Through our interactions with hoteliers and tourism stakeholders, we often encounter businesses that genuinely want to become more sustainable but struggle to understand what sustainability actually encompasses. Some view it primarily through an environmental lens, while others associate it with community service activities. Few consider the broader economic and cultural impacts that tourism businesses create.

Tourists unknowingly tend to frequent fragile destinations Tourism continues to be one of the fastest-growing economic activities in fragile destinations — mountain regions, alpine valleys, high plateaus, coastal belts and island ecosystems. In many of these places, hospitality development (hotels, resorts, homestays and boutique properties) is promoted as a fast route to jobs and income. But the pace at which accommodation infrastructure expands frequently outstrips tourism

Some places are best left untouched, preserved in their pristine state.

What is Fairtrade? Today, as well-informed human beings, we are increasingly aware of the effects of our actions on society, the...