Tourism plays a significant role in seeking and finding new strategies and solutions to reduce food waste globally. This is due to tourism’s influence on the use of food resources in many of its activities, especially in hospitality and catering. In Spain, for example, hotels and restaurants alone are responsible for 14% of the food that is thrown away each year.
Are international organizations doing anything about it? Yes, they are taking steps to create rules and strategies to help solve this problem. This increases the chances of making tourism more sustainable in terms of the food it uses!
Food waste – How serious is the issue in tourism?
How far does food waste go? Let’s see what the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, commonly known as FAO, tells us.
This organization states that approximately one-third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted each year. This means that 28% of the land dedicated to global agricultural production is used to generate food that will ultimately not be consumed.
Tourism has grown significantly lately, as people travel more and more. And not only international tourism but also within different regions of the same country. While this growth is positive for the economies of certain destinations and organizations, it has significantly increased carbon emissions from air travel, thus exacerbating climate change.
What is happening specifically in Spain?
In Spain, for example, 14% of annual food surpluses originate in the hospitality sector, as mentioned earlier. The main factors exacerbating food waste in the tourism industry are the lack of process optimization, irresponsible consumption by visitors, and inadequate food preservation.
What measures can minimize food waste?
In response to this global concern, organizations like UNWTO (formerly known as the World Tourism Organization) have taken concrete steps. In 2022, UNWTO presented a global roadmap aimed at reducing food waste in the tourism industry. This strategy is part of their proposals to promote a more sustainable economy in tourism.
How does the Roadmap work in sustainable food management?
The Roadmap aims to help tourism contribute to achieving target 12.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Simply put, it seeks to halve global food waste by 2030.
This roadmap focuses on consumers and retail. It also aims to reduce food losses at all stages of production, processing, and distribution. Additionally, it encourages tourism businesses to undertake four key actions:
- Set goals.
- Measure food waste.
- Take concrete actions to minimize waste.
- Report on progress achieved.
At the same time, the Spanish Government has recently approved a law on food waste prevention. This regulation sets measures to avoid wasting food at different stages of food production and consumption, from procurement to delivery to the end consumer. This law will apply to all businesses and catering activities, which will also affect the tourism sector.
Under this law, what must businesses do? They will need to conduct a self-assessment and then implement optimal measures that prioritize consumption and reduce food surpluses.
Opportunities and benefits – Food management in tourism
The tourism industry can gain significant benefits by making changes in its food management. Such benefits include reducing costs, improving brand image, and contributing to a greener economy. To achieve this, they can implement some of the following strategies:
- Optimizing processes in the supply chain.
- Implementing more efficient food preservation
- Promoting responsible consumption among customers.
- Exploring alternatives to give a second life to food surpluses, such as donating to food banks or converting to compost.
Food waste is a pressing challenge that our society currently faces. If not countered now, the situation could clearly worsen in the coming years.
As you can see, tourism and its economic ecosystem are crucial in finding efficient solutions that can contribute to sustainable food management. A good starting point will be to adopt a proactive and strategic approach to address this issue.
