There is increasing demand for sustainable, low-carbon options among travelers.
Nature and culture-based ecotourism has seen increasing popularity in recent years as a sustainable and responsible way to travel. With rising risks from the changing climate, the shift to ecotourism 2.0 and advance toward net zero emissions for all forms of tourism has become urgent.
This thematic session at the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) fourth Southeast Asia Development Symposium (SEADS) explored the future of sustainable travel and featured practical steps to engage service providers, local businesses, tourism bodies, and travelers to catalyze joint efforts to reduce tourism’s carbon footprint. It also looked at new technologies, policies, and best practices for transitioning to net-zero travel.
Speakers
- Patsian Low, Vice–President, Inclusive Impact and Sustainability for Asia–Pacific, Visa
- Stefano Baronci, Director General, Airports Council International Asia–Pacific
- Dechen Tsering, Regional Director and Representative, Asia and the Pacific Office, United Nations Environment Programme
- Jean-Baptiste Grassin, Managing Director, Nomad Plastic
- Moderator: Rebecca Tan, Bureau Chief, Southeast Asia, Washington Post
- Master of Ceremonies: Pavnesh Kumar, Program Head, Sustainability and Social Responsibility, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
The session was co-organized with the Pacific Asia Travel Association and Visa.
With the theme, "Imagining a Net-Zero ASEAN," SEADS 2023 explored measures governments, communities, and the private sector could take to progress toward carbon neutrality.
