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Resources for Sustainable Outbound Tourism launched

article_published_on_label: January 25, 2024

50 years of knowledge collected and made available

NRIT and the project group 'Are we going too far 2.0' are have launched the (Dutch) website Bronnen voor Duurzaam uitgaand Tourisme (Resources for Sustainable Outbound Tourism') More than 300 sources are made available around 31 determining themes that are still relevant for making outbound tourism more sustainable.

The website is freely accessible to anyone who wants to delve deeper into the development of sustainable outbound tourism. The interactive website is a cross between a canon and a wiki. Users can delve deeper into sustainable outbound tourism via the 31 themes, but can also select sources themselves via more than 100 keywords. Each source is briefly described and can be accessed immediately.

In 2020, the 'Are we going too far 2.0' project group took the initiative to record and make available 50 years of experience and knowledge in the field of sustainable outbound tourism for future generations. The project group has developed the content for which NRIT has created an online environment.

Sources were in danger of being lost

According to René van der Duim of the project group, a lot has happened in recent decades regarding sustainable outbound tourism: “We wanted to unlock the knowledge that has been developed over the past 50 years. Many sources were in danger of being lost, especially sources that were not digitally available. Digitizing and describing these sources has created a relevant knowledge base for anyone who wants to broaden and deepen their knowledge of sustainable outbound tourism.”

The initiators have consciously focused on sustainable outbound tourism with a focus on developments in the Netherlands. René: “95% of these are sources that were published in the Netherlands and played a major role for the Netherlands.” Theo Noten of the project group adds: “It is important that all knowledge is now together in one place and is continuously updated. The presentation in those 31 windows gives you a very good overview of what is going on. In almost one glance you can see what might be interesting for you and which you can then delve into.” Resources of Sustainable Outbound Tourism is emphatically not just about the environment and climate change. Social aspects such as fair trade, human rights, child protection, animal welfare and tourism and development cooperation also receive ample attention.

Quick insight into important documents

NRIT and the project group focus on researchers and education, but certainly also on professionals who are working on sustainability issues within their organization. Theo: “So they can see what has already been done and why, also how things are linked together and what they have to do with each other.” NRIT and the project group hope that companies will translate the knowledge into actions and instruments for making their own organization more sustainable. René adds: “We have included several themes that concern the daily functioning of companies. There you can quickly gain insight into the developments of recent years and which interesting documents are available.”

More relevant than ever

With new far-reaching European obligations regarding the impact of companies on people and the environment (CSRD), the 'Resources for Sustainable Outbound Tourism' are more relevant than ever. Theo: “From this year onwards, large companies will be required to report on their sustainable efforts and this will have consequences for the entire chain and the tourism sector. Everyone has to deal with this and with the knowledge we have gathered, you can take a big lead.”