How to develop good sustainable tourist mobility projects?

The subject is important since promoting sustainable means of transport is one of the pillars of the action plan for responsible and sustainable tourism of the Quebec Ministry of Tourism. In addition, travel is an important part of the customer journey. For tourists, it is not only a question of going from one place to another, it is also a way of discovering the territory and having an experience there. However, transportation habits are entrenched and not easy to change. In this context, how can good sustainable mobility projects be developed? Here is a summary of the answers proposed in a dedicated issue of the Espaces magazine.

The challenges of sustainable development in a nutshell

The tourism industry is increasingly aware of the need to decarbonize travel. On a global scale, 49% of greenhouse gas emissions from tourism are linked to transport, and these are increasing according to Sustainabletravel.org. However, we often forget that motor transport has other important environmental and social impacts, including:

- the destruction of natural environments to make way for infrastructure (roads, parking lots) and the visual pollution that this causes (disfigured landscapes);
- impacts on health: air pollution, noise pollution, heat islands;
- car congestion and the impact on the quality of life of residents;
- safety issues for other users: pedestrians and cyclists
- inequalities in access for disadvantaged customers or customers who do not have a car;
- etc.

‍That is why electric cars are only part of the solution when thinking about the mobility of the future. The private car has one seat, but does not have to take up all the space.

How to develop good sustainable mobility projects?

The following content presents the highlights of issue 356 of Espaces magazine: Organize tourist mobilities in the destination. This publication focused on visitor mobility, and does not address worker mobility, which is just as important but has different challenges.

1- Understand the role of mobility in the customer experience

Transportation is an important part of the customer journey, as every journey starts and ends with a trip from home to destination. Mobility also concerns movements within it. Here are some of the points covered in the Espaces magazine:

- the available means of transport weigh on the choice of destination and the user experience impacts the level of satisfaction during and after the visit.

- for the tourist, travel is not only a way to go from one place to another, it is also a way to discover a territory and to live an experience.

- the nuisances What causes the automobile affect the quality of the destination and its attractiveness (as well as the quality of life of residents). These nuisances are less and less accepted as inevitable by the territories.

- the trend in Europe is to Move parking lots away natural sites such as beaches in order to renaturalize them, while in the past, their proximity was the best selling point. It makes them beautiful and authentic.

2- Understand mobility needs and know your territory

Understanding the needs of different potential customers is a condition for the success of any project to develop transport offers. It should be noted that the travel needs of visitors are not the same as those of residents (places served, times and frequencies of visits, etc.). Here are some of the things covered in the Espaces magazine:

- Any project must Start with the needs BEFORE talking about the solutions. 

- The choices of transport, which arises from needs, corresponds to contexts and customer profiles (depending on group composition, age, degree of autonomy, travel skills). For example, a traveller may use the subway during the day, but prefer to take a taxi in the evening and at night.
+ Good practice: A travel survey conducted with a representative sample of tourists and/or excursionists on the territory.

- Every project must be thought of in collaboration with a diversity of actors at the regional level to promote concerted and coherent actions. Otherwise, the piecemeal actions are likely to be random punches.

- Mobility opportunities depend on territorial planning, the level of densification (to reduce distances and travel times), how pleasant and safe it is to walk/bike, etc. In addition, to tackle car congestion, it is necessary to go back to its source, i.e. the main agglomerations where visitors come from, and propose alternative solutions.

- Understand that the tourist does not know the place. As a result, its information needs are greater than those of residents. It is therefore essential to provide them with information door to door and step by step. Digital transformation opens the way to numerous opportunities, thanks to easier access to available transport information, often in real time.

3- How to recognize a good sustainable mobility project?

After carefully considering the needs and studying your territory, it is time to think of solutions. What active and collective modes of transport will arouse the interest of target customers? Here are some of the points covered in the Espaces magazine:

- To hope for a change in mode of transport, it is necessary to offer Alternatives credible, attractive and economical (comfortable, easy to use, etc.)

- The existing mobility network can be adapted.
Public transport can be adapted to the needs of tourist clients.
La multimodality (complementarity of modes of transport) must be planned to streamline and optimize travel.
Walking, biking, and microvehicles (e.g. scooters) can be encouraged.

- Experiential modes of transport can be promoted or developed:
Modes of transport that promote multi-sensory discovery (smells, touch, etc.), allow stops and a Freer exploration : walking, cycling, scooter, etc.
Les fun modes of transport (cable cars, trams, river shuttles,) public or for the specific destination of visitors.

- The new bicycles and other electric vehicles make it possible to expand car-free possibilities and to reach a wider audience. However, they can pose conflicts of use, especially if they are used in natural environments that were formerly preserved.

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In terms of mobility, we can see that there are many opportunities to be seized as of today. For example, access to information can be facilitated by technology, micro electric vehicles make it possible to interest a wider audience in active travel, etc. Here are three examples of inspiring destinations: slovenia, theÎle de Ré (France) and the Mont-Saint-Michel (Francia). However, visitors' individual choices are highly dependent on collective decisions that are taken with regard to territorial planning, infrastructure and public services, etc. However, if there were only one sentence to remember from this text, it would be the following:

“The important thing is to arouse the desire to travel differently!”

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