If you ask Rich Cahill to describe sustainable tourism, he’ll tell you about nature along the Panama Canal, where ocelots, howler monkeys, and three-toed sloths can be found. The idea is to explain to visitors that nature is fragile and resilient. A contradiction that is in full evidence in those lush Central American rainforests.
“People think they know about sustainability,” says Cahill, who runs Ancon Expeditions, a Panamanian tour operator. “But they don’t think big enough. “
For David Kianni, general manager of Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo, the term sustainable means something different. For him, it’s about being a guilty corporate citizen – no single-use plastics and having an active conservation initiative – and creating a mentoring program that supports Indigenous culture.
Just down a cobblestone street in Panama’s Old City, find another definition of sustainability at Amarla Casco Viejo, a boutique hotel that just opened its doors. For executive director María Antonieta Ramírez, it’s about following the most productive conservation practices and selling artists like Phoebe Montague Warr, whose desirable photographs of Panama’s biodiversity are displayed in the galleries.
Sustainability in tourism is a broad topic that encompasses the protection of the environment, local communities, and cultural preservation. But what does sustainability really mean?
I will ask this question on my way to the Caribbean, a part of the world that has actively pursued a reputation for sustainable growth in tourism. But how sustainable is the Caribbean compared to other places?How do you know if a destination is in fact sustainable?And after all, does sustainability have value, not only for the guest and the company, but also for the communities involved?
For reference, I’ll start with Panama, perhaps one of the pioneers of sustainable development. Guides like Cahill took tourists through rainforests decades ago, before ecotourism became a household word. Panama also has a colorful history as an adventure destination, with dictators, military invasions, and plenty of intrigue. In addition, it is an air hub that connects many Caribbean islands, as well as other destinations in the Americas and Europe.
Experts will tell you that, in the broadest sense, sustainable tourism is about reducing the negative environmental, social and economic consequences of travel, but it is also about helping local communities and preserving the natural and cultural resources of other people living in the affected areas. Areas.
Durability means you can get back into position without worrying about it being depleted or destroyed. And here are three main tactics with which a destination can pursue a sustainability goal:
Sustainable tourism aims to reduce carbon emissions, waste and conserve resources. Hotel recycling systems and airlines’ carbon neutrality commitments fall into this category.
Sustainability is also about empowering local communities through mentoring schemes for small businesses and sourcing local products. When your boutique hotel offers a ready-made drink or soap, it’s likely part of a sustainability effort.
The ultimate aspect of sustainable tourism is for people to maintain local cultures and traditions. This could include encouraging a variety of tourism activities that allow visitors to appreciate the way of life of indigenous society.
These three basic principles of sustainability seem quite undeniable. But at the end of the day, definition is like sand between your fingers. It’s hard to reach. It sounds promotional and whimsical. And after all, is sustainability rarely something airlines, hotels, and tour operators deserve to have done in the first place?
A shipment passes through the Panama Canal near Gatun Lake.
The Panama Canal is an unlikely ecotourism destination. The dredging of a channel between the Atlantic and the Pacific has disturbed fragile ecosystems and led to the extinction of several species, including the golden frog. But protection considerations also preserved the fragile rainforest, and after obtaining ownership of the canal from the United States, Panama created Soberania National Park up to the domain surrounding the canal.
Today, the national park is home to some of the most impressive birding activities in Central America. You can see everything from crested guans and toucans to herons, ants, and hawks in the woods. These animals have adapted to the canal. It is unusual to see a monkey or jaguar swimming through the channel on a boat tour.
Cahill, an American who grew up in Panama, remembers the days when the U. S. still ran the canal and the entire domain was closed to as many people as possible. Ironically, he argues that military bases and restrictions have impeded the region’s progress and turned it into one of Latin America’s top sensible ecotourism attractions.
And then it came.
“Growth is tricky without proper planning,” he says. “It’s very simple. “
But expansion is everyone’s main fear in Panama. In fact, the country experienced an influx of visitors as more cruise ships passed through the Panama Canal. A new cruise terminal has opened just outside Panama City, putting a strain on the city’s limited resources. tourism infrastructure.
“When all those cruise ships come in, you can see the consequences of poor planning,” Cahill adds.
So that’s a perspective. Panama was not meant to be an ecotourism destination, however, it has become one despite the dire consequences of digging a canal even because of it. And now she’s dealing with her own success. More and more people need to see Panama. , transit the canal, go bird watching, and revel in rainforests that could have been decimated without the canal.
The canal has destroyed the environment, but tropical forests are resilient and the massive allocation of public works ended up protecting the environment, in a way. This is a curious contradiction.
The 2023 graduated elegance of the Academy of Aeronautical Technicians Cup.
Back in Casco Viejo, Panama City’s Old Town, more and more people are asking the same questions: What exactly does it mean to be sustainable?
For example, what if you’re an airline?Airlines constantly get into trouble by claiming to be eco-friendly. In the past six months, several governments have fined airlines that have made bold, but ultimately false, claims about their carbon emissions. Compensation programs. Smart airlines keep a low profile and make a difference where they can.
Katherine Katsudas, senior executive of Copa Airlines, reflects on sustainability during a lunch at Kaandela, Amarla Casco Viejo’s restaurant. For the Panamanian airline, sustainability consists of giving back to the network through the subsidy to its discreet Academy of Aviation Technicians. The airline quietly opened a training center a couple of years ago in Tocumen, near Panama City. It offers young people from disadvantaged backgrounds full scholarships to practice aeronautical mechanics.
“And they have a guaranteed homework waiting for them once they graduate,” he says.
The program has benefited everyone by graduating 132 senior technicians, he adds. One of the main barriers to access to higher education for young people enrolled in the program has been removed, which was that they could not afford tuition and ended up penniless. categories due to monetary or family obligations. The 86 students recently enrolled in the program receive a stipend to cover their living expenses.
It also gives others from a disadvantaged community, many of whom live within walking distance of the airport, the opportunity to participate in one of Panama’s most successful ventures.
Few travelers avoid thinking about the plane mechanic who maintains their planes or the low-income community next to the airport when they land in Panama City. But it’s all part of an economic ecosystem that also wants to be sustainable in order for it to work. According to Katsuda.
Being a savvy corporate citizen is something Copa did long before sustainability became a buzzword. But now that someone gave it a name, the airline fully embraced it.
María Antonieta Ramírez, General Manager of Amarla Casco Viejo, the photographs of Array. . [ ] Phoebe Montague Warr.
Upstairs, in Amarla’s rooms, you can see the efforts of sustainable progression. Each room in this meticulously restored 120-year-old boutique is unique, and that extends to the framed paintings on the walls, many of which are for sale. . The photographs depict indigenous peoples in Panama’s rainforests. The images are colorful and visually stunning.
Ramírez, the hotel’s general manager, explains that the photographer’s works are destined for the heritage of other indigenous communities.
“The portrait captures the essence and that of its people: breathtaking landscapes, nature, wildlife, and the enduring spirit of its indigenous communities,” he explains.
She says 30 percent of the proceeds go to the Native Americans in the photo, the network where the photo was taken, or the charity of their choice.
This kind of sustainability is not unusual in luxury hotels in Latin America, where visitors are looking for more than just a written commitment to sustainability. They need something tangible, and maybe even anything they can take home to remind them of their adventure.
Gunayala coconut oil sells for $5 a bottle. In the first year of production, oil produced. . . [ ] $4,300 for the Aboriginal community.
The Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo has a desirable history. The building was a military club that was almost completely razed by U. S. forces during the invasion of Panama in 1989. According to several interlocutors, the Americans thought that Manuel Noriega was hiding there. It wasn’t.
Just before the pandemic, the hotel was rebuilt into a luxury urban resort. Today, visitors can gaze out over the canal and watch cruise ships go by in its sublime Mayda Bar.
Sofitel’s sustainability program resembles one of the approaches taken through Copa and Amarla. It is a mentoring initiative that develops young Indigenous marketers in collaboration with the Forest Stewardship Council’s Indigenous Foundation, an organization that supports indigenous peoples around the world. Sofitel’s marketing team is working with the Guna Ogob network to create a sustainable coconut oil business.
“We accompany the young talents step by step from the creation of the company to the marketing and sale of coconut oil, adding control of finances and cash flow,” says Kianni, the hotel’s general manager. “Our mentorship initiative evolved to help young talents The Indigenous network further expands their business style and generates profits that will be used through the network. “
Kianni says Guna Ogob coconut oil is well on its way to becoming an official company, thanks to its mentorship program that will be delivered through the hotel, but he has gone further and is in contact with the Sofitel company to use this style in other hotels. of the brand, which will be done by other indigenous communities.
David Kianni, manager of Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo, at the hotel’s rooftop bar.
I asked Kianni why he was devoting valuable resources to creating a coconut oil business at a time when the Panamanian hotel industry is still suffering the consequences of the pandemic. He said other people expect more than green certifications and recycling programs.
“They have to make a real difference,” he told me.
This is perhaps the main lesson that can be learned from Panama’s experience with sustainable development. Whether it’s guiding travelers through the locks of the Panama Canal, education has deprived other people of aircraft mechanics, promoting photographs of indigenous peoples, or marketing coconut oil. Other people are tired of talking. They need deeds, not words.
In the industry, it’s no longer enough to say you’re sustainable. You have to think big.