Travel Industry Makes Strides With More Plastic Bans

Image: PHOTO: Plastic bottles and other trash on sea beach (photo courtesy of Phonix_a/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

by Janeen Christoff
Last updated: 5:30 PM ET, Tue May 8, 2018

The travel industry is keeping the environment front and center and a slew of new companies are banning single-use plastics such as straws, water bottles and cutlery-this in light of many destinations considering banning them all together as well.

Virtuoso's Luxury Report recently revealed that the industry as a whole is becoming increasingly interested in protecting the world that they explore and reducing plastic waste is a top concern among them.

"The question is no longer whether travelers care about helping to make the world a better place as part of a vacation. They do, as Virtuoso's Luxe Report also reveals. The real question is how we in the travel industry work together to prepare for a new generation of travelers who want to have a positive impact on the places they visit," said Costas Christ, Virtuoso global sustainable tourism strategist.

There were a number of recent announcements related to cleaning up plastic waste, which is becoming more and more apparent and awareness of the damage plastics cause to the environment is more widespread.

Plastic straws are particularly wasteful. According to The Last Plastic Straw project, 500 million straws are used and thrown away every day in the U.S., which is about 175 billion per year-andBeyond has joined the movement to put an end to this type of waste and they are not alone.

AndBeyond Kichwa Tembo and the new andBeyond Bateleur Camp (reopened in March), both on Kenya's Masai Mara, as well as andBeyond Mnemba Island off the coast of Zanzibar, have discontinued all plastic straw usage and now only use bamboo and paper.

Banyan Tree Hotels also recently pledged to eliminate all single-use plastic items, including straws, water bottles and disposable cutlery.

Iberostar Group also announced that it's taking concrete actions so that its portfolio of more than 110 hotels is free of single-use plastics by 2019, starting with the group's 36 properties in Spain this summer.

The Corinthia Palace Hotel Malta is also going straw-free. The move follows planned EU legislation, which is scheduled to be introduced before the summer that will ban single-use plastics.

Corinthia Palace Hotel uses 40,000 straws each year, on average, and will now use paper straws with a wax cover as a substitute, offered on request.

"As a group we strive to look after the environment, buying local produce to reduce our carbon footprint and having an active ECO program," said Corinthia Palace Hotel general manager, David Woodward. "Following discussions that arose in the EU reflecting straws' usage and the damage they cause the environment, we have decided that, as from today, we will be a straw-free property."

In the Florida Keys, Baker's Cay Resort is the first resort in the Florida Keys to commit to Reef Relief's "Skip the Straw" campaign. The resort eliminated the use of single-use plastic straws on-site. The property, formerly the Hilton Key Largo, officially reopened in May after renovations following Hurricane Irma.

The Sheraton Maui was one of the first hotels in Hawaii to ban plastic straws, which it did last year in 2017. The Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club is also spearheading #plasticfreewaikiki water bottles promoting plastic-free reusables.

Cruise companies have also joined the war on plastic.

Hurtigruten will remove everything from plastic straws and cups, coffee lids and plastic bags from all of its ships by July 2, 2018-and the company has the goal of becoming the world's first plastic-free shipping company.

"At Hurtigruten, we have focused on the problem with plastic pollution for years," said Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam. "There is a lot of talk about the impact plastic has on our oceans. But it's time to take action. By getting rid of single-use plastic on board all ships already by this summer, we will hopefully get others to follow. It is possible to act now, and the oceans do not deserve more hesitation."

As part of its commitment to sustainable tourism, Peregrine Adventures, already a carbon-neutral travel company, recently announced it will ban all single-use plastics (such as straws, cups, and water bottles) onboard its adventure cruising charter trips, providing passengers with reusable cloth bags and refillable water bottles.

Ninety percent of the food on each charter trip will now be locally sourced, a commitment that will further support the communities and economies of the smaller ports each tour visits.

Back in 2009, Silversea Cruises installed water filtration systems onboard its ships and, now, suite attendants refill glass carafes in each stateroom with the filtered water instead of restocking with single-use plastic water bottles. The company estimates that it has eliminated the need for about 400,000 disposable water bottles per year.

The Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) is taking an even more in-depth approach to ridding the oceans of harmful plastics. The organization has hired a seasoned polar tourism professional, Sarah Auffret, to combat marine plastic.

"Marine litter is one of the biggest environmental challenges of our time," said Frigg Jorgensen.

"An opportunity for the Arctic expedition cruise industry to involve presented itself when AECO received an invitation from Erik Solheim, UN Environment Executive Director, to join the Clean Seas Campaign," Jorgensen added. "AECO highly supports UN Environment's Clean Seas campaign and will be taking actions to beat plastic pollution. Now, our commitment has been given additional momentum by the fact that we have been able to secure external funding to further develop our Clean Seas initiatives."

Auffret has a background as a G Adventure expedition leader on cruises in Svalbard, East Greenland and the Antarctic Peninsula and as base leader of Port Lockroy.

The Adventure Travel Trade Association is also committed to reducing plastic waste and is taking a leading role in reducing the use of single-use plastic water bottles within the adventure travel industry. The organization is currently collecting data, creating education, generating awareness and collaborating with industry partners to create solutions for this growing problem.

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