Taking Stock and Moving Forward Sustainably
By Mike Orgill, Director of Public Policy - APAC, Airbnb
The past year has been one of many firsts - including usually bustling, world-renowned tourist attractions falling silent for the first time in a long time. Beaches, restaurants and marketplaces stood empty, along with museums and art galleries and other typically crowded cultural centres.
As the excited chatter of human voices returns to these places, we’re reminded of both the powerful connecting force of travel and its ability to breathe economic life into communities near and far. The tourism industry plays a critical role in bringing people together to foster growth that benefits everyone.
Airbnb-commissioned research by Oxford Economics, for example, recently showed that Airbnb contributed up to US $22.7 billion and more than 925,000 jobs in the Asia-Pacific region in 2019 alone, supporting US $6.8 billion in wages. It’s just one small snapshot of how tourism creates employment and opportunity in ways that ripple across a range of other sectors.
The recent temporary halting of travel has been, for many businesses and communities, a stark reminder of how tourism can serve as a powerful economic empowerment engine. But it’s also important those moments of silence and emptiness are not forgotten too quickly and discarded in vain. As travel prepares to rebound and passports around the world are dusted off, there’s never been a better time for our industry to pause and take stock of whether there is a better way to do things.
This is an opportune time to ask how we, in the private sector, can more thoughtfully harness the power of travel to not only continue driving long-term economic growth, but also help deliver more sustainable outcomes for communities. With the return of international tourism on the horizon, it’s important we think carefully about how we can help position this region to make the most of this upcoming rebound in a way that continues to benefit local people, cultures and environments long into the future.
As a 21st-century company dedicated to serving all stakeholders - including the communities in which we operate - this is one of Airbnb’s top priorities. For us, growing sustainable travel is not only about minimising environmental impact, but showcasing local cultures, working with communities to ensure tourism is a positive experience for locals, and being a vehicle for meaningful connection.
While short-term rentals are one type of accommodation that can provide a more energy and water-efficient way to travel for people looking to minimise their carbon footprint, they’re also a great way for Hosts to help further other aspects of sustainability. We also know that this is something a significant portion of Airbnb guests actively care about.
The YouGov research we commissioned in February 2021 showed that the overwhelming majority of survey respondents in APAC destinations consider the environment and sustainability when they travel (at least sometimes). That included, for example, more than 90 percent of respondents who live in Thailand, Malaysia, India and Philippines. The majority of travellers in the Philippines notably said they’re likely to consider the environment all the time.
There is a genuine desire amongst travellers to ensure their visit is also a positive experience for locals - and it’s critical that industry not only actively facilitates this, but encourages it. Part of this is helping visitors spend their valuable tourism dollars where it matters most. Airbnb has worked diligently over the years on exactly this - dispersing tourism and spreading the positive benefits to areas that have traditionally missed out.
Supporting rural farm stays in partnership with Australia Regional Tourism and peak farmer organisations across Australia
Recently, one focus area for us has been encouraging rural visitation throughout the region to help build more resilient, diverse local economies. An example of our work in this space is our ongoing partnerships with peak farmer organisations in Australia, which are aimed at helping to grow rural tourism infrastructure. Another example is our partnership with India’s Self Employed Women’s Association, which helps economically empower disadvantaged women in rural India.
Gauriben (left), a SEWA member and early adopter of Airbnb’s platform, is one of the Hosts hoping to benefit from is travellers wanting to spend a quiet weekend in rural destinations
Another focus area for Airbnb is how we can harness our platform and our community to help foster a genuine, meaningful sense of connection that brings people together. The prolonged isolation brought on by COVID-19 - both for individuals and communities - reinforced just how important travel is in maintaining social interconnectedness and forging links between different regions and cultures. It’s why we place such a heavy emphasis on locally hosted accommodation designed to allow people to really immerse themselves in local culture and make connections.
Our Experiences and Online Experiences products also provide a way for locals to showcase their food, culture and traditions to travellers in a way that’s authentic and over which they have true ownership. For instance, we were proud to partner with the Community Development Department of Thailand in 2019 to spotlight Thailand’s hidden villages and local stewards of these lesser-known communities to guests around the world through Online Experiences.
Partnering with Community Development Department of Thailand to shine a light on the kingdom’s lesser-known villages
In 2020, we also signed a two-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Singapore Tourism Board to co-promote unique, authentic Airbnb Experiences hosted by passionate locals on our Experiences platform. We continue to pursue projects and partnerships that help make a tangible contribution to fostering diversity and belonging in the broader region.
Co-promoting Singapore’s unique and authentic experiences virtually, in partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board
At the same time, our team continues to work hard every day to help ensure that each stay is a positive experience for Hosts, guests and the wider community. The overwhelming majority of guests and Hosts on Airbnb are respectful travellers and considerate neighbours.
However, we continue to invest in measures that aim to provide additional peace of mind for the communities we serve - including through policies such as our global ban on parties, a dedicated team and online portal to support local law enforcement efforts, and a support tool that allows neighbors to raise potential issues for our team to investigate. This is part of helping to make sure travel facilitated through our platform is sustainable and beneficial to the communities we serve.
As travel returns and the empty markets and quiet tourist attractions begin to once again fill with people and life, let’s ensure our industry takes a moment to reflect. There’s never been a better time for the tourism sector to pause and consider how we can play an even more active role in making the future of travel brighter and more sustainable in the long term.
This article was guest authored by Airbnb. Please note that the views and opinions expressed in the article may not necessarily reflect the official policy, position or views of PATA or any of its employees.
