Promote sustainable tourism
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In this webpage, we'll deal with sustainable tourism and APIs ...
What is sustainable tourism ?
"Sustainable tourism is a concept that covers the complete tourism experience, including concern for economic, social and environmental issues as well as attention to improving tourists' experiences and addressing the needs of host communities."
The United Nations World Tourism Organization emphasized these practices by promoting tourism as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.
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Application programming interface
"An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software."
We can compare an API to a waiter that transmits your order (the information that interests you) to the kitchen (the application that can provide it to you) and bring it back to you.
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Let me guide you through several web projects that inspired me ...
Green Travel
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Here is an application developed by a British company Green Travel Ltd a year ago. The application is accessible to all travelers. It benefits alternative, more eco-friendly modes of transport, but above all, the planet ! It responds to the growing concern of travelers for their carbon footprint. If you felt guilty about taking a plane, the application will finish convincing you to try new modes of transport.
Check their website !Green Travel is precisely the type of application you migth expect when dealing with sustainable tourism. It tracks your CO2 emissions on any type of transport. It allows you to compare buses, planes, motorbikes and see which option is less harmful for the environment. It will help you make a travel decision more friendly for the climate by finding out exactly how much every journey contributes to your carbon footprint 🚲
Fair Trip
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Fair Trip is the name of an application and a company founded by three french entrepreneurs three years ago. It aims at helping travelers find local and authentic places that would allow them to live special and unforgettable travel experiences. It definitely benefits globetrotters who are reciprocally encouraged to have a positive impact on the visited place by directly benefiting the local community.
Check their website !Fair Trip shows you the places in a certain area which will have a positive economic and social impact such as places to shop, eat and drink. It allows you to discover off the beaten path accommodations, restaurants, activities, NGOs and more, selected for being authentic and having a positive impact. FairTrip’s objective is to make people more mindful of their habits abroad 🌎
Pack for a purpose
There is need everywhere in the world but it's sometimes difficult to identify specific needs in places far from home. Pack for a Purpose is an all-volunteer non-profit, informational website, based in Raleigh (USA). The website allows you to make an impact on the area you are travelling to, by suggesting what items to pack and take with you - that are not available or they cannot afford in the local community.
Check their website !You can participate as a traveller, travel agency, tour company or an advocate. This site gives small and simple ideas which will have large and positive effects. The supply lists for destinations on their website are provided directly by the local community-based projects that receive and use the supplies, enabling travelers to make informed decisions and to take items that meet the needs of those who will be using them. 🎁
Closca Water
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Closca Design is a Spanish company that manufactures innovative helmets and bottles. Their target are individuals but also companies wishing to involve their employees in the fight against plastic. For example, Google employees use Closca connected bottles. To perfect their customer experience, they came with the Closca Water application.
Check their website !Plastic waste is detrimental to the environment especially if you are travelling in a country that lacks recycling services. The Closca water app has a solution to cut down on the amount of plastic water bottles we use. Their map shows you the closest water fountains and refill points to your location, so that you do not have to buy a new water bottle when you travel. This app boasts the largest amount of water refilling stations in the world 🚰
Let's carry on with our exploration of the Closca Water app ...
Closca Water App in brief
Closca is first and foremost a manufacturer of particularly convinient and environmentally friendly helmets and water bottles. Their watchword is the fight against single-use plastic. By working with Google, they have developed connected gourds that indicate the nearest water refill spots. This gave birth to the Closca Water application which seems to provide an element of answer to the following question.
How to unite a community of travelers around the fight against the consumption of single-use plastic?
I selected this project for the originality of the way it contributes to sustainable tourism. Limiting our use of plastic sounds more tangible than measuring our carbon impact. I like the fact that it manages to reconcile commercial objectives and a real commitment to the planet. It is also the application that I would be most inclined to use myself.
Who and how to use the app
The application is intended for travelers but also for small tourist businesses that can register as a filling point and attract customers to their physical space.
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The application offers several key features:
- Find a nearby water source
- Register a new water source
- Participate in challenges with a community
- Measure our impact with real-time metrics
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Fred is a travel lover and an avid user of the Closca app. He is 37 years old, he is a mechanic and lives in Germany. He is single and loves to take his daughter to the four corners of the globe. With his modest means, he seeks to protect the planet while saving money. With Closca, he enjoys the community aspect and regularly shares the badges he obtains. According to the app, the plastic savings he made would have saved 8 turtles. Check out his storyboard ⤵️
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