Tourism’s greatest ally
As the planet’s largest carbon sink, the ocean is our greatest potential ally in combating climate change. The ocean absorbs almost a quarter of human-induced carbon dioxide and 90% of excess heat. So as Gloria Fluxà puts it, “you can’t talk about climate without talking about the ocean”.
The ocean is also a business priority for Travel & Tourism with coastal and marine tourism comprising some 50% of all global tourism. It seems obvious, but “the beach and the ocean is of primary importance to our guests”, as Fluxà says. She also explained that for Iberostar, “our number one corporate risk is climate”.
Wisdom in the waves
When it comes to ocean action, Fluxà advocates for an approach rooted in listening to the ocean. It’s a far cry from the attempts to control and dominate nature that prevailed in the twentieth century. “Nature is wise,” she says, “and the ocean is very wise. You need to listen to it, and find the symbiosis that can inform risk mitigation and adaptation”.
This symbiosis is simple and intuitive: addressing the ocean’s problems will help us address our own challenges in Travel & Tourism. It’s in this spirit that Iberostar’s Wave of Change movement has had so much success – by directly tackling the ocean’s greatest challenges.
To meet the problem of pollution, Iberostar Hotels & Resorts has become free of single-use plastic in customer facing areas and is moving towards becoming free from waste to landfill as well. And in response to overfishing, the organisation has sought out partnerships with sustainable fisheries. “By the end of 2024, 91% of the seafood we serve is from responsible sources,” Fluxà affirms.
This connection with the ocean also extends to harnessing the nature-based climate solutions that the ocean offers – “what the ocean already gives us”. Reefs, dunes, and mangroves are all cost-effective defences against climate change – these natural features sequester carbon, protect coastal communities against inclement weather, and support biodiversity.
Anchored in science, strengthened by partnership
The listening that informs Iberostar Wave of Change's approach is derived from a rigorous scientific grounding. “For ocean symbiosis, data is vital,” she says. Science shows us the way, data allows us to track and ensure we’re on the right path.
And in addition to supporting accountability, data also offers us greater collaborative possibilities when it comes to ocean action – data supports us to communicate our findings with others. In the coming years, Fluxà would like to see the adoption of more standardised KPIs across the sector to ensure more effective, collaborative alignment.
She speaks to the critical importance of partnership and collaboration here. Referring to Iberostar’s collaborative efforts with institutions and academia, Fluxà put it simply: “the science needs to come out of academia”.
Although she’s a leader in the space, listed recently on the TIME 100 for climate and indeed WTTC’s own sustainability chair, Gloria Fluxà believes strongly in collective futures. “We have to look at this from a systemic change perspective rather than just individually”. This collective element is a defining feature of the measures she hopes to see adopted throughout the sector.
An ambition for the future
In addition to more joint agreements, standardised KPIs and pooling finance for more procurement power, Fluxà highlights the importance of openness. “It’s about being an open book – sharing your best practices and your errors so that others can jump the curve”.
Ocean action is a critical challenge for Travel & Tourism, but Iberostar’s Wave of Change highlights routes to tangible, effective, science-backed solutions. “We’re not complacent,” Fluxà concludes, “we’re optimistic. When we talk about the ocean, we’re always optimistic”.
