‘Green’ is the new trend in travel

Unusual in a teen her age, 17-year-old Nikki Huang, daughter of Stores Specialists, Inc. (SSI) Group president Anton Huang, has such a strong social and environmental conscience she wants to help — in whatever way she can. 

Nikki, who studies at Wharton and is mindful even about her food choices, told her dad she was interested in joining the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Philippines, a global NGO whose mission is to conserve the planet by protecting the environment, reducing pollution and wasteful consumption, and promoting the use of sustainable resources.

“WWF is an organization that holds great influence over worldwide conservation efforts,” says Nikki, “and so I recognized the rareness of the opportunities that come with being a member.”

She applied to become part of WWF’s National Youth Council (NYC) — a highly select group of only eight individuals aged 16 to 24 who are influencers in the school and social-media spheres — and got in.

“I was very happy to hear that she was accepted by WWF to be part of their National Youth Council,” says Nikki’s proud dad, Anton Huang. “They’re a great organization with very passionate people involved throughout, and I’m happy that Nikki shares that passion.”

According to WWF-Philippines’ president and CEO Joel Palma, now that travelers can access all parts of the globe thanks to the advances in aviation, it’s critical that they be conscious about the way they travel and impact a destination.

“Globally, tourism can be considered the biggest industry in the world,” Palma says. “It contributes to nine percent of global GDP. One out of 11 employees are in tourism so, like it or not, if you do travel and tourism right, it’s good for the environment. Do it wrong and it will have a big impact on the environment.”

Palma, whose local chapter of WWF has made significant inroads and improvements in the tourism of Donsol, Bohol and Palawan, says it’s not just a traveler’s carbon footprint that matters but also the way we consume things. “Right now, one enemy of the Philippines is the use and disposing of plastics,” he says. “Given our 7,107 islands, we have one o f the longest coastlines, so the issue of single-use plastics is enormous. The Philippines is the third largest source of ocean trash in world after Indonesia and China with our straws and water bottles. Some experts say if we don’t do anything there will be more plastic than fish by 2050.”

Palma told the National Youth Council to look at travel from a sustainable standpoint — how tourism could protect nature, how it could benefit the surrounding communities, and how it would enhance visitor satisfaction — and they quickly responded.

“When we were brainstorming last year, we drilled down on a topic and decided on sustainable living,” says Alexa Cancio, chair of the NYC. “Sustainable living is what we need to do because it impacts every aspect: food, the way we commute, the choices we make every day — it has a ripple effect, and we should never underestimate that.” More specifically, Nikki came up with the idea of holding the Green Wanderer Travel Fair, and dad Anton was quick to offer Central Square in Bonifacio High Street Central, BGC, as the venue.

“The most interesting feature of the travel fair is that it is green,” Nikki says. “Travel fairs are common, but WWF wanted to put a twist on this one. It’s as much a testament to sustainability and conservation efforts in the Philippines as it is a fun tourism experience.”

Anton adds, “We’re addressing our desire to tie up with WWF and contribute as best we can, helping them create awareness for the different issues they’re involved in,” he says. “One good way for us to do that is provide Central Square as venue for this project.”

Green Wanderer will offer travel packages to ecotourism destinations like Circle Hostel, Daluyon, and the El Nido Resorts. “From a community development standpoint, what El Nido has done in terms of creating actual benefits economically to the surrounding communities and making environmental efforts more sustainable is highly commendable,” Anton says. “Just talking to people that live in the surrounding communities, the sense of gratitude they have for employment opportunities and the standard of employment is quite interesting.”

Travel itineraries will also be uniquely curated the WWF way: “For example, at Circle Hostel, if a person books a tour package, they will be able to experience the community, doing cleanups, hiking, camping — those types of activities, not just booking a package,” says NYC coordinator Isobel Resurreccion.

Sustainable, locally made products that reduce plastic waste will also be offered: “The merchants we’ve invited have very sustainable business practices and were carefully chosen,” says Michelle Suarez, SSI’s head of marketing communications. “Nikki is very much involved even down to the merchandise we’ll be selling. We have a Green Wanderer line with a different variety of items suitable for all kinds of travelers, like tumblers and sustainable travel kit.”

Anton says that from a business perspective, awareness of sustainable initiatives has increasingly become an important part of the retail world today, “not just in terms of creating awareness from a marketing perspective but actual practice within their own companies and benefitting from that from the best-practice and awareness standpoint.”

During the fair, environmental and sustainability experts will also give talks, like underwater photographer Scott “Gutsy” Tuason, Our Awesome Planet blogger Anton Diaz, and representatives from Lagalag, Circle Hostel, and Qubo.

National Geographic will also show its Emmy-winning series Years of Living Dangerously on topics like climate change and the fuel of the future.

Green Wanderer is geared towards raising awareness about the urgent issues we face and providing us a means to help while also enjoying the rewards of travel.

“There’s a bright spot,” Palma says. “In the last two to three years the Philippine economy has been growing six, seven percent — one of the fastest — and as you grow GDP, you also grow carbon emissions. But globally, since we’ve started using renewable energy, while scientists said that the last three years were the warmest ever, now they’re saying 2017 might be the second warmest. So there’s a glimmer of hope.”

And the most hopeful news? Each of us can help bring that number even lower, just by making the right tourism choices.

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The Green Wanderer Travel Fair will be held from Aug. 11 to 13 at Central Square, Bonifacio High Street Central, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. For more information, visit www.wwf.org.ph, or follow @ssilifeph on Instagram.