Sustainable Tourism: The Tour Operators' Contribution

4. Product Management and Development
4.4 MyTravel Northern Europe:
Eco-Audits of Destinations
Description of Good Practice
In 1998, MyTravel Northern Europe (MyTravel NE), Scandinavia’s leading
tour operator, decided to expand its environmental audit for hotels to local
authorities in its visited destinations, as the actions of local authorities often
define the conditions under which hotels have to operate. If the community
does not provide separate treatment for sorted waste, for example, it is
difficult for a hotel to handle waste in an environmentally sound way. MyTravel NE therefore concluded
that it might be able to make an important difference by conducting destination-wide eco-audits.
The audits are intended to:
• Assess the environmental performance of the destinations it visits;
• Increase MyTravel NE’s and its customers’ knowledge of the environmental situation at the destinations;
• Provide local authorities with information about what MyTravel NE has found important in relation to the
environment; and
• Open up a dialogue with local authorities at destinations, and support and facilitate the implementation
of environmental action plans.
MyTravel NE conducts its destination eco-audits using a questionnaire covering 30 issues (see Box 1).
The questions asked also reflect the priorities in MyTravel NE’s environmental policy: fossil fuel (energy),
chemicals, nature and biodiversity, handling of waste and saving water.
In order to determine the most important questions for local authorities, MyTravel NE performed
an environmental review of one of its most important destinations (Rhodes) and one hotel in 1995.
Information provided by local authorities, hotels, external consultants and MyTravel NE employees was
used to draw up the questionnaire.
Implementation
In 1998, each area manager was given responsibility for approaching the local authority, identifying the
right contact person and, together with that person, completing the questionnaire. The area managers
were trained in advance on the environmental issues covered in
the questionnaire.
In 1999, only 12 of the 50 destination audit forms sent out to
MyTravel NE area managers were completed, principally because
it was difficult for the area managers to find the right person, and
it was hard for a single tour operator to get sufficient attention
from the local authorities.
After the first year, the area managers suggested ways of
improving the questionnaire, which has now been updated. In
2002, MyTravel NE contacted local authorities in 44 destinations
by sending a personal letter to the responsible person at the local
authority explaining that the programme aims to determine how tour
operators and local authorities can work together to promote sustainable tourism development. Fourteen
destinations returned the completed questionnaires.
0
Sustainable Tourism: The Tour Operators’ Contribution
supportiNg waste separatioN