Jun 09, 2021
Kudadoo, a private island in the Maldives, designed to be totally solar-powered. CREDIT: Kudadoo
As the Covid-19 pandemic sent the world into lockdown and put the brakes on travel, the environmental side effects were undeniably beneficial. Air pollution in cities fell dramatically, for instance, while fish could be seen in Venice’s canals again. And, with tourism accounting for at least 5% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, according to the UN World Tourism Organization, it is clear that certain forms of transport are incompatible with the sustainability agenda. But borders are reopening and international travel is resuming, so what’s to be done?
Representaticve image
NEW DELHI: The coronavirus pandemic may have thrown a spanner in the works in one’s travel plans, but it hasn t stopped people from planning ahead on where they will holiday, or how, once travel restarts.
Even as the UN World Tourism Organisation said international tourist arrivals fell 83% in the first quarter of 2021 and destinations around the world welcomed 180 million fewer international arrivals between January and March 2021, compared to the first quarter of last year, a survey by travel aggregator Booking.Com suggests that appetite for travel remains, and travellers are turning more discerning. Indian travellers, in particular, lead the world in their appetite for travelling sustainably in future, the survey said.