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Marrakech Process Task Force on Sustainable Tourism Green Passport Campaign

Attention, travelers: Are you thinking about the size of that carbon footprint trailing your suitcase?

Don’t fear.

You can now make your travel habits more sustainable with the help of a little green passport, the centerpiece of a global campaign recently launched by the United Nations Environment Programme, the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Spatial Planning, and the Brazilian Ministries of Environment and Tourism.

The Green Passport Campaign, unveiled at the Berlin Tourism Fair in March, is introducing tourists to ways they can make each part of their trip a sustainable activity: one that conserves natural resources, and respects the economic and cultural development of host countries.

The organizers are using all means to get the word out, including through an easy-to-use website, available in English, French and Portuguese, that lets a user flip through a virtual passport containing tips on what to pack, how to fly and get around in ways that reduce environmental harm.

The website is loaded with reminders to choose responsible service providers that have a history of fair wages, limit energy use on the road and in hotels, and buy locally prepared food and souvenirs, instead of imports. There are even sections for posting individual travel tips, taking a climate quiz, and downloading a green banner to display on a personal blog or trendy MySpace profile.

“This is a friendly way to learn about your impacts when you travel – and how to change them,” explains Thibault Devanlay, a French government adviser and leader of the Task Force on Sustainable Tourism, which initiated the project in 2006 to promote sustainable development under the Marrakech Process.

To launch many of its efforts, the team chose the historic town of Paraty, Brazil, famed for its diverse cultural traditions and 18th century architectural treasures. Beyond distributing communications materials, organizers facilitated workshops with the entire community to localize the campaign’s global message to be aware of – and minimize – the travel footprint.

What started as a discussion to attract tourists quickly evolved into social debate on how to preserve the area’s indigenous cultural heritage. “They know what they want, and what they don’t want, from tourism,” says Mr. Devanlay.

Brazil had expressed an early interest in hosting the project, and now hopes to replicate it in other parts of the county. Campaign organizers plan to start similar projects around the world, including in the Mediterranean region next year.

International tourist arrivals reached almost 900 million in 2007, and are estimated to hit 1.6 billion by 2020, according to the World Tourism Organization. Tourism is among the largest categories of international trade, with volume equaling or exceeding that for oil, food and car exports, depending on the year.

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