tourism in their practices and define areas of improvement.

The Case for Nature Positive Tourism

Tourism and nature are innately linked; natural wonders like the Grand Canyon, crystal clear lakes, and active volcanos drive tourism to our national parks. Nature Positive Tourism is tourism that not only minimizes environmental harm but also actively invests in nature restoration in tourist destinations. The tourism industry relies on natural resources and their conservation. Ideally, the tourism industry should work to protect the resources that drive it. Those who seek our nature centered tourism are typically those who want to see it protected and secured for years to come. Therefore, your sustainable practices do not go unnoticed by the visiting public. Concessioners should highlight the ways in which they strive to be nature positive.

Understanding our Impact: an on-going effort

The Nature Positive Tourism Roadmap calls on businesses to identify the factors of their operations and evaluate them using an ongoing, four step approach.

• Assess & Define: Review the impacts of operations on animals and nature, recognize the role in which those operations impact bio-diversity loss and make nature positive practices a priority.

• Reduce & Restore: Identify specific actions required to reduce harm to the environment and nature. As an organization, ensure you are giving back more than you take from the area you operate in.

• Monitor & Report: Measure progress and impact on the environment. Businesses should define and gather baseline data to measure impacts to the best of their abilities. Progress should be measured and monitored continuously. Although this may seem time consuming, consider giving ownership of monitoring to the same personnel who execute the tasks.

• Collaborate & Communicate: Collaborate with peers, suppliers, the government, and others to support the shared goal of reducing the impact on biodiversity and the environment. Widely communicate successful practices to all stakeholders so that others may implement them.

The roadmap to nature positive tourism is continuous as improving operations to minimize the environmental impact is an ongoing practice. Concessioners are often at the forefront of considering environmental factors in their operations, but we can all take an additional proactive approach to implement environmental best practices.

Concessioner Implications

Concessioners often get the opportunity to interact directly with visitors and have a significant impact on their experience in the park. The Green Parks Plan outlines ways in which all stakeholders can participate in nature positive tourism and maintain natural resources for generations to come. Understand your role in the NPS Plastics Elimination and Reduction Plan and take steps to continue working towards plastic reduction.Consider striving to identify and improve operational practices to serve the environment around you. Learn from peers, parks, and others who have implemented sustainability into their operations. Learn about how the Glacier Green Team worked to recycle approximately 6,300 pounds of glass in just 6 months. See how one concessioner reduces wildfire risk by repurposing food service buckets into campground fire buckets.

Resources

The Nature Positive Vision for Travel & Tourism encourages the industry to support and inspire governments, businesses, and society to implement the Global Biodiversity Framework and help transform humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Identify drivers of biodiversity loss and ways to minimize impact using the Nature Positive Travel and Tourism Toolbox.