We hope that our travelers gain an experience which makes them appreciate not only the beauty of Patagonia, but the importance of keeping this region as pristine as it has always been. The tourism & travel industry – it´s destinations, operators, outfitters, and all parties involved, must become more conscious of climate change and impacts of the industry on our environment. Together we must make changes so our guests and visitors see this and begin to make a change themselves.
Here in Patagonia you see the most incredible acts of nature: jaw-dropping glaciers, magnificent mountains and peaks, icy winds and soaring condors, flora and fauna…and it only makes you want to protect it all. Very few people have been lucky enough to explore some of the vast areas and lands here in Patagonia such as Yendegaia National Park in Tierra del Fuego and parts of Torres del Paine such as the Zapata Valley (where Patagonia’s prehistoric life is very much relevant). When you come to Patagonia you feel a sense of untouched, wild land and keeping these areas as such is gravely important to the biodiversity of our region, the environment, and the culture and communities of Patagonia. We hope to share these incredible areas in a respectful, conservative way in order to inspire our guests to continue making conscious decisions to travel responsibly and care for the lands in which they discover.
We’ve signed up to Tourism Declares, an initiative that supports tourism businesses, organisations and individuals in declaring a climate emergency and taking purposeful action to reduce their carbon emissions as per the advice from The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to cut global carbon emissions to 55% below 2017 levels by 2030.
Like all signatories, we have committed to the following five actions:
1. Develop a ‘Climate Emergency Plan’ within the next 12 months, which sets out our intentions to reduce carbon emissions over the next decade.
2. Share an initial public declaration of our ‘Climate Emergency Plan’, and update on progress each year.
3. Accept current IPCC advice stating the need to cut global carbon emissions to 55% below 2017 levels by 2030 in order to keep the planet within 1.5 degrees of warming. We’ll ensure our ‘Climate Emergency Plan’ represents actions designed to achieve this as a minimum, through delivering transparent, measurable and increasing reductions in the total carbon emissions per customer arising from our operations and the travel services sold by us.
4. Encourage our suppliers and partners to make the same declaration; sharing best practice amongst peers; and actively participate in the Tourism Declares community
5. Advocate for change. We recognise the need for system change across the industry, and call for urgent regulatory action to accelerate the transition towards zero carbon air travel.
Please consider also declaring at www.tourismdeclares.com, and follow on @tourismdeclares on Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin