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BBC Travel Show - Future of Sustainable Cruising?

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Eco Friendly Cruise in The Norwegian Fjords - Travel greener

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Fox, A. (2022, June 28). Cruise Ships’ Environmental Impact •. Friends of the Earth. https://foe.org/blog/cruise-ships-environmental-impact/

Green Cruising. (n.d.). https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/articles.cfm?ID=528&stay=1&posfrom=3

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[ASSIGNMENT #3] What's your stand on the Cruise Industry?

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[ASSIGNMENT #3] What's your stand on the Cruise Industry?

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As a new generation of tourism scholars, “Tourism Sustainability” is something that I and my peers in this field hardly advocate for, probably because tourism sustainability was given more weight and importance, and was more over-emphasized to us more than ever. While as a part of Gen Z, obviously, being proactive in climate action is in our age group’s best interests. However, it cannot be denied that this climate issue has also been a big emotional burden and a source of anxiety for all of us — successors of this planet. Moreso, to further fuel this madness, we’re less than a decade away from climate catastrophe if sustainability is not prioritized! With that being said, being “eco-conscious” in all the activities we engage in and all products we consume shouldn’t be just a choice for some, but a strict requirement that we all must abide by.

Now, it is no secret that the tourism industry has a very large impact on the environment. To be frank, tourism does more harm than good to our environment. The cruise ship industry is one of the biggest contributors to this worldwide environmental damage that we are battling every day.

Cruise ships are both harmful to the air and sea. These ships dump toxic waste into our waters, emit large amounts of carbon dioxide into our air, and even kill marine wildlife. Cruise ships’ environmental impact is never-ending, and they continue to get bigger. Before, the business was just composed of 3000-ton small ships. But today, they have evolved into giant corporations building billion-dollar cruise ships which could sail almost 9,000 people and provide both luxury and leisure to them at sea while they travel the world. One example of an environment-killer cruise giant is Carnival Cruises. Dubbed as the biggest cruise company in the world, the company boasts 10 cruise lines which are all violating a lot of environmental laws on the sea.
Some of the violations that they have done are: (1) Dumping food mixed with plastic waste in Bahamian waters; (2) Falsifying records of environmental compliance plans; (3) Illegally releasing over 500,000 gallons of sewage and 11,000 gallons of food waste globally; (4) Illegally discharging oily waste off the coast of England; and (5) Illegally dumping thousands of gallons of wastewater into Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska.
But all these are just the tip of the iceberg. After being thoroughly investigated by the court, the inspectors found 800 more violations. With this, the judge has ruled Carnival to pay an additional 25 million USD, from its initial fine of 40 million USD for illegal waste disposal.

I am pretty much sure that Carnival isn’t the only one who is violating the environmental laws at sea. Most of these ships are still burning heavy fuel and dumping waste into the waters.
However, there are also progressive Cruise giants that are already transitioning into a greener operation like MSC Cruises which is one of the firsts in the industry that has used shore power. Not only that, but they also have other green initiatives like installing a more advanced sewage system, shoreside plug-in capability, and scrubbers which reduce these ships’ CO2 emissions.
Disney on the other hand also helps in minimizing these harmful air pollutants by utilizing fuel that has 0.1% sulfur content.

So if you’re gonna ask me if I am all for promoting the Cruise Ship industry, as a Gen Z –– OFCOURSE, NOT!

However, as a tourism major who understands that tourism is a big economic player, I still have faith in the cruise industry. I believe that, for decades, this business has been one of the most effective tools that entice people to engage in tourism. At the same time, it has also opened up a plethora of opportunities for tourism workers all over the world. Thus, we shall not put an end to it.

All that needs to be done is to push for Green Cruising so that traveling through the sea would be less destructive for the air, the sea, marine life, and the communities around it. Permanently switching to Green Cruising would also entice more tourists, especially the eco-conscious market, as it is now guilt-free.

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18 Major River Basins & 3 Principal River Basins in the Philippines. (n.d.). Google My Maps. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1tWPz0l4Cu9021ny2h-5wFtp2cs8

Kilgore, G. (2022, September 21). Air Freight vs Sea Freight Carbon Footprint (The Real Numbers in 2022). 8 Billion Trees: Carbon Offset Projects & Ecological Footprint Calculators. https://8billiontrees.com/carbon-offsets-credits/carbon-ecological-footprint-calculators/air-freight-vs-sea-freight-carbon-footprint/

Motomura, H. (2020, August 2). Why Is Traffic in Cebu City So Heavy?: with Tips to Avoid It - Cebu Visayan Travel. Cebu Visayan Travel - the Greatest Adventure Lies Ahead of You. https://cebuvisayantravel.com/why-is-traffic-in-cebu-city-so-heavy-and-how-to-avoid-it/

Yahoo is part of the Yahoo family of brands. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://ph.news.yahoo.com/manila-eighth-most-traffic-congested-city-in-the-world-011555951.html

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18 Major River Basins & 3 Principal River Basins in the Philippines - Google My Maps

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The Philippines is an archipelagic country with 7,107 islands. It is endowed with substantial fresh water resources the 421 principal rivers, 79 natural lakes, groundwater aquifers with an aggregate area of about 50,000 square kilometers, and reservoirs that are sustainability supplied from rainf…

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[ASSIGNMENT #2] LONG OVERDUE: The Philippines need a Proper Ferry System

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[ASSIGNMENT #2] LONG OVERDUE: The Philippines need a Proper Ferry System

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In a recent study conducted in the United Kingdom, Manila was ranked as the 8th most traffic-congested city in the globe. With that, it’s not wrong to assume that Filipino commuters are enduring a more hectic and stressful commute daily, relative to the rest of the world. But the plight of the Manileños is not unfamiliar to the commuters from the other Philippine provinces. As a matter of fact, Cebu City is the Visayan province that is most notorious for heavy traffic. Like Manila, Cebu’s poor road network, narrow roads, and fast-increasing population are the main culprits that kill their land transportation.
It is no secret that an efficient railway system, that links almost all cities, is the key to reducing traffic on land. Not only that it makes travel more accessible, but it also improves the connectivity within a country or even a continent. Japan and Europe’s train systems are living proof of this!

But in an archipelagic country like the Philippines, it seems like an efficient train system isn’t the only option we have in relieving the land traffic.
With almost 400 principal river basins and 18 major river basins, having a river ferry system that connects the islands of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao will be the most suitable sea transportation for our country as we combat our worsening transport crisis. Considering our geography, the proposed PH River Ferry System in this article can start from Apayao-Abulog River Basin at the very tip of Luzon, down to the Buayan-Malungon River Basin in Region XI. In between these two, the ferry can even pass through 17 more river ports like Marikina River Basin, Pasig-Laguna de Bay River Basin, Bicol River Basin, Central Cebu, Mindanao River Basin, Davao River Basin, etc.

This river ferry system will not help in reducing the volume of provincial buses on our roads. Also, if made possible, this will induce more Filipinos to engage in domestic tourism––cheaper ferry tickets than airplane tickets. Most importantly, with all the extreme weather events and pollution today, it should be in the new generation’s best interest to be proactive in climate action. Since ships emit lower levels of greenhouse gasses than airplanes, it only makes more sense why the Philippines government shall reflect and consider the necessity of having a trusty river ferry system here in our country.