TripAdvisor is an on-line travel “community,” an aggregation of tourists that share opinions and experiences about when and where they travel. Each year TripAdvisor publishes the results of its annual travel trends survey of more than 2,500 travelers from around the world. Among the top trends are issues that should be of concern (and interest) to the Galveston tourism industry.
This year’s survey show that travelers are growing greener. According to the survey “twenty-six percent of respondents said they will be more environmentally conscious in their travel decisions in the coming year. The green trend may be evident in their choice of transportation — 22 percent said they’ll go biking while on vacation this year, compared to 13 percent, last year. Forty-seven percent of travelers plan to go hiking this year, up from 43 percent, last year.”
TripAdvisor™ TravelCast is a barometer of what’s hot in travel destinations. TripAdvisor engineers have developed a proprietary algorithm that looks at several criteria including changes in search activity and postings throughout the world’s largest travel community. The TravelCast then predicts the rising stars in travel.
Consider the follow rising starts in domestic travel, according to TripAdvisor:
1. Sunny Isles Beach, Florida
2. Kitty Hawk (Outer Banks), North Carolina
3. Seward, Alaska
4. Kailua, Hawaii
5. Blue Ridge, Georgia
6. Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania
7. San Marcos, Texas
8. Paso Robles, California
9. Rockport, Texas
10. Copper Mountain, Colorado
According to TripAdvisor, “the major trends we’re observing are that travelers value cleanliness above all else and are becoming more environmentally conscious,” said Michele Perry, director of communications for TripAdvisor. “
As you can see above, Texas has two rising stars – San Marcos and Rockport. Rockport is a comparable coastal community that apparently has tapped into the green travel market more effectively than Galveston.
Let’s be honest. Ike has done us no favors when it comes to being clean. We will be hauling trash off of this island for the foreseeable future, and there is little that we can do to accelerate that process. But what about Galveston’s commitment to being a green community, a green destination? Surrounded by such natural riches, surely Galveston has the potential for being an iconic green coastal community?
Each morning I exercise by walking the seawall between 25th and Broadway (6th, to be technically correct). We have no bathrooms along the seawall, so the locals choose the beach for their urinal. Each evening there is a line of customers between the beer joints on the seawall and our beach, the urinal. Galveston green?
We allow the non-point pollution from Seawall Boulevard to wash across the pavement and into the Gulf. Rather than view the seawall as our most precious asset, we would rather have Thunder Road. Galveston green?
We still have entire developments on the west end of the island still on septic systems (you can imagine how they fared in Ike). Even while our bay is in the earliest stages of recovery from the worst natural disaster in Texas history (as measured by damage), we are still considering development on the west end (Marquette, Anchor Bay) that would add insult to injury. Galveston green?
How can a community surrounded by such natural beauty be so oblivious to the color green? I do not believe for a moment that our citizenry is color blind. Given the most recent surveys, Galvestonians are keenly aware of the value of our environment. What is lacking is the community leadership that is willing to take advantage of these remarkable resources that we inherited.
Galveston is unraveling. There are easy and early steps that can be taken to begin to reconstitute Galveston as a sustainable community. Without a blinding, overarching vision of where we are headed, though, and the leadership to get us there, Galveston will continue to decompose. The old adage is lead, follow, or get out of the way. So who exactly is in the lead?
I personally believe that Galveston can be green and still consider gambling.
I personally believe that Galveston can be green and still have a prosperous port.
I personally believe that Galveston can be green and still have a dynamic historic downtown.
I personally believe that Galveston can be green and still have strategically located resort development.
I personally believe that Galveston can be green and have a commuter rail that connects our work force to the economic engine that is Houston.
I personally believe that Galveston can be green and be fueled by alternative energy sources, including offshore wind.
I personally believe that we can be green and still have a world-class nature park and interpretive center at the East End Lagoons.
I personally believe that we can be green and still develop an infrastructure that shows the world how to live in harmony with a coastal environment.
I personally believe that we can be green and still have a burgeoning industry in restorative economics, hopefully developed in partnership with Texas A&M.
Most importantly, I believe that we can have a sustainable tourism industry that can carry our economy forward into the 21st Century.
But I believe that a truly sustainable Galveston is not possible without bold, dedicated leadership that is willing to envision a Galveston of the future, not one mired in the past. Until that leadership appears, we will continue to unravel, Strand by Strand, UTMB by UTMB, Shriners by Shriners.
Ted Eubanks
Yes, well written. Ted, who do you think might provide that leadership? Which members of the current city council (if any) do you think truly “get” sustainability and it’s potential promise for Galveston? If Elizabeth Beeton is the only one, is there a way we can work toward educating (or electing) other members who WILL “get” it?
I tend to think education is the most promising solution to the current lack of sustainability leadership. What do you think is the most promising solution?