Air Travel and Consumerism News
Below are links to stories relating to air travel and consumerism.
Ethics and tourism conference – can so-called “sustainable” tourism be “ethical”?
Date added: 21 September, 2011
There was a conference recently, in Madrid, organised by the World Tourism Organisation, entitled the first International Congress on Ethics and Tourism. This report shows that though there are a great many words and worthy statements about ethical tourism, little has actually been achieved, partly due to the rapid rate of growth. There are very few case studies of successes. The Code for Ethics has often been little more than a marketing ploy.
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George Monbiot on the need for a stable, growthless economy which avoids both financial and ecological collapse
Date added: 22 August, 2011
George Monbiot argues that now is the time to start planning for a new economy,
not dependent on growth. He says much of the wealth we have depended on and accept as normal is illusory. To sustain the illusion, we have inflicted very great damage on the planet’s
living systems. Economic growth and environmental damage are not being decoupled.
There are important lessons from Professor Tim Jackson’s book "Prosperity Without
Growth".
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The power of consumerism over the demand for air travel
Date added: 29 July, 2011
"... we talk of the tourism industry as being in the business of selling daydreams
within a culture of consumerism, and of tourists fulfilling motivations and fantasies
through participation in tourism.... " and
"....thinking of tourism in the context of contemporary consumer culture is the
best way to understand it; as an extension of the commodification of life. Tourism
can thus be interpreted as a form of consumerism, having similarities to buying
a car or clothes." (Andrew Holden)
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To consume ethically, or not to consume at all?
Date added: 27 March, 2011
A blog on the Ethical Consumerism website suggests we need to change the way
we consume. This behavioural shift should not just be from unethical to ethical,
but from thoughtless, needless consumption, to thoughtful consumption of only
those goods and services we require. Buying ethical goods and services is great,
but only buying essential goods and services is better. And buying flights or
holidays is just another sort of consumerism.
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The fine art of holiday one-upmanship – a bluffer’s guide
Date added: 24 March, 2011
Part of the reason for choosing holiday destinations is to be able to impress
friends, neighbours and colleagues by your affluence, style and originality. This
2005 article deals with the keeping up with Joneses problem. "One mother told me that she had organised her family's trips 12 months ahead:
Easter in Venice, May bank holiday at Euro Disney, mid summer in the west country,
October in Crete, and next February in Courchevel. What, I murmured, not going
anywhere at Christmas?"
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The end of consumerism: Our way of life is ‘not viable’
Date added: 27 January, 2011
Ditch the dog; throw away (sorry, recycle) those takeaway menus; bin bottled
water; get rid of that gas-guzzling car and forget flying to far-flung places.
These are just some of the sacrifices we in the West will need to make if we are
to survive climate change. The recent WorldWatch report says a wholesale transformation
of dominant cultural patterns is needed, including rejecting consumerism... and
establishing instead a new cultural framework centred on sustainability.
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Ethical consumer spending bucks recession with 18% growth (but that includes “ethical” long haul destination holidays …)
Date added: 30 December, 2010
The amount spent on allegedly ethical goods has risen. This apparently includes an increase in so called "eco-friendly" travel. However, how much this increase has any positive effect on the environment you can judge for yourselves, when ethical travel includes long haul destinations reached by plane.
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Air travel and consumerism
Date added: 30 December, 2010
In 2008, the global tourism industry was worth around $8 trillion, according
to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). They anticipate this might rise
to $15 trillion by 2020. Tourism is said to be the world's largest industry.
By 2018, the WTTC expects tourism spending to grow by an average annual rate of
4.4%. In 2009 there were around 880 million tourist arrivals around the world,
up from 683 million in 2000. This might rise to 1.6 billion by 2020.
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MORE GLARING JUXTAPHOTISIONS – the amazing juxtapositions of completely conflicting images
Date added: 21 November, 2010
George Marshall, (of Climate Change Denial) shows some examples of weirdly contrasting
adverts, placed side by side, with no apparent irony. A brilliant pair in Bristol,
of an Oxfam climate campaign ad right beside a Ford Galaxy car ad. And a great
ad by the Carbon Trust offering a prize of two business class tickets to Dubai
for helping create a low carbon Britain. And newspaper articles on climate beside
the cheap flight ads. Confused, schizophrenic modern society ...
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Obsession with growth is asset stripping the planet
Date added: 27 September, 2010
It used to be the biggest question, but now it seems to be the forgotten question
of the environment movement: can economic growth continue indefinitely? A 3-day
conference in Lyon has been debating the idea of a "sustainable planet" - how
humanity can provide for our needs now, in the present generation, without ruining
the prospects of the generations of the future. Climate change concern has almost
eclipsed concern about sustainability.
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