How will climate change impact tourism? (PDF, 227KB)

Tourism businesses that make a stronger environmental commitment can gain a definite marketing and competitive advantage. Regardless of whether your business is located in a city, town, protected area or natural landscape, enhancing your environmental performance will deliver a wide range of benefits – for your business and the Northern Territory as a destination.

By becoming a more environmentally sustainable business, you can:

• attract a greater share of the growing number of visitors seeking green travel options
• broaden your distribution channels by working with specialised responsible travel partners
• ensure you remain competitive, particularly if you rely on corporate business, as more companies are placing emphasis on the environmental credentials of their supply chain
• reduce your operating costs
• enhance the appeal of the NT as a green destination; and
• contribute to the safeguarding of tourism in the NT through improved environmental protection.

Some of the key challenges in building a green strategy for your business are that:

• it can be difficult to keep up with the overwhelming amount of information about climate change and the political debates that are occurring;
• the green jargon associated with climate change and responding to climate change can be challenging to understand;
• there is a lack of understanding about the benefits which improving environmental performance will deliver within a business and what your business needs to focus on in order to get there;
• running a small or medium sized business combined with the seasonal challenges of tourism can mean it is difficult to find the time to focus on new projects; and
• the availability of services and resources to support businesses to act is limited, particularly in regional and remote areas of the NT.

To overcome these challenges and build an effective green strategy within your business, it is important to be informed about the risks that climate change (PDF, 192KB) presents, what it means for tourism (PDF, 192KB) and the opportunities that are emerging for businesses that respond accordingly.

A credible approach to going green starts with improving the environmental performance of your business. This involves going back to basics by focusing on the areas of energy, water, waste, fuel and everyday purchases.

To further improve your green credentials, consider making a contribution to regional, national or global efforts to conserve the environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There are many ways you can do this, for example by introducing a carbon offset (PDF, 203KB) program or supporting local conservation projects.

There are a range of resources available to help you on your journey to green your business.