Transportation

Being an island, Newfoundland is relatively isolated from the rest of the world. People have to access our province by boat or plane and these two transportation strategies are not the most eco-friendly. Having said that, there are ways we can improve when travelling to and around the island. Sustainable examples from other parts of the world include:

Over the past years, a number of private companies in Costa Rica have signed on to the carbon-neutral pledge. Local airline Nature Air says it is the first carrier in the world to offset its emissions by helping to conserve a plot of 500 acres in the southwestern Osa Peninsula and by increasing fuel efficiency (Long, 2011). Mapache, an independently owned car-rental agency, claims it has been able to mitigate its impact through the purchase of carbon-neutral credits (Long, 2011)

Colorado Springs has a “sustainable bike tour” which allows tourists to bike to different buildings that were made from sustainable materials and in Denver they have the B-cycle program that provides bikes for $8.00 a day (Walsh, n.d.)

In Manitoba, one can hike across the multicoloured tundra and along the sandy coastline of Hudson Bay. One can also try dog carting – a snow-free alternative to dog sledding using a cart with wheels to travel (Travel Manitoba, 2010).

In Switzerland, there are now Think City cars available so that you can drive around the Alps all you want without any worries that you are damaging the atmosphere (Mynatour, 2010). There are various rechargeable points to stop and charge while you explore. Even the rechargeable points are powered from local dams and reservoirs.

The Geneva Transportation Card: Pubic transport in Geneva is very good as well as being environmentally friendly. With the transportation card you have unlimited access to the public transport throughout the entire city (Mynatour, 2010).

Tourist officials such as those in Zurich, recommend that visitors take the train from London via Paris instead of flying. It is estimated that travel by train will save 176 kg of CO2 emissions per person for the 966 km journey (Mynatour, 2010).

In Davos, one of the most famous ski resorts, visitors are urged not to drive cars into town, but take on of the fleet of buses (Mynatour, 2010).

If you think of trips you have had across the island yourself, you have probably driven a lot even if it was just around St. John's. Efficient public transportation as well as mitigation is needed more in our province. Having said that, some efforts are being made. Hospitality Newfoundland's current strategy, as outlined in Uncommon Potential: A Vision for Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism (Vision 2020) is aimed towards the sustainability and growth of our members and the tourism industry itself.

The seven strategic priorities as directly outlined in the aforementioned strategy are:

•Private Public Leadership – A Partnership for Growth & Development
•Sustainable Transportation Network – A Transportation Strategy to Grow Our Industry
•Market Intelligence and Research Strategy – A Framework for Accessible & Timely Research
•Product Development – Delivering Strategic & Sustainable Traveller Experiences
•Tourism Technology – Strengthening Our Information & Communications Technology
•Marketing Our Brand – Building on the Success of Our Creative Marketing Campaign
•Developing Our Workforce – Growing Our People for a Dynamic Industry

(Hospitality NL, 2013)

The items in yellow show that some problems are being addressed, but they now need to be properly executed.

.image acquired from:

http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2011/04/23/8338471/Biking%20Down%20Pikes%20Peak2.jpg

image acquired from:

http://www.electriccarsite.co.uk/think-electric-cars/think-city-electric-car