Tourism Nightmare - Australia Will Face Brunt Of Warming, May Bear Blame For Not Fighting It - Age

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Tourist operators can't ignore climate change, says Nick Whitby, the general manager of the Grollo Group. Grollo has a substantial investment in Victoria's Mount Buller ski resort and Whitby comes from a family of skiers. "My children ski with their grandfather," Whitby told a tourism and climate change conference held in Sydney this month. "And I want to be able to ski with my grandchildren."

But it's not just the threat to Australia's natural assets that has the tourism industry worried. The hot talk at the conference was about a growing consumer perception that the tourism industry was responsible for killing the goose that laid the golden egg. Like every other sector of the economy, tourism generates greenhouse gases. Climate change remains a key issue for the federal election later this year, with the major parties trying to outbid each other with emissions trading policies and green technology handouts for households.

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In March, Virgin Blue announced a voluntary scheme for customers who want to offset the greenhouse pollution from their flights. However, the scheme received short shrift from environmentalists, who say its benefits will soon be outweighed by increased passenger travel. They also say Virgin's offsets are so cheap - a one-way trip from Brisbane to Sydney can be offset for as little as 90 cents - they won't deter anyone from flying.

There is also concern that travellers are being misled about how much pollution their flights actually generate. Along with some other companies, Virgin Blue's offset scheme is accredited by the Federal Government's Greenhouse Friendly program. Its aviation calculations attribute at least 40 per cent less carbon to flying than is calculated by a widely used, more stringent International Panel on Climate Change formula. That could mean Virgin Blue is underestimating its own aviation pollution, allowing it to sell offset products at a lower price. Speaking generally about Virgin Blue's green campaign, Godfrey said he didn't care "if it is greenwash or not". "We need the bandwagon full to start people thinking about ," he told the conference.

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http://www.theage.com.au/news/travel/ticket-for-a-holiday-nightmare/2007/07/22/1185043000346.html