I came across this article as I continued to procrastinate on my dissertation. It talks about a random survey that apparently proves that tourists are unwilling to pay a premium to travel environmentally friendly.
They interview someone called a “town evangelist” from a tourist town near Panama City (a “town” that I had never heard of) called Alys Beach *note, the webpage breaks the first cardinal rule of webpages–playing music is the default setting of the homepage*
One of the many slides of Alys Beach. Trust me, our tourists are not this young and sober simultaneously
It got me thinking about how traveling to the Panhandle can (or can’t) be “green.”
Pro- A sizeable chunk of condos, etc. in the Panhandle, especially in places like Panama City and Destin are less than a decade old. While they don’t have solar panels or wind turbines; most are designed better than their 40 year old brethren insofar as climate control is concerned.
Con- Too many of the builders of these condos have short memories. Every hurricane that comes through the Panhandle is always a surprise (except for locals, who will be sure to compare how weak the current hurricane is to Opal, or some other even farther back storm). Therefore, these buildings are not ready for hurricanes. A new condo on the St. Andrews Marina is a perfect example of this. A tropical storm two seasons ago tore away about 2/3 of the aluminum siding. At least it happened before the salt spray pitted that siding beyond recognition. It’s hard to build green when you’re re-building everytime the wind blows. Perhaps the only positive externalities of Andrew and Katrina are improving building practices in places with hurricane weather
Con- Traveling to the panhandle is not gas-friendly. Flying there is not rational (even Alys Beach’s website advertises the new location of the PC Airport, 18 months before it opens), so people have to drive. Most newer jets get over 50 mpg per passenger. Families can improve this rate by driving, but couples cannot. And, once you’re in the panhandle, you are driving everywhere. No mass transit to speak of, and the sprawling nature of most cities means you can’t do much on your vacation without a car.
I tried to think of another pro…but couldn’t. Any additional thoughts?
Tuesday, 3. February 2009
1) In response to the article that got you thinking about green travel: why does the author think that the average consumer is aware of the environmental track record of every major company in America?
2) There is sometimes a creepiness in things that have too slick a design. That Alys Beach website (along with the fact you’ve never heard of it) has undertones of Truman Show and Pleasantville.
3) It’s hard to think of green traveling in the PH. So many of the developments in the Panhandle are destroying the coastal areas, which we tend to think of as “just nice beaches.” By colonizing the areas on the coast, developers are destroying a place that harbors much of the land & ocean’s living creatures, at the same time they are destroying the barriers to hurricanes that protect us from destruction. Ironically, Florida’s marshes and swamps could be a site of great eco-tourism that demonstrates one of the earth’s rarest types of environments (something generally completely lost on us long-time Flordians). But those are being drained to keep the hazardous coastal communities supplied with water.
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