Can Travel Save the World? Part 2
Marcia Gay Harden graced the stage at Conde Nast Traveler's World Savers Congress last week.
All photos: Marion Curtis, Star Pix
What was a celebrity like Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden doing at Conde Nast Traveler's World Savers Congress last week? Not merely looking for good press, I can assure you. Marcia is a long-time supporter of environmental issues, and has been profiled in the magazine as an advocate for Riverkeeper, a nonprofit that has helped clean up the Hudson River and sprouted sister organizations that protect waterways around the world. Marcia, who was one of the judges for this year's World Savers Awards, spoke thoughtfully about the responsibility we all have to preserve the planet for future generations. Then she let us all in on a dirty secret of "green" Hollywood: No one recycles on movie sets. Thinking on her feet, Marcia even coined a name for her new cause: Reelcycle. Get it?
Marcia and fellow judges Sven Lindblad of Lindblad Expeditions and Martha Honey of the Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development gave out awards to our top World Savers honorees, who'd flown in from all over the globe to accept their glass statues. Andrea Boston over at Blue Egg was so impressed by the Jungle Bay Resort & Spa, in Dominica, that she's vowed to spend her next vacation there. (You can read about the winners and runners-up in our September issue.)
But it wasn't all good news at the panel discussions that followed. To find out what the audience learned, keep reading.
A panel discussion at the World Savers Congress.
The first panel, on tourism's effect on the environment, brought together tourism insiders and outsiders. Jamie Sweeting, an ecotourism expert, surprised much of the crowd when he reported that the cruise lines are much more environmentally friendly than most beachside resorts. When asked whether governments should impose visitor quotas at sites like Angkor Wat, he replied, "Three bad tourists can do a lot more damage than 3,000 well-managed tourists." (To make sure that you fit in the latter category, read our September Stop Press story on Morocco.)
At the next panel, on the potential for tourism to alleviate poverty, Patricia Barnett of Tourism Concern repeated some sobering statistics: Hotel workers in many countries earn just $1 a day, and in the luxury destination of the Maldives, where tourists spend hundreds of dollars a day, the malnutrition rate is on a par with sub-Saharan Africa.
The Congress concluded with a feeling that many in the travel industry are headed in the right direction, but that we all have a long way to go before we can hope to save the world, as Marc Gunther over at CNNMoney.com was quick to point out. We at Conde Nast Traveler have pledged to do our part by devoting more pages to sustainable and ethical travel. And you can check back here every Wednesday for tips on how to be a responsible traveler -- and still have a good time.
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