Trabajo de Fin de Grado

TITULACIÓN: Degree in Tourism

Curso Académico 2017 / 2018

TÍTULO COMPLETO DEL TRABAJO: Sustainable

tourism development: the case of Paris

AUTOR/A: Inmaculada Torrijos Pérez

TUTOR/A: Maria Teresa Alejos Juez

Madrid. Mayo 2018

INDEX

1. INTRODUCTION…………………………..……………………………...…….3

1.1 Methodology…………….………………………………………………….….7

1.1.1 Objectives………………...…………………………………………………8

1.1.2 Research methods……………………………………………………………8

1.2 Project structure………………………………...…………………….…..……..10

2. RESEARCH RESULTS………………………………………………..……..11

2.1 Sustainable Development and Sustainable Tourism………………....……..11

2.1.1 Determining and assessing sustainable tourism development: goals and indicators…..14

2.1.2 Urban sustainable development and tourism……………………………….…..16

2.2 Current Situation of Sustainable Tourism in Paris…………………………20

2.2.1 Sustainable development and sustainable tourism in Paris………………...……..25

2.2.2 COP 21,”The Paris Agreement” and the ‘Paris Climate Action Plan’………….29

2.2.3 Paris transportation……………………………………………………….32

2.2.4 Sustainable accommodation policies………………………………………….39

2.2.5 Other sustainable and ecological initiatives……………………………………43

2.3 Case study of the hotel Holiday Inn Express Paris Canal de la Villette.....48

3. CONCLUSIONS ON THE RESULTS…………………………….……52

4. REFERENCES………………………………………...……………………….53

4.1 Primary sources…………………………………………………………….....53

4.2 Web sites…………………………………...…………………………………57

5. ANNEXED……………………………………………………..…………….…58

2
1. INTRODUCTION

What’s the meaning and origin of sustainable development and how it is related to
tourism? Which are the characteristics of urban tourism, and how the factors of
‘sustainable tourism development’ associate to this type of destination? How can
sustainability be measured in tourism? What policies have been undertaken in Paris and
which ones by the hotel industry, to make the city tourism sustainable?

The negative impacts of the old development policies resulting in the over-exploitation
of our resources, ‘climatic change’, and the deterioration of the environment, as well as its
repercussions on human societies in terms of societal inequity, had become an important
concern by the late-sixties.
Founded in 1968, the Club of Rome publishes in 1972 "The Limits to Growth", a report
which alerts on the exponential economic and population growth, in a world with a limited
supply of resources.
Fifteen years later, in 1987, the United Nations World Commission on Environment and
Development, later named the Bruntland Commission, releases the report "Our Common
Future"; this visionary text laid the foundations of sustainable development, lied out our
common concerns, and proposed new challenges and endeavors towards sustainable
development, which was defined as the one which “meets the needs of the present without
compromising the needs of future generations”. (United Nations report, 1987. Our Common Future,
chapter 3. 27).

The next decisive step towards sustainability was taken in 1992 in Rio when
178 governments voted to adopt the plan of action, Agenda 21, which emerged from the
UN (United Nations) Conference on Environment and Development.
In a short time sustainability had become a global trend which was applied to practically
any field of development.
It is now globally acknowledged to be based on three pillars; social, environmental, and
economic, also referred to as the triple bottom line (TBL or 3BL), "people, planet, and
profit".
Along the last three decades, lots of institutions and experts have carried out actions and
designed tools and strategies to implement 'sustainable development' policies. But
sometimes, the implementation of these policies has not always focused uniformly on the
three pillars, and has not always achieved a good equilibrium among the three; at first, and

3
for quite long, the focus was on ‘planet’, today, most of the world top hundred city
destinations show a of lack of balance among the 3BL factors. The three factors are
interconnected, and effective strategies should be aimed to make them all sustainable.

Tourism quickly adhered to the sustainability principles; it had always been closely related
to the three of them (people, planet, profit), so, it focused on the three of them together, at
least within a theoretical framework if not in the practice (things have now become more
practically-oriented).
Soon a movement rose in the field of sustainable tourism planning and development.
And it was fast; the reaction in the field of tourism was immediate. Only four years after
the Bruntland Report (1987), the book, "Tourism Planning an Integrated and Sustainable
Development Approach", (Inskeep, 1991) was published. In 1992, the UK’s English
Tourist Board published 'The Green Light: A Guide to Sustainable Tourism'. Also in 1992
'The Conference on Environment and Development' is held in Rio, and although tourism
was not considered as an individual issue in the Agenda (Agenda 21), the tourism industry,
deeply affected by their guidelines began to take a crucial step towards sustainability, in fact
in that same year, a consortium of ten multinational hotel groups launches the
International Hotel Environment Initiative (IHEI), with an aim to encourage continuous
improvement in the environmental performance of the entire hotel industry. Also, the
most important tourism publications, the quarterly, academic, "Journal of Sustainable
Tourism" was established in 1993, being its target to publish theoretical, conceptual
and empirical research on the subject.
From that early stage on, and during the last 25 years, the relationship among sustainable
development and sustainable tourism has been thoroughly studied, and the results have
been reflected in countless documents and actions.
A good perception of the relationship of tourism with sustainable development is
summarized in a well-known statement of the European Commission: “the tourism sector’s
competitiveness is closely linked to its sustainability, as the quality of tourist destinations is strongly
influenced by their natural and cultural environment and the attitudes of the local community” (European
Commission report, 2014 ‘Sustainable Tourism’ pg. 1). It is clear that the better the level and
balance of the three factors of sustainability at a given destination, the better prospects it
has, to maintain a quality sustainable tourism. On the other hand tourism, contributing
with a 10,2% towards global GDP (2017), has an impressive potential to advance
sustainable development . “…a thoughtful tourism development and a new approach to community
regeneration, is emerging and is basic to transform communities” (Nhuta 2015 pg. 3).

4
 Another good insight to this relationship, which includes a definition of sustainable
tourism, appears in a ‘European Travel Commission’ report carried out with 32 European
‘National Travel Organizations’ (Fontolan, 2017. Pg. 10): “The majority of European NTOs
agreed that sustainable tourism does not refer to any specific tourism product. It rather concerns any form of
tourism that seeks to engage with sustainability principles in environmental, socio-cultural and economic
terms and to contribute to the sustainable development of the destination”. Tourism, as one of the
world’s largest economic sectors, has such an influence on development, that the United
Nations has designated 2017 the ‘International Year of Sustainable Tourism for
Development’, which provides an immense opportunity to show once again the enormous
economic, environmental, social, cultural, and heritage value that the sector can produce.
Nowadays the debate is centered on how tourism should manage the natural and social
resources to obtain economic benefits; on how public and private stakeholders have to
aspire to maximize the protection and the enhancement of the environment, minimize the
sociocultural impacts on the host communities and tourists, and maximize the local
economic welfare, through well planned tourism activities.
Many are the definitions written on sustainable tourism, according to the UNWTO
(World Tourism Organization), sustainable tourism can be defined as: "Tourism that takes full
account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors,
the industry, the environment and host communities", (Making Tourism More Sustainable - A Guide for
Policy Makers, UNEP and UNWTO, 2005, p.11-12) and also according to their conceptual
definition sustainable tourism should:
1) Make optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development,
maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity.
2) Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, conserve their built and living cultural
heritage and traditional values, and contribute to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance.
3) Ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders that
are fairly distributed, including stable employment and income-earning opportunities and social services to
host communities, and contributing to poverty alleviation.
At this point the UNWTO states that these guidelines and management practices are
applicable to all forms of tourism in all types of destinations, and the statement is basically
right, but they are just guidelines, universal, not too specific and each of the three factors
may be more consistent at some particular destinations; the development of sustainable
tourism around a recently discovered tourist attraction, like a new archeological site in a
developing country, has little connection with the plans to make tourism more sustainable

5
in a city like Barcelona. However, on both cases, the sustainability of tourism will be closely
related to the degree of ‘sustainable development’ achieved by the destination.

Urban tourism has its own characteristics, which make it different from other types of
destination. City tourism cannot be separated from its urban context; tourists share the city
with the residents, look for their same experiences, use city resources which have not been
exclusively created for them, and may easily become more inconspicuous than at any other
destination. In a relatively small area, cities offer more and much better attractions. How to
describe it? …cultural, shopping, business, heritage, sport, gastronomic, night-life, health…
truly all of them and more, city tourism appeals to an enormously wide market. Its growth
has been meteoric since the turn of the century.
In the case of cities, the sustainable policies in urban development go hand in hand with
the development of sustainable tourism. For this reason it is fundamental that the local
governments, the tourist industry, and the local citizens, act in coordination, and have an
active part in determining these policies, which should meet the needs and expectations of
residents and visitors, and contribute to the city prosperity and quality of life.
Urban tourism has also its own special features in regard to the three principles of
sustainability. Socio-cultural and economic factors in big cities have usually reflected stable
conditions, which have naturally evolved parallel to their urban planning policies. As a
consequence city tourism has for long been centered on environmental elements, cities like
London, Paris or Rome, which have always been somehow sustainable in regard to tourism
(as they have managed to sustain it for centuries), have been focusing their attention on the
environmental context. Now the main trend is to make cities more adequately sustainable,
that is, by considering both the physical and the human impacts as well.

How to measure and assess sustainability in tourism? In the beginning, the progress
towards sustainability in tourism was focused on environmental issues, and little research
was done to determine the degree of sustainability in the context of the economic and
social dimensions. However, in the last few years, the leading tourism institutions have
developed comprehensive sets of indicators to monitor and measure sustainability in
tourism, and now each of these sets includes the three dimensions.
Still, and although the indicators exist, socio-cultural, and economic precise data are
difficult to collect, and this is more elusive in urban tourism, as it is not easy to clarify
which benefits in these two areas arise from tourism.

6
 Quite often, public and private stakeholders, on realizing how marketable the concept of
sustainable tourism was, began to put it to use without putting it into practice, or at least
continued focusing their attention only on the environmental dimension. Now it is
considered to be the role of the political, government, and management institutions
involved, to fund and implement a continuous monitoring and assessment of real
sustainability in the tourism industry. After almost three decades dealing with sustainable
development, the emphasis, in recent years, has moved to `sustainability assessment', which
is now recognized to be a fundamental tool to turn the intention of sustainable
development into practical development.

Paris is the second city more visited in Europe and the third one in the world, with
around 30 million visitors a year (18.03 million international visitors in 2016). It is among
the first cities of Europe that started to develop and adopt measures, in order to prevent
and minimize the environmental impact linked to the massive tourism that the city receives
every year. It holds the 15th position of the 100 more sustainable cities in the world
(Arcadis. Sustainable Cities Index chart 2016). To evaluate the level of development of
sustainable tourism in Paris, we will find out which actions have been undertaken, which by
the public sector, and which by the tourism industry, and how they adjust to the principles
of tourism sustainability; we will look into these actions to see how they comply with some
of the different sets of goals and indicators provided by the tourism world organizations
working on this subject. The impact of these actions and policies will also be analyzed.
Previous to our case study special attention will be paid to the environmental practices
designed for the hotel industry. The hotel sector, with a considerable economic impact, is
not only a central part of the tourism industry; it is almost the only sector of urban tourism
whose sustainable policies fall into the category of sustainable tourism. Most of the other
sustainable practices in cities affect both tourists and residents. It is essential, a rigorous
and permanent management of all the activities which encompass the sector, construction
of infrastructures, landscaping, cooking techniques, disposal of waste, the use of water and
energy… factors which can be highly detrimental to the environment if they are not
managed in an appropriated way.
We will then conclude this project with our case study, the management of energy
resources at the hotel Holiday Inn Express, Paris, Canal de la Villette.

7
1.1 Methodology

1.1.1 Objectives
Determine the impact of the concept ‘sustainable development’ on the tourism industry,
particularly in Paris, and in the hotel industry, analyzing how it has been developed and
implemented, and which have been the results.
To accomplish this target, we will break this objective into some specific ones which will
help us to focus on the various aspects of the research.

Specific objectives:
1. Collect relevant information related to the three variables of this study, ‘sustainable
development’, ‘sustainable tourism’ and 'Paris' and the relationship among them.
2. Analyze the information collected, selecting and organizing it in detail, to determine
the significance of these relationships.
3. Explain the concept ‘sustainable development’ in tourism, and how it applies to
Paris, and analyze the subject in the 'urban tourism' context.
4. Evaluate the extent and relevance of the policies undertaken and their
repercussions on tourism and the hotel industry in Paris.
5. Prove that ‘sustainable tourism’ has made a change, especially on the hotel industry
of the city.
6. Explain a particular case study of sustainable hotel policies.

1.1.2 Research methods

The present project aims to give an insight into our two first variables, sustainable
development and sustainable tourism, and go along the processes which have established
their origin and development. We intend to determine how both are closely related, and
how this symbiotic relationship is an essential force for development; moreover, how their
enriching combination has steadily gained importance in the context of the Tourism
sciences and industry.
The project also aims to go into the initiatives which generate impacts on our dependent
variable; sustainable urban tourism in Paris. The study first presents a global view of
sustainability and tourism, and then focuses specifically on Paris.
In the last few decades sustainable tourism development has grown into a widespread
phenomenon, starting in North America and Europe, it has more recently extended into all

8
continents. This growth has generated a great deal of literature, both academic and
institutional.
To have an idea of the volume of documents written, let us have a look at the references
provided by searches in some databases (01/05/18).
Table 1. Research key words and databases (elaborated by the authoress of this study).
Source Google Google scholar Science Direct Scopus
Key word(s)
Sustainable 5.400.000 3.180.000 825.177 205.011
development
Sustainable 15.900.000 1.070.000 31.156 6.588
development
and tourism
Sustainable 2.580.000 997.000 31.156 6.588
tourism
development
Sustainable 2.000.000 195.000 3.146 10
tourism in Paris

The great majority of them do not even have any relation with our subjects; they refer to
documents in which appears at least one of our key words. Others are too old, or relate to
specific subjects, like landscape planning, land use, transport, forestry, sea water, etc., which
are not directly linked to this project. The same occurs with those referring to particular
case studies, or centred in small areas of the world.
Amazingly, the huge number of results found with those key words, provided very few
useful documents. The search was then refined with new key words added, like “tourism
impact”, “tourism environment”, “tourism economy”, “tourism goals”, “tourism
indicators”, “host communities”, “Paris tourism”, etc. Through this new, and the previous
exploration, we made a literature review which led us to a selection of about 95 titles; many
of them appear in at least three websites. After reading the abstracts and indexes, we
eliminated 47, either because they were not relevant, or because the information they
provided was scarce or already given in other documents. The 48 references left, which are
the basis of this study, include both academic articles, and institutional documents released
by the European and world leading institutions responsible for development and tourism.
These last documents are usually, either studies, or communications on the results of
congresses, conferences, meetings, or presentations. In the case of Paris the official visitors’
websites have been used.
The criteria for this last selection were the existence of an explicit concern on sustainable
practices, and also the formulation of a global vision of “what tourism should be”,

9
according to the most relevant international declarations. Important definitions provided by these
documents have been reproduced.
At the moment of approaching this project and establishing a general exposition of the
work and its phases, there are two facts that must be accounted for. The first is that the
framework of this study is exceptionally wide and the information is scattered and not very
uniform. The second is that there are qualitative and quantitative data about sustainable
urban development in Paris, but there are few figures about the impact generated on Paris
tourism.
The purpose of our research is 'fundamental' or 'basic', in the sense that it is driven by an
interest in a scientific question; the motivation is to expand knowledge, not to invent or
create something. It also has aspects of a 'causal' research, as it looks into cause-and-
effect relationships.
Although along this study we have gone through different phases, we can define our type
of research, as a combination of descriptive and analytical. Descriptive because it is fact-
finding, describes what exists; what has happened and what is happening, we have no
control over the variables, and analytical because we use information which is already
available, and analyse it to make a critical evaluation of the situation.
After collecting and selecting our research documents we processed them. First we
classified them in two groups according to the two main sections of the research results
chapter. After that, we analysed each document to extract the relevant information, which
was then transferred to 9 (Microsoft word) documents corresponding to each of the 9
subsections. Five other Microsoft documents were additionally used to organize and
develop the introduction, methodology, project structure, conclusions and references.
After ensuring the data was accurate and categorized in a suitable way, they were
interpreted, summarized, and put together into a meaningful text which forms the body of
this project.

1.2 Project structure

In six main paragraphs the ‘introduction’ explains and analyzes the characteristics of the
major components of the project: sustainable development, sustainable tourism, urban
tourism, sustainability assessment, Paris, and the hotel industry.
Within the two subsections of ‘methodology’ we establish the general and specific
objectives, and the methods under which the research has been conducted.
The research results are divided into three sections.

10
 First, and under the title of the section (2.1), we introduce the term ‘sustainable’ and the
evolution of the concept. We continue with an elucidation on some misinterpretations of
the term ‘sustainable tourism’, to follow with a description of its real features, the evolution
of its implementation, and its current trends.
In the first subsection (2.1.1) we review the most important world institutions initiatives
to determine sustainability in tourism; to make clear its goals. Then we review two
important sets of indicators for assessing and monitoring sustainability in tourism, one by
UNWTO, the other by the European Commission.
In the second subsection (2.1.2), and after a brief introduction exposing the
concentration of population in cities, we revise the particular aspects of urban tourism, and
then its evolution in relation to the three 3BL principles. After that, we analyze the
significance of urban tourism for cities development and urban change, to follow with a
revision of different sets indicators for cities´ sustainability. To conclude, we call the
attention on some negative impacts of urban tourism.
The second section (2.2) is entirely centered on the current sustainability of Paris and its
tourism, and is divided into four subsections. Again, under the title of the section, we first
determine the demarcation of the different Paris areas, their expansion and evolution to the
present day, and also give an insight into the “sustainable” development plans for the most
recent administrative demarcation, the 'Métropole du Grand Paris' (2016), this is followed
by an overview of how Paris ranks in terms of sustainability in comparison with other
European and world cities (according to different international ‘sustainability city indexes).
The first subsection (2.2.1) provides an insight to sustainable tourism in Paris, and how this
is viewed by different Paris tourism organizations; then introduces our three following
subsections: COP 21 and Paris climate change plans, Paris transportation, and sustainable
accommodation policies. We finish this section by describing other sustainable tourism
initiatives in the city (2.2.5).
The third and last section of the chapter (2.3) refers to our case study; the achievements
in terms of labelling and certifications obtained by the hotel, and the sustainable practices
the hotel has undertaken to be able to get those awards.
Chapter 3, under the heading ‘conclusions on the results’, summarizes and reflects our
critical vision of the state of the question, and a possible future investigation issue which
has been a recurrent idea all along this study.

11
2. RESEARCH RESULTS

2.1 Sustainable Development and Sustainable Tourism

The term 'sustainable' in the current sense was first used in the 'Limits to Growth', when
their authors referring to a 'state of global equilibrium' wrote: “We are searching for a model
output that represents a world system that is: 1. sustainable without sudden and uncontrolled collapse; and
2. capable of satisfying the basic material requirements of all of its people”. (Donella H. Meadows,
Dennis L. Meadows, Jorgen Randers, William W. Behrens III. The Limits to Growth. Club of
Rome, 1972 pg.157)
However the idea of sustainability is not so modern. Aristotle, in 400 BC referred to a
similar notion when discussing household economics; 'a household had to be self-
sustaining at least to a certain extent'. In agriculture the concept was known as husbandry
or stewardship. According to the 'United National Conference on Sustainable
Development' the word derives from a German term applied to forestry in the 12th to 16th
century; ' nachhaltiger Ertrag', 'sustained yield', in relation to the balance between wood
consumption and trees growth.
The concept reappeared in the 1960s, with the global, industrial and economic growth
after the Second World War; and while the idea of ‘sustainable development’ evolved from
the increased concern for the environmental consequences of economic development,
emphasized by the Brundtland’s report, the idea of ‘sustainability in tourism’ was more
specific and already being discussed in the late 70s, in relation to the impact of mass
tourism on the physical, sociocultural and economic environments of destinations such as
the Alps and the Mediterranean coastal areas.
But it took time before the true sustainable tourism principles were put into practice, and
throughout this long process some recurrent imprecise definitions of 'sustainable tourism'
have led to confusion in the debate, what is more, this confusion got worse when the term
was linked to some specific types of tourism, like 'alternative' (as opposed to mass tourism),
'green', 'ecotourism', 'geo tourism' or 'responsible'. These commentaries implied that
sustainable tourism was a particular type of tourism addressed to a restricted market niche,
which was receptive to environmental and social impacts, and antagonistic to mass tourism.
This was a narrow interpretation and a serious misunderstanding, and it clearly contradicts
the first of the four basic principles of the concept of sustainability (Rio Declaration on
Environment and Development, 1992):
(1) The idea of holistic planning, cross-sectorial planning and strategy making
(2) The importance of preserving essential ecological processes

12
(3) The need to protect both human heritage and biodiversity
(4) The requirement that development should be carried out so that productivity does not
deplete resources for the long term and future generations
Fortunately, and after almost four decades of debate and discussion, some implications
on the subject are now more precise, well established, and accepted, and by now it should
be clear that ‘sustainable tourism’ is the one which is based on the principles of
‘sustainable development’, it is a position within tourism, not a type of tourism, and it aims
to an essential objective, to make all tourism more sustainable.
As the heading of the UNWTO conceptual definition says: “Sustainable tourism development
guidelines and management practices are applicable to all forms of tourism in all types of destinations,
including mass tourism and the various niche tourism segments. Sustainability principles refer to the
environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and a suitable balance must be
established between these three dimensions to guarantee its long-term sustainability'". (Making Tourism
More Sustainable - A Guide for Policy Makers, UNEP and UNWTO, 2005, p.11-12). Under this
holistic approach, making tourism more sustainable means taking all their impacts and
needs into account in its planning, development and operation; it should also imply to
integrate tourism into a balanced relationship with wider economic development. And all
this, must be integrated in a process of continuous improvement which can be applied to
any kind of destination and all forms of tourism.
Sustainability in tourism is a goal, and even when tourism will probably never be
completely sustainable, today it is globally accepted the necessity to support sustainable
tourism activities; and this should be agreed upon by all stakeholders if we want tourism to
contribute to the achievement of sustainable development.

Over the time, there has been an evolution in the implementation of sustainable
development and sustainable tourism practices. In the beginning, let us call it the first step,
both were more centered on the physical environment dimension, consequently the main
focus was set on issues concerning the planet sustainability; global warming, CO2
emissions, air and water pollution, water and waste management, carrying capacities, etc.
However the different organizations soon realized the necessity of adopting a more
holistic vision of sustainability which included issues related to its three dimensions
(especially the social and economic which had been somehow neglected); we will call it the
second step. The result was that important international and regional organizations started
to define the goals to be achieved, goals which took all factors into consideration, and
which could serve as guidelines, to all stakeholders, for the planning and implementation of
sustainable development policies.

13
 More recently the focus has shifted to sustainability assessment, what we call the third
step, and now the general trend is that sustainability has little meaning without some
objective ways of evaluating its progress, and without an assessment of whether its
fundamental principles are being respected.

As a consequence of this more recent trend, the different organizations have developed
sets of indicators which besides helping to clarify and specify the goals, can make easier a
continuous monitoring process which reveals the degree of success achieved by the applied
management and the measures taken.
This monitoring process is already considered under the sub heading of the UNWTO
conceptual definition of sustainable tourism, to which we will refer again now: 'Sustainable
tourism development requires the informed participation of all relevant stakeholders, as well as strong
political leadership to ensure wide participation and consensus building. Achieving sustainable tourism is a
continuous process and it requires constant monitoring of impacts, introducing the necessary preventive
and/or corrective measures whenever necessary'. This sub heading and its final sentence also focus
our attention on a fundamental requirement, the participation of politicians, stakeholders
and the tourists themselves. 'Sustainable tourism should also maintain a high level of tourist
satisfaction and ensure a meaningful experience to the tourists, raising their awareness about sustainability
issues and promoting sustainable tourism practices amongst them'. ", (Making Tourism More Sustainable
- A Guide for Policy Makers, UNEP and UNWTO, 2005, p.11-12)

2.1.1 Determining and assessing sustainable tourism development: goals and indicators

All along the nineties lots of initiatives were developed with an aim to determine the
goals and stablish standards on various aspects of the tourism industry, like quality, ethics,
or sustainability. They took different forms: certification programs, codes of ethics,
principles, agendas, international declarations, environmental programs…, they also
affected different tourism sectors: tour operators, transport, hospitality, destinations…, and
were developed at different levels: international, regional, national, or local.

Goals. Of this huge number of initiatives, and the ones that followed, we will mention
those which adopted a global vision of what tourism should be, and which took into
account the 3BL (people, planet, profit) when determining tourism sustainability, but
especially the ones which became turning points at laying a foundation which clarified and
made a real advance in the debate towards sustainable tourism planning and
implementation. (Although three of them: Agenda 21, The Millennium Development

14
Goals, and The Sustainable Development Goals, were not specifically aimed for the
tourism sector, they had a strong influence on it)
- Agenda 21. 1992. Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, (UN Conference on Environment and
Development). The Declaration, adopted by 178 Member States, is a non-binding action
plan of the United Nations focusing on sustainable development, and to be carried out at
local, national, and global levels, by governments, UN organizations and other interested
parties. The Declaration, divided into 40 chapters grouped into 4 sections, presented a set
of 27 principles which promoted concepts such as environmental sustainability, social
justice and economic balance. Although tourism was not an individual issue in the Agenda,
these principles on sustainability had strong implications on the tourism industry.
- World Charter for Sustainable Tourism. 1995. It was adopted at the first World Conference on
Sustainable Tourism in Lanzarote, Spain, on 27-28 April 1995. Participants: UNESCO, the
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), the European Commission, the United Nations Commission on Sustainable
Development and other leading international organizations. It was the birth of the term
and the concept of Sustainable Tourism. It consisted on 18 articles aiming to guide the
tourism industry into sustainable practices. Article 1: 'Tourism development shall be based
on criteria of sustainability…'
- Agenda 21 for the Travel & Tourism Industry: Towards Environmentally Sustainable Development.
1996. The World Travel and Tourism Council, the World Tourism Organization and the
Earth Council, agreed to initiate a sustainable development programme for tourism based
on the results of Agenda 21.
- Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (GCET). 1999. Adopted by the General Assembly of the
World Tourism Organization, and addressed to governments, the travel industry, and
communities. In its ten principles, it synthesized most of the previous ideas, and became a
fundamental frame of reference for sustainable tourism.
- Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). 2000. Not specifically conceived for tourism, the
eight international development goals for the year 2015, were established at the Millennium
Summit of the United Nations. The 191 United Nations member states , and more than
22 international organizations, committed to help achieve the goals.
- Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria. 2008. The United Nations Foundation, UNWTO,
UNEP and the Rainforest Alliance (at the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2008). It
consisted on a set of 37 standards which served as a common framework for sustainable
tourism implementation

15
- The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 2015. 70th Session of the UN General Assembly.
Also called the '2030 Agenda', is a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations;
each has its own targets to achieve, the total number of targets is 169. The SDGs cover a
wide range of social and economic development issues. The goals were developed to
replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which ended in 2015. UNWTO has
been working to determine and adapt the SDGs in tourism, especially Goals 8, 12 and 14,
within whose targets tourism is featured.

Indicators. These and other initiatives provided the fundamental principles of sustainable
tourism, and those principles have suggested different sets of indicators for assessing and
monitoring sustainability in tourism. A lot of work has been done in the development of
those indicators which are now considered essential tools to make better decisions in
policy-making, planning and management processes.
The WTO (became UNWTO in 2003), which has always played a leading role
in promoting sustainable tourism policies, published in 2004 'Indicators of Sustainable
Development in Tourism Destinations: A Guidebook'. It is the most comprehensive study
on this subject; grouped in 13 subsections it describes 42 major sustainability issues, its
indicators, and how to use them.
In the European Union there also have been important initiatives to develop tools and
indicators for measuring and supporting sustainable tourism. One of them is the 'European
Tourism Indicator System, ETIS toolkit for sustainable destination management'. It was
published in 2013 by the European Commission to help destinations evaluate their
sustainability performance within a common framework. As we read in its introduction:
“ETIS is a voluntary management tool. Its monitoring results are based on self-assessment, observations,
data collection and analysis by the destinations themselves” (European Commission, 2016.
'European Tourism Indicator System, ETIS toolkit for sustainable destination management
pg. 3) Its 18 criteria express the global goals to be achieved in four fields: destination
management (2 criteria), economic value (4), social and cultural impact (5), and
environmental (7). Each criterion has at least one or more indicators, which can be adapted
to specific destinations, they make a total of 43, all of them can be measured in a
scientifically valid and objective way.
These indicators will serve us as references when analyzing the various actions and
policies carried out in Paris.

16
2.1.2 Urban sustainable development and tourism

Cities have always been the economic engines of the world; they are in constant change,
with or without tourism, and their growth from the second half of the 20th century has
been remarkable. Approximately 80 % of Europe’s population lives in towns and cities
(70% in the world). Europe is the world’s most urbanized continent. Worldwide, there has
been an increasing migration of rural and small town dwellers, which has led to large
numbers of people living in cities; people who soon become used to the urban lifestyle (a
fact that will make them choose to visit other cities rather than other types of destination).

Urban tourism is not an isolated phenomenon that can be separated from its urban
context, visitors' patterns and habits blend with the regular urban practices of the residents
such as leisure, shopping, mobility, housing, and consumption. Tourists are more and more
often looking for the same or similar experiences as the residents, and to a large extent
use the same resources as the city dwellers. With instant mobile access to information,
tourists are able to seek, find and enjoy ‘local experiences’ and the dividing line between
tourists and residents is becoming less and less definable. The volume of city trips has
been steadily growing in the last ten years (in the period 2009-2013, the volume of city
trips increased by 47%, (ITB World Travel Trends Report 2013/2014) and a new
conception of city tourism is becoming increasingly visible in many cities worldwide

But what is urban tourism, and which factors make cities become different tourist
destinations?
UNWTO refers to urban tourism as “trips taken by travelers to cities or places of high population density.
The duration of these trips is usually short (one to three days) therefore it can be said that urban tourism is closely
linked to the short-breaks market” (UNWTO Tourism 2020 Vision pg. 3).
The following facts have mostly been extracted from institutional publications,
(UNWTO, European Commission) and a few from academic papers.
- There are two main forms of urban tourism: 1. Recreation tourism, with a clear focus on
cultural attractions and educational aspects. 2. Business tourism (trade shows,
conventions…). Despite these differences, both have elements in common.
- The fact that people are taking more, but shorter, holidays, and the advent of the single
market has also helped to build up urban tourism in Europe (European Commission).
- “The cities that accommodate most tourists are large multifunctional entities offering a diversity of
functions and spaces into which tourists can be effortlessly absorbed so that they become economically, socially

17
and physically invisible to an extent that is not so in many other tourism spaces, such as beaches, spas or
winter sports resorts “(Ashworth, Journal of Tourism & Hospitality 2012, pg. 1).
- The importance of built cultural heritage for urban tourism is obvious, it is often the main
tourist attraction in cities, and historic city centers are the areas that show the densest
concentration of tourists.
- “Cities have a high density of diverse cultural offerings in a relatively small area, attracting different types
of tourists” (Bock, 2015 pg. 2).
- They draw tourists to their attractions because these are often much better developed
than in other types of destinations.
- Urban expansion has firmly established cities as strategic centers of growth, innovation,
and creativity.
- “Cities appeal to a broader market, they are easy to reach and they have a lot to offer, this also brings a
new spending pattern that can go from those staying in budget hotels to the five star hotel customer.”
(UNWTO 2012, Global Report on City Tourism, pg. 8).
- They appeal to a number of different tourist markets as they offer the communications,
transport, services and facilities which meet tourist needs.
- City residents are often visited by friends and relatives who also seek to enjoy the city.
- They are easily accessible through airports and scheduled services.
- There is a large stock of accommodation.
- “The increased wealth of the middle class in the western economically developed countries, and also in the
emerging economies allow people to visit and explore other cities”. (Postma et al, 2017, pg. 95).
- The average duration of stay is shorter than in other destinations (including a higher
proportion of daily visitors).
- The average expenses per day are higher.
- They are key ‘gateways’ for both international and domestic tourists and key nodes in the
air transport system.
- “Advancements in ICT and other such technology play a role. They support marketing and promotion of
cities and facilitate online booking of travel and accommodation “ (Postma et al, 2017, pg. 95).
- “A city trip usually consists of the two elements transport and accommodation; it is relatively easy and not
as risky to book online as, for example, a multi-country trip” (Bock, 2015, pg. 2).
- The proliferation of low cost carriers has had a major impact on the popularity of city
trips, mainly due to the fact that they made flights more affordable to the masses, but also
because they have expanded and improved flight networks.

18
 Within the cities economies, tourism is an important economic fact for development; it
has a decisive impact on employment, income, and on the maintenance of urban
infrastructure and public services. At an early stage, the estimation of the economic impact
of the tourism sector was just done in terms of tourist expenditure measurements, and had
usually been taken more into account than the environmental and social impact.
More recently cities have been focusing on the physical environment dimension, on
which the most visible advancements have occurred, in part due to the fact that the policies
taken were the easiest to be measured and implemented.
On the other hand the social dimension (how to use urban tourism to improve the
quality of life of the local population) has been somehow neglected, apart from some feeble
steps taken into districts needing urban regeneration, and by providing jobs and job-
training to neighborhoods with unemployment or social problems.

It is difficult to analyze the development of ‘sustainable urban tourism’ if it is not done

in the wider context of urban planning and management; they are interlinked, they share
the goals. The real ‘sustainable tourism’ in a city depends on the own city capacity to be
sustainable, of its ability to host the big numbers of visitors and provide them with positive
experiences, and also on its ability to prevent and avoid the negative impacts of tourism.
City tourism was a sector relatively easy to develop without a high public investment, an
investment mainly dedicated to marketing actions. Tourism in big cities has historically and
naturally evolved parallel to their urban planning policies, now it is widely acknowledged
the importance of integrating tourism when developing future city plans. Tourism “is a key
factor in the urban economy and city development: it creates jobs, stimulates foreign exchange through
revenues and taxes, and promotes investment in infrastructure and the provision of public services”
(UNWTO, 2012 Global Report on City Tourism, pg. 16). Tourism has to be seen as an
integral part of urban development policies, which in turn should combine a competitive offer
able to meet visitors’ expectations, with a positive contribution to the city development and the
well-being of the city dwellers. “Tourism therefore is a very important element in all policies related to
urban development, it is not just a strategy to provide a competitive product to meet visitors’ expectations but
a way to develop the city itself and provide more and better infrastructures and bring conditions to residents”
( UNWTO,2012,Global Report on City Tourism, pg. 7).

If we intend to turn tourism into an important factor of urban change, it is imperative to

establish long term policies, planning and good governance in which all stakeholders play a
coordinated and active role.

19
 Benefits and drawbacks must be taken into account if city tourism is to meet the needs,
demands and expectations of the residents as well as those of the visitors.
To build up a sustainable urban environment it is essential to measure and assess policies,
infrastructure, socio-economic factors, environmental performance, and any other
processes that contribute to the city prosperity and quality of life. These actions will
facilitate the city planning authorities, officials, and governments in general, to identify
areas of opportunity as well as concerns, and to react by developing realistic sustainability
goals.

As in the wider field of sustainable tourism, numerous initiatives, tools, indicators and
city indexes, are being now used for the implementation and measurement of sustainability
in urban tourism:
- 'The New Urban Agenda' (Habitat III, the United Nations Conference on Housing and
Sustainable Urban Development). https://habitat3.org/the-new-urban-agenda/
- 'Integrated quality management of urban tourist destinations' (IQM, European
Commission, 2014).
Other European relevant initiatives for city benchmarking are:
- TourMIS, the most relevant worldwide initiative that benchmarks cities in tourism terms.
In 2009, TourMIS received the UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Enterprises.
- The European Cities Marketing (ECM) Benchmarking Report, which converts TourMIS
complex statistical data to easily accessible and comprehensive managerial information.

We cannot conclude this chapter without calling to mind the negative impacts of urban
tourism on the host communities in terms of hosts' value systems and quality of life.
Recently and regularly, fresh news on these impacts are hitting the media, and usually
these problems arise when urban destinations exceed their carrying capacities; the arrivals
of large numbers of tourists can easily become a nuisance for the residents, who often
collide with the interests of the private stakeholders who own the tourism business.
These massive arrivals may occur within a short period of time, it is the case of cruise
ships, which may disgorge up to four thousand visitors for a very short stay, or may be
more spread in the time.
In the first case the problems are usually more related to improper tourist behavior,
visitor pressure on carrying capacity of sites, and crowding (Dubrovnik, Venice, Naples...).
In the second case, we have to add increased prices, and transformation of residential areas

20
into tourist accommodation zones (AirBnB), with an incidence on lower housing supply
and increasing rents and real estate prices (Barcelona, Berlin…).
Local governments, the tourist industry and local citizens have to take an active part in
the decision-making processes and provide local responses to minimize these negative
impacts.

2.2 Current Situation of Sustainable Tourism in Paris

As an introduction to this section, we define the demarcations of the different Paris

areas, and their expansion and evolution until today, and an insight into the “sustainable”
development policies for the most recent administrative demarcation, the 'Métropole du
Grand Paris' (2016). After this, we give a general view of Paris in terms of sustainability
comparing it with other European and world cities.

If we are to understand to ‘which Paris area’ our data and statistics are referring to, it is
important to make clear whether they apply to: just The City of Paris, 1-The Seine
department (which no longer exits), 2-‘Greater Paris’, 3-The relatively new Métropole du
Grand Paris (not only a new demarcation, but the most recent and ambitious urban
sustainable development plan), or 4-The Paris region. Unless otherwise stated, our data
always refers to Greater Paris (2). (Annexed: figure 1.)
The City Of Paris is the capital city of France, is a commune and department, and has an
administrative area of 105 km², and an official population of 2,206,488 (2015). With the
other three bordering departments (la Petite Couronne) it formed until 2016 'Le Grand
Paris', 'Greater Paris'.
'Greater Paris' has enlarged its surface area, and has also changed its administrative
systems the last three times which has been renamed:
1. The 'Seine department': (from 1929 to 1968), was formed by the city of Paris and 80
suburban communes surrounding Paris, with an area of 480 km², it was divided into three
arrondissements: Paris, Sceaux, and,Saint-Denis.
2. Looking for more effective governance, in 1968, it was split into four smaller
departments: the City of Paris and the surrounding Petite Couronne, (Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-
Denis, and Val-de-Marne), with a total surface area of 762 km² and 6,75 million inhabitants
(2016). Most of the data in this study corresponds to this zone, which we refer to as 'Greater
Paris', an area where the travel and tourism industry accounts for 12% of its employment.

21
 3. 'Métropole du Grand Paris', (official translation: 'Grand Paris metropolitan authority'), an
idea proposed in 2007 by President Nicolas Sarkozy as "a new global plan for the Paris
metropolitan region". Long delayed and with no lack of criticism, the métropole plan came
into existence in 2016 and comprises 131 communes. It includes the previous Greater
Paris, plus seven communes in two of the outer-suburban departments, one of which
covers part of Orly airport. It also has a new administrative structure for cooperation
covering the whole area. It covers 814 km² and has a population of 7 million.
Although housing development is the crucial component associated to the plan, the
other focus is the creation of a ‘new’ public transport network (which was long negotiated
between the national government and the Ile-de-France regional government, and finally
approved in 2011), with an aim to link the region’s main economic centers, as well to
support local development with the network’s future stations as key points of the focus. It
will be carried out in ten to fifteen years, at a cost of 35 billion euros, funded by the state,
local governments and new debt.
The original plan for the Métropole revised sustainable local policies that were already in
existence, the plan had among its objectives: “The Métropole of Grand Paris is established in order
to define and implement metropolitan action to improve the quality of life of its residents, reduce inequalities
between regions within it, to develop an urban, social and economic sustainability model, tools to improve
attractiveness and competitiveness…" It also included "a general, social, economic and environmental
analysis of the metropolitan area, the strategic guidelines for the development of the metropolis as well as
priority areas for intervention." The plan was modified in December 2015, and the
implementation actions in two competences, economic development and protection of the
environment, was delayed from 2016 to 2017. This is the newest and most formidable plan,
for greater Paris sustainable urban development.
4. Coming back to Paris, finally we have to mention the 'Ile-de-France' because some data
refers to this whole area. The 'Ile-de-France', also known as the Paris Region, is one of the
18 regions of France and includes Greater Paris. It covers 12,012 km² and has its own
regional council and president. It has a population of 12,005,077 (2014).

So as to get an idea of how Paris sustainability ranks, in comparison to some European

and other world cities, we review here three city indexes which use sustainability indicators.
However, we must maintain a somehow skeptical view, as a city ranking will in a way
depend on the comparison elements, the indicators used, and the source of information
from where the indicators were obtained.

22
 1. European Green City Index (2009). It is a research project carried out by the Economist
Intelligence Unit (sponsored by Siemens), which assesses the environmental performance
of 30 leading European cities (all capitals except Zurich) from 30 European countries. It
rates 30 individual indicators per city, on a wide range of environmental areas. The Paris
data corresponds to the whole of the 'Ile-de-France'.

Table 2. The twelve leading positions. Paris tenth position.(European Green City Index (2009)
1. Copenhagen 87,31. 2. Stockholm 86,65. 3. Oslo 83,98. 4. Vienna 83,34. 5. Amsterdam 83,03
6. Zurich 82,31. 7. Helsinki 79,29. 8. Berlin 79,01. 9. Brussels 78,01. 10. Paris 73,21.
11. London 71,56. 12. Madrid 67,08.

Table 3. Paris performance on sustainability. European Green City Index (2009)

PARIS Position/30 Score/10
Overall performance 10 7'321
CO2 Emissions 6 7'81
Energy management 16 4'66
Buildings efficiency 7 8'96
Transport pollution 19 5'29
Water consumption 9 8'55
Waste and land use 12 6'72
Air Quality 13 7'14
Environmental governance 7 9'44

2. City Prosperity Initiative. Global City Report 2015. UN-Habitat created a tool, known as the
City Prosperity Index, to measure the degree of sustainability; 60 world cities were analysed
according to the following indicators:
Productivity: 1. Economic Strength (City Product per capita) 2. Employment rate
Infrastructure: 1. Housing Infrastructure 2. Social Infrastructure 3. ICT (Internet
Access) 4. Urban Mobility
Quality of life: 1. Health 2. Education 3. Safety and Security
Equity and social inclusion: 1. Economic Equity 2. Social Inclusion 3. Gender Inclusion
Environmental sustainability: 1. Air Quality 2. Waste Management 3. Energy
Governance and legislation: 1. Participation 2. Institutional Capacity

23
Table 4. The seven leading cities. City Prosperity Initiative. Global City Report 2015.

City CPI Productivity Infrastructure Quality Equity Sustainability Governance

of life
Oslo 86.76 87.39 90.69 90.95 87.46 85.39 79.24

Copenhaguen 84.79 74.72 83.13 93.49 87.15 88.64 82.84

Stockholm 81.41 75.88 88.68 90.32 89.10 85.00 63.25

Helsinki 83.47 77.21 89.61 94.43 84.75 89.16 68.51

Paris 80.67 72.71 84.88 91.59 82.44 72.62 81.44

Vienna 80.53 75.51 89.93 90.63 86.02 85.52 60.23

Melbourne 80.30 77.51 81.52 91.51 84.00 58.83 93.85

These are followed by Montreal, Toronto, Sydney, Berlin, Milan, Amsterdam-Utrecht, Brussels, Tokyo, and
Manchester. (CPI is the median value of the 6 indicators)

3. Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index 2016. Arcadis Design and Consultancy, and the Centre for
Economics and Business Research (Chamber of Commerce Amsterdam, the Netherlands).
The index rates 100 cities in all continents (28 in Europe), and shows their performance
according to the three pillars of sustainability: people (7 indicators), planet (7) and profit
(6). The city performance on all of the indicators (20), on the three groups (7, 7, 6), and on
any single one of them, is shown in percent numbers. It also gives the city position for each
of these combinations.
Paris overall performance (20 indicators) is 67,6%, and as for its position is the 15 th among
all the cities (100), and 13th among the European ones (28).

Table 5. Paris: ‘People’ performance. Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index 2016

People Performance% Position/100 Position 1st Position
Europe/28
‘Overall’ People 67,3 20 14 Seoul 76,2
Demographics 19,4 96 26 Abu Dhabi
Education 80 8 1 Boston
Income inequality 82 16 16 Copenhagen
Work-life balance 86,5 3 3 Hamburg
Crime 89,7 52 21 Canberra
Health 68 32 18 Tokyo
Affordability 45,1 68 23 Kolkata

24
Table 6. Paris: ‘Planet’ performance. Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index 2016
Planet Performance% Position/100 Position in 1st Position
Europe/28

Overall ‘planet’ 66,8 32 16 Zurich 87,9

Planet performance based on 7 indicators: Environmental risks, Energy, Green space, Air pollution,
Greenhouse gas emissions, Waste management, and Drinking water/Sanitation

Table 7. Paris: ‘Profit’ performance. Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index 2016

Profit Performance% Position/100 Position in 1st Position

Europe/28

Overall ‘profit’ 68,6 9 3 Zurich 71,1

Profit performance based on 7 indicators: Transport infrastructure, Economic development, Ease fo doing
business, Tourism, Connectivity, Employment.

We can see how sustainability in Paris ranks differently according to the three indexes: in
the first index it holds the 10th position among 30 European capitals, in the second it has
the 5th position among 60 world cities, finally in the third (Arcadis), Paris is in the 15th
position among 100 world cities, and the 13th among 28 European ones.
In regard to general findings there is to remark that: Nordic cities in Europe are at the
top. Wealth helps a lot in sustainable development; most of the top cities have a GDP per
head of over 31.000 euros. Most of the cities with high positions belong to Europe. And
most cities do not have a good balance on the three pillars of sustainability.
Findings on Paris are quite clear. The city ranks well in CO2 emissions. Not very well in
energy; the percentage of renewable energy is low. It does well in buildings; they have a
below average level of energy consumption. It performs badly in transport pollution; 40,2%
use of public transport, and only 0,2% cycle or walk to work. Too high level of water
consumption; the annual consumption per head is 109.5 m3 (water is 20% cheaper than in
U.K. and 25% than in Germany). Only 19% of waste is recycled. The air quality exceeds
the limits of European regulations. The city is not very affordable. And finally, it has a
good score on environmental governance.
A detailed review of sustainability issues, policies, and actions which directly affect the
tourism in Paris will be studied in the following chapters.

25
2.2.1 Sustainable development and sustainable tourism in Paris

Paris is one of the first tourist destinations in the world. 33.8 million Tourists visited
Paris and the surrounding Paris area (2.Greater Paris) in 2017 (an increase of 9.7% over the
previous year), it was the most visited region in the world.
Inner Paris (with 15.9 million visitors) becomes the third city in the world, after Bangkok
(20.2), and London (20). It was its best year for tourism in the last decade (all data for
2017).
The numbers in 2015 were 32.4 million, but had fallen to 30.9 in 2016 due to the
visitors´ feeling of insecurity after the terrorist attacks in January and November of 2015,
this 0.8 per cent drop in visitors has “cost the area 1.3 billion Euros, which is a 6.1 per cent fall in
takings from 2015”, (Le Figaro, 22/02/2017).

With large numbers of tourists and a long tourism tradition, Paris is among the first
cities which began to promote and implement initiatives both in sustainable urban
development and in ‘tourism’. We know the close connection of these two elements, and in
the case of Paris, the city institutions´ position on ‘tourism sustainability’ is clearly centred
on the sustainable development of the City, which will naturally result in the achievement
of a ‘sustainable tourism’. In Paris the major challenges like climate, pollution, transport,
social cohesion have been thoroughly developed via the city sustainable policies, and do
not usually appear (except some means of transport) in connection with sustainable
tourism. The scarce information which has been, and is published under the heading
‘sustainable tourism’ in Paris, is chiefly institutional information addressed to tourists.

‘Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau’. Most of their information consists of just one long
paragraph in leaflets promoting tourism, and two links to two sub-sections of their official
web site; both provide little information on the subject. However, they published in 2013
the ‘Sustainable Tourism Press file Paris on Request”, which is the largest document
written on this subject, and then in 1014 the guide “Paris Verte et Durable”, more tourism
oriented and with less information. Their web site also publishes the program ‘Pour un
hébergement durable à Paris’.

‘Visit Paris Region’, the official web site of the destination Paris Ile-de-France has just a one
page ‘mini-guide’ on sustainable tourism.

‘Initiative Tourisme Durable. Le tourisme durable en région Ile-de-France’. It was created in 2009 by
the ‘Institute for Research and Higher Education of Tourism’ (IREST) as part of the

26
European project “Further Action on Sustainable Tourism - Learning Area Innovation
Networks (FAST-LAIN)”. This is the only website entirely attached to sustainable tourism
in the Ile-de-France region, but it seems to have stopped its activity, as its most recent
news are from 2015.
At private level, and also under the name ‘sustainable tourism’, some city tourism
businesses, like ‘Paris Vision’, offer different activities for tourists.

Besides these limited references to our subject, a few others are collected in the two main
documents which define the first City’s ‘tourism development plan’; published by the
Mairie de Paris (Paris Town Hall) in 2016: “2022 Tourism Strategies Development Plan”, and its
more detailed version, “Schéma de Développement Touristique de Paris 2017-2022”. It is the first
‘tourism development strategy’ plan for Paris, the plan is the result of a diagnostic (120
interviews with Parisian tourism professionals plus two studies), and a consultation led by
tourism professionals and members of the Paris Destination Committee, which gathered a
total of 400 tourism actors. Its goal is to enable the city to return to its highest level in
terms of tourism activity. By 2022, it aims at 2% more visitors per year thanks to the
improvement of the quality of services and tourist infrastructures, but also to the
promotion of the diversity of its offer. In practice, the city's tourist plan consists of 59
action sheets which will be implemented between 2017 and 2022 by the City and partners
of the Paris Destination Committee. It is developed around four main areas:
- An active process of improvement of the quality and diversity of the tourism offer;
- Improving the welcome services for visitors to make Paris a more hospitable city;
- Developing a sustainable tourism which respects the environment and the inhabitants;
- Making Paris a successful destination.
We observe that only one of these four areas refers specifically to sustainable tourism, this
whole area includes only 10 of the 59 actions of the plan, and is divided in two sections:
- A harmonious and united tourism. Its four actions are related to the ‘social’ factor of
sustainability:
41. Supervision of the development of furnished apartments
42. Analysis of the social impact of the creation of international tourist areas on the Paris
ecosystem
43. Support for the development of the social and solidarity economy in the field of
tourism
44. Development of "participatory tourism" and meetings between Parisians and visitors
- An environment-friendly tourism. It has ix ‘environment’ actions; the first four for transport

27
 45. Organization of mobility by coach, more respectful with the environment and better
integrated into the public space
46. Development of soft tourism mobility and reorganization of Parisian tourist poles
47. Encouragement of tourist mobility by public transport
48. Development of the quality of the public transport offer
49. Assisting the hotel and restaurant sector with the sustainable development policies
50. Encouraging the ecological management of events
The other 49 actions are organized around the other three areas of improvement: the
tourism offer, the welcoming services, and the destination, and are obviously directed to
sustain tourism, and not to make a sustainable tourism. Still, tourism, being the first
industry, contributes to a city economy which can afford to implement their sustainable
strategies.
Let us review which are considered as “sustainable tourism” issues, and which of them
appear more often in these websites and documents.

Table 8. “Sustainable tourism” issues which appear on Paris webs and documents.
-Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau
Web site : mobility (cycling, walking), hotels, bio products, accessibility.
‘Press file Paris on Request’: mobility, hotels, bio products, ethical consumption, green
spaces, sport, social, crafts, arts, climate, eco-districts
‘Paris Verte et Durable: mobility, hotels, bio products, ethical consumption, gardens, sport
‘Paris 2017 Feel the Energy’: mobility, hotels, climate, accessibility, green spaces
‘Paris 2018 Feel the Energy’: mobility, hotels, accessibility, gardens
-‘Visit Paris Region’ : mobility, organic food, ethical shopping, eco-architecture
-‘Initiative Tourisme Durable’: mobility, hotels, bio products, accessibility, sport, gardens
-‘Paris Vision’: mobility (cycling, walking).
-‘2022 Tourism Strategies Development Plan’: mobility, hotels, social issues.

Within the reviewed issues, the most repeated are mobility (transport and walking), and
hotels, and these will be studied in the next chapters, as it will be the Paris plan against
climate change, the most ambitious of the city´s sustainable policies.

Climate, transport, and accommodation. Real ‘sustainable tourism’ in a city depends mostly
on the own city capacity to be sustainable, and on the voluntary measures taken by the
tourism industry towards sustainability. As we have seen, few real initiatives in ‘sustainable
tourism’ in Paris can be found; most of the ones described under this designation, have

28
more to do with the city plans for sustainability and have an effect both on the tourists and
on the residents.
The principal actions taken towards sustainability are centred on environmental issues,
and of these, two sectors have been crucial focuses within the city´s policies: climate
change and transport, both important, and closely related to tourism. The ‘Paris Climate
Action Plan’, the flagship of the city´s commitment to the fight against climate change, was
adopted at the end 2007, updated in 2012, and revised again in 2016; it is now divided into
four sections. The Plan is organized around three timelines, with different goals to achieve
by 2020, by 2030 and by 2050.
Two important components of a ‘city break’ are the transport, into and out of the
destination, and the accommodation (only used by the visitors), and they are two sectors in
which sustainability can, for once, be improved by the tourism or travel industries, instead
of by the destination. It is the voluntary, not the compulsory, sustainable practices
undertaken by the accommodation industry (reduced emissions, energy savings, efficient
water and waste management, etc.), and by the travel sector what will revert in this case
into the sustainability of the destination. In the travel industry, it is particularly the aviation
sector, the most contaminating, the one which has to develop sustainable measures (as it
has already done KLM, Air France and ‘Aéroports de Paris).
In regard to ‘inside transport’ vital improvements have already been carried out in the
city´s public transport network.

2.2.2 COP 21,”The Paris Agreement” and the ‘Paris Climate Action Plan’

“Put bluntly, it is difficult to overstate the significance of climate change for the competitiveness and
sustainability of travel and tourism” (Scott, 2018 pg.6). And climate change is happening.
Carbon dioxide is one of the chief gases responsible for the greenhouse effect, and the
greenhouse effect is responsible for the increase of global temperatures, with the
subsequent impact on climate change.
The estimated contribution of tourism is about five percent of worldwide greenhouse gas
emissions. Tourism is not just at risk from climate change, it is also one of its causes, and
the industry could become part of the global solution, instead of part of the problem.
Almost all the energy used in tourism is derived from fossil fuels. “Transport is the main
contributor to tourism CO2 emissions – with flying accounting for 40%, car transport for 32% and
accommodation for 21%” (Scott, 2018, pg.7).

29
 Paris has had a leading role in the fight against climate change. In December 2015 the
City hosted the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) within the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change. The two-week conference led to the ‘Paris Agreement’
(which replaced the 2005 Kyoto Protocol), a historic pact to adopt green energy sources,
cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and limit the rise of global temperatures to below 2
degrees Celsius and, ideally, below 1.5 degrees Celsius by the year 2100.
It commits the signing countries to, every five years, communicate and maintain their
emissions reduction objectives, as well as the implementation of national policies and
measures to achieve these objectives. It was signed by 195 members, of which 174
countries became involved parties. In 2016 the ‘Paris Agreement’ came into force.
The same year the Mayor of Paris is elected to head the ‘C40 network’ (City climate
leadership group), and the City receives two awards for its (2007) ‘Climate Adaptation
Strategy’ plan.

Years before, Paris had already started actions against climate change. In 2007, the City
had launched a public consultation to develop a new ‘Climate, Air and Energy’ action plan.
It developed into the ‘Paris Climate Action Plan’, unanimously adopted in October 2007,
and which reflects the city’s commitment to the fight against climate change.
The plan was updated five years later, in 2012, and was divided into three separate
sections: the “Main Guidelines for the Paris Climate and Energy Action Plan”, the “Paris
Climate Action Partnership Agreement” for the tertiary sector and the “Operational
roadmap” which translate the main guidelines into practical action plans.
Later the ‘Paris Adaptation Strategy’ Roadmap was also added. It aims to better protect
Parisians facing four major challenges of climate change: warmer summers and heat waves,
violent rains and thunderstorms, periods of drought and/or stress on the use of water, and
difficulties for energy supply and food of the capital.
The Plan is organized around three timelines, 2020, 2030 and 2050, and aims to the
following goals (the percentages of improvement are in comparison with the 2004 levels):

By 2020
- reduce by 25% greenhouse gas emissions and
- reduce by 25% energy consumption.
- Increase to 25% the share of renewable energies and recovery between 2004 and 2020

30
So as to set an example, the City of Paris has set the following objectives to be achieved by
2020 (compared with 2004) by its municipal buildings and fleet, and within its own
Administration.
- 30% reduction in its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
- 30% reduction in the energy consumption of its, municipal buildings, fleet and public
lighting - 30% renewable or recovered energy in its energy consumption.
By 2030
- reduce by 50% greenhouse gas emissions and
- reduce by 35% energy consumption.
- Increase to 45% the share of renewable energies and recovery between 2004 and 2020
By 2050
- Zero emission of City of Paris (intramural) greenhouse gases
- -80% of Paris' carbon footprint
- -50% energy consumption in the territory compared to 2004
- 100% renewable energy in the consumption of the territory of which 20% are to be
produced locally
As a consequence of the Climate Action Plan, a total of 39 stakeholders from the Paris
region signed the ‘Paris Climate Partnership Agreement’, and committed themselves to reduce
their ecological impact.
In Paris, 2015 is the year in which more initiatives on climate change were developed.
In March, the Mayor of Paris hosts the mayors of Europe’s largest cities, with the goal of
carrying out the preparatory work required for the COP21
Currently, and as a consequence of the mentioned actions, Paris has a good position in
the cities Indexes for its CO2 emissions; it shows a good performance considering the high
density of inhabitants and activities. Its CO2 emissions are almost identical to the main
cities average but are better than those of other big capitals, such as London and Berlin.
Paris Climate Plans have achieved a 9.2% drop in global greenhouse gas emissions
recorded between 2004 and 2014, and the four main sectors responsible for greenhouse gas
emissions (buildings, transport of passengers, transport of goods, consumption/waste)
have all decreased their emissions.
Today the action plans on climate have led to encouraging results:
- There has been a drop of 7% in Paris energy consumption.
- Since January 2016, municipal buildings and public lighting are 100% powered by green
electricity.

31
- The energy monitoring of almost 2,000 public facilities, including museums, combined
with a plan to renovate 300 heating systems between 2016 and 2020, will allow for a
reduction of nearly 10% of the average annual consumption of public buildings by 2020.
- More than 27% energy savings (compared to 2004) were achieved in public lighting (LED
installation).
- The use of renewable and recovered energies exceeded 50% in urban heating. However
the estimated percentage of renewable and recovered energy consumed by the city in 2010
was 15.6 %.
- The new Article 15 of the Local Urbanism Plan (PLU) adopted in July 2016, on energy
and environmental performances, encourages and even imposes measures for energy
savings or the production of renewable energy.
- Other significant decrease is related to residential and commercial buildings, thanks to the
improvement of energy efficiency, this combines with reduced consumption in the tertiary
services sector, which alone represents over 50% of the City’s energy consumption, making
it an essential sector of action within the Plan.
- A new set of thermal regulations has led to an Eco-renovating Paris scheme which has
already benefited 162 buildings. By 2020, it will allow the thermal rehabilitation of 1,000
private buildings.
- The City adopted a proactive action plan which includes the thermal renovation of the
600 Parisian schools. 100 schools were renovated in 2012 and 2013 to improve their energy
efficiency, the results in 2015 revealed a 36.4% reduction in energy consumption and a
39.2% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
- As a result of the policy for reducing waste at source, and improving waste sorting, there
has been a 13% decrease over a 10-year period in emissions related to waste.
- After the successful testing in 2016 of a recycling station in one Paris district, the city will
start a program to install 40 stations in four districts by the end of the year. Following this
program, the city aims to install 1,000 to 1,500 stations in the city’s 20 districts in 2018.

Nowadays, the Climate Action Plan has expanded to all the sectors of the city life;
biodiversity measures, energy use and production, transportation, thermal rehabilitation of
housing, creation of ecological corridors, waste recycling, measures against urban heat
islands, and the introduction of a circular economy with a lower impact on the climate. The
Plan has brought together the common efforts of the Parisians, in their purpose to create a
better living environment in a more sustainable city.

32
2.2.3 Paris transportation

Transport is a global concern as a key factor in tourism and climate change. As we have
already pointed out, tourism contributes with about a five percent of worldwide
greenhouse gas emissions. Of all the CO2 emissions produced by the tourism industry,
transport is responsible for around a 70% of them (aviation for about 40%, and land
transport for around 32%).
Within tourism, the debate on transport is centred on reducing greenhouse gas emissions
and promoting low carbon policies. According to the recent study ‘Sustainable Cities
Mobility Index’ (2017) by the firm Arcadis, in terms of mobility, Paris ranks now the third
of the most 100 sustainable cities in the world, behind Hong Kong and Zurich. Arcadis
studied the 100 largest cities of the world taking into account (only in relation to mobility)
the 3BL factors, these are broken down into 23 indicators such as tariffs, time spent in
transport, pollution of the air, green transport… Paris does not rank first on all the selected
criteria, but its overall performance puts the city in the third position. Its good policies and
their implementation on the public transport offer, accessible and globally sustainable, have
made Paris to achieve this position. Along this chapter we will review the policies which
have led to this achievement.

Besides road transport, its six railway stations and three airports (of a total of 14 in the Ile
de France area) connect Paris with the whole world, and allow the city to receive a constant
flow of tourists and visitors.
Inside the city, a comprehensive transport system provides residents and visitors with a
wide range of public and private mobility choices: buses, tramway, metro, trains, boats,
‘Velib’, ‘Autolib’, shuttles and taxis. When in Paris, tourists mostly use public transport,
89% of tourists get around the city by metro, 23% by bus, 16% by taxi, and 3% by bike.

Transport is a key issue for the ecological transition in Paris because it accounts for 1/4
of its greenhouse) emissions.
Making Paris a low-carbon city means accompanying Parisians to new mobility practices.
The effects of the soft and sustainable mobility policies embarked upon by the City of Paris
in 2001 are now very visible, with a fall of 39% in emissions (23% since 2004) and a
reduction of 30% of the City traffic.
The improvement of the public transport network, the progression of the gentle modes
of transport (cycling, walking...), and the implementation of sustainable policies, are part of
the transition to eco-mobility in Paris.

33
The public policies.
Public space will be given to soft mobility. Paris plans to make the urban area a pedestrian and
bicycle city. Indeed, active mobility (walking, cycling), provides environmental and health
benefits. The aim is to put walking and cycling at the heart of everyday displacements.
Some measures taken are:
-The Paris Pedestrian Strategy, adopted in 2017, aims to promote urban pedestrian
development and simplify pedestrian continuity on streets.
-The ‘Paris Respire’ initiative will offer Parisians ‘breathing spaces’ closed to traffic every
Sunday and public holidays. It will be extended to all districts by 2020.
-The car-free day (since 2015) has proved its positive impact on the quality of life of
Parisians; the noise pollution has been almost halved and the air pollution has been
reduced by 25% during the 2017 edition.
-Paris 100% cycling capital from 2020. The Plan Vélo (since 2015) intends to develop the
mobility by bike.
Reducing the presence of polluting vehicles in the city. Since January 2017, Paris has set up a
Restricted Traffic Zone (ZCR) to reduce access to the city center to the most polluting
cars. The Crit'Air sticker is used to indicate the pollution level of vehicles. The criteria that
allow certain types of vehicles to circulate is gradually evolving to reach the target of zero
diesel cars in 2024, then zero petrol in 2030. The City would like to reach an agreement
with the Greater Paris Metropolis to expand this circulation policy at metropolitan scale.
Incentives are also envisaged in the new Climate Plan, such as the possibility from 2020
onwards, of a differentiation of the price of parking: the most polluting vehicles will pay
more for parking, according to their Crit'Air calification.
The city also supports financially the Parisians if they get rid of their old polluting
vehicles, by offering financial help for the purchase of a two-wheel electric, or the
installation of charging stations and bike shelters in the condominiums. The Métropole du
Grand Paris, through the ‘Métropole Roule Propre’ plan, subsidizes the purchase of an
electric car, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen, new or used.
Towards shared mobility. Shared mobility allows for a cleaner city while allowing Parisians to
make significant savings: carpooling, car sharing, and collective taxis. The Climate Plan
contemplates (by 2020) to increase parking spaces reserved for car-sharing, and the
possibility of reserving all, or part of the left lane for the circulation of cars with at least 2
occupants.

34
 Low carbon public transport. Public transport is at the heart of sustainable mobility. The
Grand Paris Express will facilitate the discarding of the private car for many metropolitan
dwellers. To facilitate inter-modality, the City will plead with “Île de France Mobilités” (the
Transport Union of Île de France), for the development of a single mobility title by 2020.
It could combine public transport, Autolib, Vélib, and possibly other services such as
carpooling, taxi, car sharing. The City of Paris will also support the renewal of the bus fleet
towards electricity. It also plans to set up high-level bus service lines (HLTs), designed to
be fast, regular and auto-driven. Such a line will for example be set up on the high banks of
the Seine. Finally, river transport will also be funded to set up (by 2030) river shuttles with
electric motorization.

The cleanest public transport: rail, ‘Autolib’, and cycling.

The RATP Group (Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens) in the Ile de France is a
state-owned public transport operator created by the STIF (Union of Transporters of the
Île de France/ the organizing authority of transport in Ile-de-France). Today, RATP is
responsible for most of the public transport in Paris and suburbs, including the Paris
metro, train, tramway and bus services and part of the Réseau Express Régional
(RER) network. In the Île-de-France region, the RATP carries about 3 billion passengers
per year. RATP takes an active part in the city zero-carbon policies, and are also
implementing measures to reduce air pollution, and noise. Their target is to reduce a 50%
of greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. Other targets are silent trams, energy-efficient
stations, electric shuttles, and ‘hop and off’ touristic buses.
Rail. The rail network has 16 metro lines, 6 RER lines (trains for the suburbs) and 3
tramway lines, with a total number of more than 400 stations.
Metro. To encourage more Parisians and tourists to use this green public transport, the
transit frequencies for the ‘metro’s can be less than 2 minutes on some lines during the
rush hour. Since the end of 2006, the schedules of metros and trams have been extended
until 2.15 a.m. on Saturdays and on the eves of public holidays, as well as on Fridays since
the end of 2007.
Paris metro, one of the oldest in the world, is the symbol of the city. It is the second
busiest subway system in Europe, after the Moscow Metro, and the tenth-busiest in the
world. Paris metro is mostly underground and 214 kilometers long. There are 16 lines and
it has 303 stations, of which 62 have transfers between lines. The new metro trains ordered
for line 14 are equipped with a fully electric braking system that allows the energy to be

35
recovered and re-injected into the network. The drop in consumption will reach 20%
compared to the most recent trains put into service in Paris.
The RER (Réseau Express Régional) is a network of regional trains that run into the
suburbs of Paris with fewer stops within the city itself. From its first ‘line A’ in 1977 it has
grown into a network of five lines, A, B, C, D and E and has 258 stations.
Tramways in Paris had stopped running by 1937, but this mode of transport has returned
recently. Beginning in 1992, two lines (the T1 and T2) were built parallel to the outer
boundaries of the capital. The T3 line, opened in 2006, occupies a grassy track running
alongside most of Paris' Left Bank boundary. Public transport helps to optimize energy
consumption by bringing passengers together in one same vehicle (the principle of ‘scale
economies’), and therefore saving energy. A metro or tram journey emits 50 times less than
the same car trip. Only RER line-A, in the Paris region, carries 1.2 million people a day, the
number of people who would drive on a 60-lane highway.
Autolib . Created by the Mairie de Paris in 2011, is the first public service of 100% electric
cars in self-service. Today the 4.000 Bluecars, spread over 1.0600 stations throughout the
Île-de-France region, represent an estimated decrease of 35,500 private cars (the equivalent
of 264.500.000 km traveled per year by more polluting vehicles). So, it is not only is less
pollution, but also fewer bottlenecks, less stress for everyone and more time for all. The
service is accessible to anyone from 18 years of age, who are holders of a valid driver's
license. Many neighborhoods are equipped with an ‘Espace Autolib’ (an Autolib station).
Cycling. The bike in Paris, almost disappeared in the 1980s, but its use gradually increased,
and now it has a real role in the Parisian system of transport. The urban cycling network
has 700 kilometers. The ‘Plan Velo’ was developed to support this type of mobility, both
ecological and economical. The measures contemplated on this Plan are: developing new
bike paths, creating 10,000 new parking spaces (many of them near train stations), lowering
the speed of traffic at 30km/h on main roads, allowing bicycles to board on trains and
RERs, learning at school how to ride a bike in the city, and organization of self-repair
workshops. New bike services will be also developed: for example the rental of a cargo
bike, a bicycle service for companies.
Vélib. Operated by the Mairie de Paris (City Hall) since 2007, Vélib' is a bike-rental
program with thousands of bikes at hundreds of stations or "service points" around the
city. In May 2017, Paris negotiated a new contract with a French-Spanish consortium to
operate its bike-sharing scheme from 2018 to 2032, replacing JCDecaux, the outdoor
advertising group which had run it since 2007. The new bikes and docking were to be

36
replaced in January. But today, less than half of the target of 1,400 new docking stations,
has been created. The delays are having negative impacts both for the users and the
consortium.

Buses and the ‘Batobus’

Buses. There are 58 bus lines operating in Paris that function within city limits. The
creation of new bus lanes allows time-saving in rush hours, when there is heavy car traffic.
The RATP fleet is currently formed by 4,700 buses, of which 800 are hybrid vehicles, 140
bio-GNV, and 74 electric. Line 341 is already working with electric buses (from 2016), and
lines 115 and 126 come next. The Plan ‘Bus2025’ target is to have 100% clean buses by
2025, when two-thirds of buses will be electric and the rest biogas fuelled. This will require
the adaptation of their 25 bus depots in a rather short time.
‘Batobus’. It is an along the Seine regular boat service which works in a similar way to any
other public transport in Paris. It has eight stations (docks), and goes through the very
center of Paris, from” Jardin des Plantes/ Cité de la Mode et du Design” to the Eiffel
tower. Very used by tourists, passes can be bought for 1or 2 days or for one year. It is
possible to get on and off as many times as you want. The system also allows to combine
with tourist buses, which take visitors through the most significant monuments and
attractions.

Transport into and out of Paris. Trains and planes.

Trains. With six stations and its geographical position in the heart of Europe, Paris is
easily accessible by train, one of the cleanest means of transport. The rail companies, TGVs
and Eurostars are safe, comfortable and fast. On average, according to the study
“SNCF/Carbone 4”, an inter-cities train trip generates about 15 times less CO2 emissions
per passenger than the same trip by carpooling, 5 to 15 times less than the same trip by
bus, and 50 times less than by plane. By 2020, the high speed rail network will connect with
new European cities, this connection, with an average travel time of 3 hours, will allow for
an increased percentage of the tourists visiting Paris to arrive by train.

Air transport is a major component of greenhouse gas emissions in Paris (6.2 million tons).
Paris is one of the few cities to integrate air traffic emissions into its carbon footprint
policies, and defend the need to improve the environmental footprint of this sector. The
City of Paris (with the support of the C40 network of cities), challenges the professionals in
the aviation sector to develop a sustainable alternative to kerosene for aircraft fuel, with
their first flights on biofuel in the Paris-Toulouse line. Air transport companies are

37
committed to take action against global warming: Air France-KLM supports the objectives
of the International Air Transport Association (IATA): 1.5% per year improvement in
energy efficiency by 2020, neutral growth in CO2 emissions from 2020, 50% reduction in
CO2 emissions by 2050 compared to 2005 levels

With its Climate Plan Air France-KLM contributes to the fight against climate change.
The plan defines their strategy in 6 axes:
-Modernization of the fleet and contribution to aeronautical research.
-Mobilizing all staff and external stakeholders towards ambitious environmental action
plans to reduce emissions from air and ground operations.
-Active support for the emergence of sustainable alternative fuels for aviation and
participation in research on renewable energies.
-Support for the environmental protection programs led by NGOs
-Providing customers with information on CO2 emissions related to their journey and the
possibility of compensating for them.
-Supporting global climate agreement efforts with a fair contribution from aviation

The Air France-KLM climate plan. The 80% of CO2 emissions from Air France aircraft
are produced by long-haul flights, and amount to 27.7 million tons of CO2. The group has
therefore taken steps to modernize its fleet, but also to engage with NGOs involved in the
protection of the environment. Its ambition is to reduce its CO2 emissions by 20%
compared to 2011 and use an alternative fuel. The use of alternative biofuels can reduce
consumption by 20% compared to a conventional fuel. Since September 17, 2014, Air
France has done weekly flights with biofuel between Toulouse and Paris-Orly. KLM has
launched a series of 20 biofuel flights. An initiative launched in June 2015 by Ségolène
Royal anticipates the launch of a joint mission between the Ministries of Ecology and
Agriculture, to evaluate the development of advanced biofuels in aeronautics.

‘Aéroports de Paris’ has been involved in sustainable development for more than 20
years. It aims for the environmental excellence in the management of its own activities and,
places social responsibility as a priority. For the first time in 2013, ‘Aéroports de Paris’
ranks among the world's 100 most committed companies in terms of sustainable
development. ‘Aéroports de Paris’ has the 14th position in the "Global 100" ranking
published by the independent Canadian company ‘Corporate Knights’. For several years
‘Paris Airports’ has been reducing its carbon footprint in their land operations as one of the
pillars of its environmental policies:

38
- 65% of CO2 emissions per passenger compared to 2009
- 15% renewable energy in internal energy consumption
- 12.5% reduction in energy consumption
To achieve these results, ‘Paris Airports’ has developed renewable energies such as:
Geothermal energy: Since 2010, taking advantage of an 1800m deep aquifer at 74 ° C, Paris-
Orly airport has seen 40% of its heating needs covered by the installation of a geothermal
power plant. It avoids the discharge of 9000 tons of CO2 per year. They target for a 100%
of the heat requirements of the terminals to be covered in this way.
The biomass: Thanks to organic waste, such as sawmill wood or sustainably managed forests,
‘Paris Airports’ produces 25% of the heat needs of Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. It is
equivalent to 18,000 tons of CO2 that are not released into the atmosphere.
The solar power station: In 2013, ‘Paris Airports’ set up a solar power station that supplies all
the energy needed on Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport.
Another recent initiative of Airports of Paris consists of an inter-company car-sharing
network, which initially targets the 63,000 employees of ADP and the local Orly Rungis
centre; if just 5% of airport employees use the network regularly, it will save around 4,000
tonnes of CO2 emissions.

'Métropole du Grand Paris'

The Grand Paris Express project is part of 'Métropole du Grand Paris' sustainable plan
passed in 2016. It is the largest urban transport project in Europe: the addition of 200 km
of new rail, four automatic new lines (15, 16, 17, 18), and the extension of lines 11 and 14,
will give service to 68 new stations and will carry 2 million passengers a day, as much as the
current metro. Essentially underground, the new metro will cross the territories of Greater
Paris to connect them and the capital. The City also continues its development of transport
offer with the extension to the west, of the line E of the RER, the extension of the subway
lines (11 and 12), and of the tram lines (1 and 3), as part of the Grand Paris Express. The
future public transport network will give people full mobility and limit daily commute
times, while reducing their dependence on cars and reducing polluting emissions. It will
make easier to get from one point to another without going through Paris, but also to reach
more quickly the heart of the capital from its periphery

39
2.2.4 Sustainable accommodation policies

With 33.8 million visitors in 2017, Paris has experienced a positive growth of 2.9 million in
comparison with 2016, and an increase of 1.600 million euros in terms of tourist
consumption.
According to the report ‘Le Tourisme à Paris Chifres clés 2017’ (‘Tourism in Paris Key
figures 2017’, Convention and Visitors Bureau. 2018), there are 2020 hotels (with a total of
119.009 rooms) in Grand Paris, of which 1644 are in the City of Paris. The employment in
the hotel sector is of 47.491 people.

Table 9. Hotel arrivals and night stays 2017 (Paris Tourism Office).
Hotel-Arrivals Variation Overnights Variation
Greater Paris 2017 2016-2017 2017 2016-2017
(area 2)
12 013 193 + 15,2 % 29 585 335 + 15,2 %
Foreign
11 555 061 + 7,5 % 19 804 712 + 8,1 %
French
23 568 254 + 11,3 % 49 390 047 +12,2 %
TOTAL

The average duration of a hotel stays is 2,10 nights, the average room price is 139 euros.
All these data reflect the importance of the hospitality industry as a part of the tourism
industry in Paris; it represents the highest percentage of income obtained by the tourism
sector, and it is also a key factor for the services.

2017 has been the best year for hotels after the crisis in 2008, and also the international
year of sustainable tourism for development. The Paris hotel industry is now aware of the
convenience of adopting measures against negative environmental impacts, and many
hotels are increasingly adopting policies to adhere to a label or certification program, which
will reflect and advertise their commitment to sustainability. These policies include
different factors: efficient energy use and water consumption, choosing green suppliers,
waste management, creating ecological awareness among the company staff, good working
conditions, etc. Following we review some of these programs.

“Pour un hébergement durable à Paris” The Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau (Paris
Tourism Office) launched in 2012 “Pour un hébergement durable à Paris” (Charter for Sustainable
Accommodation in Paris), an innovative sustainable development program which aims to
encourage Parisian hoteliers to adopt sustainable approaches, and also to assist hotels in the

40
start of their action plans to build competence on the three factors of sustainable
development. The program is a first step for increasing competence, and may be followed
by other labeling or certification processes (The Green Key, European Ecolabel, Green
Globe, EarthCheck, ISO 14001, etc.). Hotels which already had one these certifications
automatically qualify for the Paris Program. In order to become a member a hotel only has
to follow three easy steps which conclude with the signing of the “Charter for Sustainable
Accommodation”. https://pro.parisinfo.com/developpez-votre-activite/tourisme-
durable/programme-pour-un-hebergement-durable-a-paris

Table 10. Charter for Sustainable Accommodation in Paris. (Paris Tourism Office).
Promote the values of sustainable development both in its management and to all its interlocutors (ethical
transparency, respect for human rights, etc.)
Reduce the energy and water consumption of the establishment
Conduct an eco-responsible purchasing policy
Share the values of sustainable development with its guests and encourage them to participate in this
ecological approach throughout their stay
Welcome disabled guests (motor, sensory or mental) in the best conditions and provide them with on the
accessibility of tourist establishments and activities (new value)
Improve the working conditions of its employees and their well-being at work
Promote the natural and cultural heritage of the Paris area
Measure progress, sustain and communicate its sustainable development approach

This program counted at the end of July 2017, with 466 hotels signatories to the Charter.

The new “Schéma de Développement Touristique de Paris 2017-2022”, the first City’s
‘tourism development plan’ (already reviewed in 2.2.1), still maintains the spirit of the 2012
‘Sustainable Accommodation Program’, and its action number 49 focuses on: ‘Assisting the
hotel and restaurant sector with the sustainable development policies’.

ISO 9001, 14001, 26000. Some hotels are certified with 2 standards, usually ISO 9001
which certifies the management quality and customer satisfaction, and ISO 14001 for
environmental management. But many hotels are now also certifying their kitchen services
with the 26000 standard, acquiring global reference standards for food processes.
ISO 14001 certification is given according to a panel of criteria whose main goals are:
- Reducing consumption of natural resources and energy
- Reducing the amount of global waste
- Improving discharges and industrial waste management
- Increasing respect of environmental regulations

41
 An annual environmental analysis is required to maintain certification, the actions taken
by the hotel help the lodging to remain true to its standards of global sustainability.
https://certification.afnor.org/environnement/certification-iso-14001

The Green Key (La Clef Verte). It is another voluntary eco-label for tourism facilities: hotels,
self-catering accommodation, campsites, B&Bs, holiday villages, youth hostels etc. It is
awarded to establishments that implement strategies to raise environmental awareness
based on the following criteria: overall environmental policy, water, waste and energy
management, responsible supplies, quality of life and environmental awareness initiatives.
The criteria are agreed at the international level and reviewed each year.
-Environmental and social policy: General environmental management, employee training,
social responsibility.
-Environmental awareness: Information for guests, nature activities.
-Water management: Sanitation, faucets, watering
-Waste management: Sorting waste, reducing volumes.
-Energy management: Heat and cooling, domestic equipment, lighting.
-Responsible purchases: Food, maintenance, other purchases.
-Living environment: Indoor environment, outdoor environment.
http://www.laclefverte.org/media/1146/4-crite-res-hotels-2018.pdf

Green Globe is an international certification standard for the travel and tourism industry. It
rewards and supports tourism businesses that have opted to improve their environmental
and social management. The assessment criteria are reviewed yearly and certified
establishments are audited every two years. There are three levels of certification. Criteria
are organized into key themes: Sustainable management; social/economic, cultural heritage,
environment. https://greenglobe.com/standard/https://greenglobe.com/certification-
levels/

The European Ecolabel distinguishes products and services, such as hotels, that respect the
environment. The criteria of this label guarantee the ability to use ecological products and
reduce the environmental impacts throughout their life cycle. It meets both the need for
reliable information on the ecological quality of the products or services, and the desire of
the companies to enhance their efforts to protect the environment, through the use of
products or activities which have been labelled.
Created in 1992, the European Ecolabel is the only European official eco-label that can
be used in all member countries of the European Union.

42
 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecolabel/documents/hotels.pdf

EarthCheck. is an international environmental certification system dedicated to the tourism

sector, aimed at all stakeholders and in particular the hotel sector. EarthCheck is a tool that
helps online small and large organizations to measure and monitor the environmental
impact of their activities. It covers the following areas:
- Implementation of a sustainable development approach of water, paper and energy use.
- Waste Management.
- The use of pesticides.
- The use of cleaning and hygiene products.
- Engagement with local communities.

This certification has more than 1,200 members in more than 65 countries. EarthCheck
certification allows:
-To position oneself in relation to the criteria of sustainable development.
-To improve its sustainable development performance.
-To recognize his approach
-To be able to work in stages and to be audited at the desired moment.

https://earthcheck.org/media/27342/final-master-earthcheck-company-
standard_version-4_aug17.pdf

Table 11. Certification labels and their basic requirements.

Labels Sustainable Green Key European Green The EarthCheck
Accommodation Ecolabel Globe ISO
Requirements Plan for Paris 14000
family
Scope of Paris Interna- European Interna- Interna- Interna-
action tional tional tional tional
Type of Accommodation Accommo- All All All All tourism
establishment dation products tourism tourism
Revision Permanent 1 year None 2 years 1 year 1 year
period Diagnostic
Water and Reduce/ Improve Energy22 Improve -15% Improve
energy improve % renew-
consumption able
Recycling or Reduce and Sorting Reduce Reduce 30% Reduce
recovery of recover /reduce /recover /recover Improve /recover
waste
Expenses and Reduce Optimize - Reduce Reduce Reduce
control
budgets
Accessibility Provide info. - - - -
Suppliers Eco-responsible Eco Eco Eco - -
Working Improve Improve - Improve - Improve
conditions /training /training

43
Hotels renovation. Many hotels in Paris occupy old buildings which need to be renovated, in
part due to their high energy consumption. In fact, 91% of the buildings date from before
1975. To achieve the ‘Paris Climate Plan’ objectives, all hotels will have to:
-isolate the structure of the entire building (rule that will be applied to all buildings built
before 1974)
-improve heating equipment (boilers), the replacement of fossil fuels by non-CO2 sources
such as geothermal or biomass.
It is also observed that the collective heating (common) induces individual behaviors of
overconsumption of energy, reason for which the tourist will be sensitized and allowed to
regulate the temperature of his room individually (up to a maximum of 20 degrees C).
´´Vers un tourisme parisien éco-responsable´´ / APUR Atelier Parisien D`urbanisme

2.2.5 Other sustainable and ecological initiatives

With Paris receiving more than 30 million visitors each year, its sustainable development
policies have also become a key issue for the tourism sector. As a result of the great
number of actions of the City Hall, but also due to the collective awareness of visitors and
the entire professional tourism sector, Paris has achieved a well-deserved image of a
sustainable city.

We will first pay attention here to different sustainable tourism proposals gathered in the
guide ‘Paris verte et Durable’ (Office of Tourism and Congress of Paris), and other Town
Hall and private initiatives. Annexed (5), and with a wider scope on sustainability, if not on
tourism, we provide a quick review of the Mairie de Paris ‘Sustainable Development Report
2016’, its plans and some of its actions.

Paris does not stop devising ways to preserve its environment and to shape a more
sustainable tourist stay: soft transport, ecological accommodation, slow food restaurants,
fair trade cafes, organic markets, responsible shops, establishments of natural well-being,
museums dedicated to the art of living, gardens by the hundreds...
In order to better support these practices, the ‘Office of Tourism and Congress of Paris’
(Tourist Office), with the support of ADEME and the Paris City Council, publishes ‘Paris
Green and Sustainable’, an eco-friendly guide listing ideas, advice, and address book.
Available today, the guide edited 40,000 copies, in French and English, and is distributed in

44
the five points of reception of the Office and more than 80 partner hotels. The guide offers
to discover the capital along seven green themes: ‘Move gently’, ‘Sleep green’, ‘Eat well,
organic and local’, ‘Consume responsibly’, ‘Treat yourself’, ‘Visit Paris differently’ and
‘Take the air’. The objective is to approach sustainable tourism in Paris in an original and
fun way while offering tourists a selection of addresses which allow them to visit Paris
differently. Carefully selected addresses: find the organic market closest to your home, go
to a free gym class, educate your children about sustainable development... many good
practices and clever ideas in this manual to responsible visitors

‘Bouger en douceur’ (‘Move gently’). Although Paris ‘soft mobility’ has already been described,
it has to be mentioned the initiative "Balades Paris durable", a free mobile application to
discover on foot the ecological and patrimonial wealth of the capital, identify new urban
developments, marvel at a rare species, or admire new garden concepts. The application is
available in French and English
Dormir au vert (‘Sleep green’). The already escribed sustainable accommodation practices and
hotels.

Manger bon, bio et local (‘Eat well, organic and local’). There is a great choice for eating bio,
local or seasonal food in Paris (restaurants, food trucks, eco-friendly glaciers, organic
groceries and markets)
Lots of Paris restaurants offer, bio, organic, vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free, seasonal, or
local products. Consuming organic, seasonal, and locally produced foods reduces
transportation-related CO2 emissions while supporting the local economy. In Paris, this
conscious choice has become simple, the label « Des produits d’ici, cuisinés ici » (Products
from here, cooked here), identifies the restaurants that adhere to local food. Street food is
also identified by its label: « Ici, la cuisine est dans la rue » (Here, the kitchen is in the stree).
Paris offers 100% or partially organic markets, with natural and fair trade products. There
are only four 100% organic markets in Paris, the markets of Raspail, Batignolles, and
Constantin-Brancusi, plus the organic mini market of Centquatre. They are open on
weekends, Saturdays or Sundays.
Paris and 158 other international cities decided in October 2015 to work together to
support sustainable food by signing the ‘Milan Pact for Urban Food Policy’. In doing so,
Paris is committed to work on the development of a sustainable inclusive food system,
resilient (able to overcome crises), safe and diversified, healthy and affordable to all, which
minimizes waste, preserves biodiversity and mitigates and adapts to climate change.

45
 Since 2009, Paris has pursued an ambitious approach to sustainable food through its
‘Sustainable Food Plan’, which has made the community the largest public purchaser of
organic food in France through its collective catering purchases.

Consommer responsable (Consume responsibly). Bio, ecological, ethical, solidary, and fair trade
products made in France, and now made in Paris. There is a big offer with the common
denominator of being goods for responsible consumption. Designed according to the
principles of sustainable development, they have a minor environmental impact. Big brands
like Nature & Discoveries, Craftsmen of the World, or Altermundi, are following these
lines, and so is the way with other fair-trade clothing or decorative items, like the ‘Green
Mall’, As'art, CSAO, Ekobo, Temoa or Mademoiselle Bambù. The ‘Made in France’ logo
is used by lots ofl ‘prêt à porter’ and accessories brands like ‘Bleu de Paname’, ‘Post Diem’,
‘Bleu de Chauffe’, ‘Les Bretelles de Léon’ or ‘Trotteurs Français’ jeans. Finally, thrift
stores, flea markets, and solidary shops sales are also good alternatives.

Se faire du bien (Treat yourself). There are different proposals for relaxing breaks along a
visit to the city.
Several spas in the capital have been conceived as spaces of well-being for both the care
provided and their decoration; massages, facial treatments, Hamman, or sauna. The spa
‘Six Senses’ offers a treatment based on honey obtained from the hives of the Westin Paris
Vendôme hotel.
Some hairdressers also engage on the sustainable; more than twenty salons give priority
water and energy, and the use organic products.
For shopping, the main brands of organic cosmetics can be found in every district. Places
like ‘Artists of Nature’ with its wide range of artisanal and organic luxury cosmetics, in the
11th arrondissement, or the ‘L’Herbe à savon’ in the street d'Assas. Further information is
provided by the ‘Belle et Bio a Paris’ publication (Parigramme editions).
For physical commitment, free classes of tai chi, qi gong or wutao can be taken every
morning at 9 am in the park Buttes Chaumont or Saturday and Sunday at 11 am at the
Centquatre.

Visiter Paris autrement (Visit Paris differently). Local culture is a source of pleasure and
wonder, and allows everyone to discover another face of the city.
‘Paris Greeters’ voluntaries help the visitor to discover the lifestyle of Parisians and city
hidden places through their surprising walks: scenes of everyday life, unusual places, or
shared gardens. Tourists can also join an eco-citizen treasure hunt with the name "Paris is

46
all green". The company Diverteo organizes ‘Paris and the 7 nature hunts’. Exceptional
visits are organized by Evanela to the crafts and craftsmanship small businesses. There are
also the ones proposed by ‘Meeting the French’. ‘Ateliers d’art de France’ have opened four
dedicated spaces to show visitors the French ‘know-how’.
A rich dialogue is being formed between culture and sustainable development, with the
objective to promote the arts as a lever for change towards a new and committed society.
Theater, ‘land art’, documentary films, artistic works or eco-festivals are all creative
expressions with a wide field of possibilities. A calendar of events is provided by the
COAL association (Coalition for the art and sustainable development).
For giving the children the vision of a more respectful future, spaces like the Children's
Gallery of the National Museum of Natural History, the Pavilion of water, the Organic
Educational Farm, and the Zoological Park of Paris are spaces entirely dedicated to them.
Visits, workshops, game books, everything is set up for them to learn while having fun.

Prendre l’air (Take the air). There are 500 parks, squares, gardens, and green projects to
which Parisians are strongly attached; roof plants projects, urban vegetable gardens,
educational or shared gardens. 18 parks are labelled as eco-gardens and some of them, such
as the gardens de la Villette or the unusual garden of Floral Park, go even further. The first,
created for the exhibition of the ‘planetary garden’ of Gilles Clément in 2001, never stops
to expand. In the second, gardeners will explain the clues to organic and eco-responsible
gardening.
Very concerned with preserving biodiversity in the urban environment, the City of Paris
devotes two spaces to this issue, the Paris Nature House and the Gardening house, both
located in the east of Paris.
To observe, identify and list the plant species that live in the interstices of the asphalt, a
pedagogical and scientific project has been created; all the records sent go to the National
Museum of Natural History data sheet.
Essential for maintaining biodiversity, bees share the air of the capital. The most famous
apiaries are those of the garden of Luxembourg and Georges Brassens Park, probably
because walkers can easily observe them. But the capital has no less than 400, from the
roofs of the Paris Opera to those of the 4th arrondissement hall, hotels, or in the gardens
of the Regional Council.

Events. Throughout the year, many events allow to discover Paris from a different and
original angle, like the march Champs Élysses (‘The most beautiful avenue in the world

47
without a car’), is every first Sunday of the month. Paris beach offers the sand, the parasols
and the seaside activities in Paris in the summertime. 16 large Parisian green spaces are
open day and night throughout the summer.

Architecture and ‘eco-quartiers’ (eco districts) in Paris. The greatest architects are working on
sustainable future designs, an opportunity for them to explore new technical and aesthetic
paths and to reshape the links with the city.
The Ile-de-France is now home to 67 sustainable neighbourhoods, with a total of 3,200
hectares. If all are labelled there will be 110 000 ecological housing units. Each sustainable
district of Ile-de-France has a label given according to the type of eco-district. In fact, some
have obtained the label Ile-de-France and others the national label Ecoquartier.

Private initiatives. Some small and medium size tourism businesses in Paris offer products
that are either absolutely sustainable, like bicycle hire, guided city walks… or those whose
products are sustainable; eco restaurants, bio or Fairtrade goods shops

2.3 Case study of the hotel Holiday Inn Express Paris Canal de la Villette.

The hotel, built in 2008, is located in the 19th ‘arrondisement’, between the Villette Park
and the Villette Basin. Created by the architects Chaix and Morel, it has 144 rooms (with an
area of 20 to 25 m2 each) and 400m² of meeting rooms (with capacity for 200 people),
most of them well-lit by the day light. There is also a bar with an outdoor terrace to the
waterfront, an inside vertical garden and two more terraces facing the basin. The
establishment has a private underground parking of 35 places, and a Vélib and an Autolib
station are at the foot of the hotel.

The hotel ustainable Charts, Eco-Labels and certifications

It is an environmental highly committed establishment and has an ambitious approach to
sustainability, it is in possession of different sustainable certifications and eco-labels:
‘Paris Action Climat Charte’ partner http://parisactionclimat.paris.fr/fr/p/charte
HQE (High Quality Environmental standard) certification http://www.hqegbc.org/accueil/
AB Agriculture Biologique certification http://www.agencebio.org/la-marque-ab
IHG Green Engage certification www.ihg.com
Hotel Durablement Engagé (Pour un hébergement durable à Paris)
https://pro.parisinfo.com/developpez-votre-activite/tourisme-durable/programme-pour-un-
hebergement-durable-a-paris/deroulement-du-programme/deroulement-du-programme

48
Paris Action Climat Charte’ partner.
In order to support the operational implementation of the ‘Paris Climate Action plan’
and to highlight the initiatives already undertaken by the Parisian companies and
organizations of the tertiary sector (services), the City of Paris proposes to the actors of the
territory to become partners of the Climate and Energy Plan of Paris by signing the ‘Paris
Action Climat Charter’. The partner commits to quantifiable and measurable greenhouse
gas reduction and/or energy consumption targets. It commits to implement a program of
actions by 2020. The proposed approach consists of 3 levels, each corresponding to a
particular level of commitment.
The ‘Holiday Inn Paris Canal de la Villette’ has already implemented the three stages of
the chart, and so has become a major actor, as it has reached level 3 (the highest one).
One of the key points of the hotel approach to ‘Environmental Social Responsibility’,
according to the ‘Climate Energy and Action Plan’ of Paris, is to promote the production,
marketing and use of products with a low impact on the environment throughout their life
cycle.
These are the different actions that the hotel has accomplished in order to be part of the
chart. These actions may coincide with the ones of other eco-labels the hotel has achieved:
- It is aware of the climate issues and controls energy consumption, reducing greenhouse
gas emissions, and getting adapted to the future climate background.
- Distributes to customers the agreements and measures of the climate chart.
- Involves its staff in the process, instructing them on how to work in a more sustainable
way, trying to optimize resources.
- Appoints a reference person, which is Mr. Sebastian Guyard, the commercial manager of
the hotel.
- Sets up aggressive targets to a 2020 horizon. The hotel reduced its energy consumption
by 10% in 20151, and 25% in 2016.
- It has the essential tools for the quantifying the energy savings.
- It is engaged to develop actions on areas as buildings, activities and consumption/waste.

HQE (High Quality Environmental standard) certification.

The ‘Haute Qualité Environnementale’ is a standard for green building in France, based
on the principles of sustainable development. The standard is controlled by the Paris-
based Association pour la ‘Haute Qualité Environnementale’ (ASSOHQE). The standard
specifies two criteria sections for obtaining the certification:
1. Managing the impacts on the outdoor environment
- Harmonious relationship between buildings and their immediate environment

49
 - Integrated choice of construction methods and materials
- The avoidance of nuisance by the construction site
- Minimizing energy use, water use, waste in operations, building maintenance and repair
2. Creating a pleasant indoor environment
- Hydrothermal and acoustic control measures
- Measures to control smells
- Visual attractiveness
- Hygiene and cleanliness of the indoor spaces
- Air and water quality control

AB Agriculture Biologique certification

Exclusive property of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, which defines the
rules of use, the AB certification mark, like the European organic logo, identifies products
that are 100% organic or contain at least 95% of organic agricultural products in the case of
processed products.
By delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture, the certification bodies issue the
authorizations for use on labeling (AB certification mark), while Agence Bio is in charge of
managing the AB mark on communication media.
In catering, activity covered by national specifications, only the mark AB (and not the
European logo) is usable.

Green Engage-IHG certfication

IHG Express Paris Canal de la Villette hotel makes part of an American hotel chain
subsidiary of the English group InterContinental Hotels Group.
As almost all hotel chains nowadays, it has its own green program called ‘IHG Green
Engage system’, which is an innovative sustainability tool that gives hotels the means to
measure and manage their impact on the environment.
The hotels can choose from over 200 ‘Green Solutions’ that are designed to help them
reduce their energy.
Examples from the 200 Green Solutions which are implemented by HI Canal de la Villette:
- Using energy-efficient lighting and lighting controls
- Installing water-efficient bathroom fixtures
- Using energy efficient appliances and systems
- Rainwater harvesting
- Alternative energy sourcing
- Improving indoor air quality
- Increasing waste diversion
- Sustainable meetings and event management

50
The IHG Green Engage system has four levels of certification that IHG hotels can achieve
and those achieving Level 3 certification or above can reduce energy use by up to 25%, as
the case of HIEX Paris Canal de la Villette on level 4.

Hotel Durablement Engagé (Pour un hébergement durable à Paris)

This program has been already detailed in 2.2.4, as well as the steps to become a signatory
of the ‘Charter for Sustainable Accommodation in Paris’.

Other practices of the hotel: Recycling

- Purchase of recyclable paper (Toilet Paper, Office Paper, Envelopes, Boxes…)
- Recycling paper and use it in a moderate way
- Records destruction by CRDP (Center for Waste Recovery of Papers) for approved
recycling
- Recycling ink cartridges

Sustainable actions taken by the hotel Holiday Inn Express Paris Canal de la Villette.
We have reviewed the achievements in terms of labelling and certifications which have
obtained the hotel; we will now view which sustainable practices the hotel has undertaken
to be able to get those awards.

51
 Table 12. Sustainable actions taken by the hotel Paris Canal de la Villette.
BUILDINGS
Lighting:
 More than 80% of the
hotel's bulbs are low
consumption.
 Light savers in 100% of
rooms and corridors.
 Purchase 50% of Green
electricity to EDF
(National Electricity
Company) - Agreement
Equilibrium
Air conditioning:
 17 degrees minimum
Heating:
 22 degrees maximum
Infrastructure:
 Thermal insulation from
the outside (ITE) is formed
by Douglas Fir pine
cladding, which does not
require any chemical
treatment. In addition, the
various curved blades in
metal resin which are
affixed to the facade serve
as a sunshade and
complement the modern
design of the hotel's
architecture, designed by
the architectural firm Chaix
& Morel. By acting as
double skin they protect
the building from its
exposure to full sun, and
isolate the rooms, all
equipped with showers.
Renewable energies:
 Solar panels produce hot
water for the restaurant.
ACTIVITIES
Information and awareness of Organic
customers and suppliers: products
 Informing both its
employees and its customers
about the advantages of
products that respect the
environment while
preserving quality.
 Awareness program for
cleaning dirty laundry.
 Offering Biological products
as Bio-wine or Bio-food.
 Honeycombs of bees located
on the top of the building,
with which the hotel obtains
its own honey. Process
supervised by a professional
on a regular basis. Also, the
staff of the entire hotel
receives a training program
in order to be able to
intervene in this type of
actions.
CONSUMPTION/WASTE
and sustainable
 Buying recyclable stationery.
 Restaurant with Organic plates
prepared by the bio caterer.
``Autour des Saveurs´´
Responsible purchasing :
 Eco-friendly cleaning
products.
Sorting and recycling of waste:
 Recycling daily used paper
 Recovering rain water for
garden watering
 Sorting of food waste, paper,
cardboard and glass.
 Condensing boilers
(condensate recovery /
production / energy), less
polluting since the combustion
smokes are used in a
condensing heat exchanger
that recovers the water vapor
released to preheat the water
in the boiler.
52
3. CONCLUSIONS ON THE RESULTS

More and more every day we are immersed into global tendencies. The increase of
tourism as a cultural good, climate change concern, nature consciousness, preservation of
our resources, social equity, and global styles of life; healthier and of better quality, are
some of these tendencies.
The concept of sustainable development meets and unites them, and is fashioned after
these ideas. These trends are not just positive; they are necessary and must be considered
key elements for our future. They have been shaping thinking and politics for many years,
and have developed into numerous worldwide initiatives which, incorporated to very
different fields of action, aim to preserve our planet, our resources, and ourselves.

On the developing of sustainable tourism, the basic consideration is its connection with
the local development policies, which will take into account the appropriate type of tourism
to be developed, and will establish the measures to achieve a sustainable tourism integrated
into their own local development strategies.
With less frequency and scope, big sectors of the travel and tourism industries, like the
aviation and accommodation, start initiatives aimed at improving their performance in
sustainability. This also occurs with a reduced number of smaller tourism businesses with
an offer of products that are in essence sustainable, like bicycle hire, eco, bio or Fairtrade
goods.

Urban tourism is not a primary activity in a large city; the urban fabric is shared by
visitors and residents, and the city´s policies affect both. In sustainable development
‘money counts’ and the income derived from tourism helps to achieve a positive
development in line with sustainable city´s policies. Reinvestment on the source of the
income, in this case, tourism, is essential in good management, and in this case it can only
be done by improving the city infrastructures, its social welfare, and as a consequence its
attractiveness.
When this occurs at an important ‘city destination’, we can say that tourism shapes the
city, and reciprocally the city shapes tourism. Even the tourist behavioral habits can be
positively modified by sustainable city actions which give an example of a balanced display
of economic, social and environmental policies.

53
 All the above observations, of general application to urban sustainable tourism and
development, reflect the image of the current situation of Paris. Never bellow the fifteen
position in sustainability (and the third in mobility) among the main cities in the world,
Paris has been making every possible effort to pursue sustainable goals.
The city star plan, the ‘Paris climate action’ is the most ambitious carried out by any
European city. Centered on the reduction of greenhouse effect gasses and clean energy
production and use, the plan extends to the main fields of sustainable development related
to tourism: mobility, travel, the hospitality industry, building, green spaces; now its
achievements are becoming clearly visible.
Its infrastructure and facilities allow the city to easily absorb the number of tourists it
receives, and unlike other famous city destination in Europe, no social conflict has sprung
between visitors and residents; carrying capacities are never exceeded, and tourism does not
constitute a threat to the conservation of the social values.
Tourism is both at risk from climate change, and one of its causes; fortunately Paris is
becoming part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

A somehow unexpected and interesting issue has been present since the beginning of
this study, the profound relationship between city tourism and city development, and the
synergies this relationship involves, a subject which well could be object of further study.

4. REFERENCES

4.1 Primary sources

These are the ones whose information has been used as the basis of this project. All have
been either quoted, or mentioned, or have provided the data for this study.

*- Arcadis Design and Consultancy, and the Centre for Economics and Business Research
(Chamber of Commerce Amsterdam, the Netherlands). Sustainable Cities Mobility Index 2017.

*- Arcadis Design and Consultancy, and the Centre for Economics and Business Research
(Chamber of Commerce Amsterdam, the Netherlands). Sustainable Cities Index 2016.

*- Ashworth, J.(2012) Tourism Hospitality, 1:4. Do we Understand Urban Tourism?

1:e117. doi:10.4172/2167-0269.1000e117.

*- Bock, Kerstin. Article in European Journal of Futures Research 3(1). December 2015.
The changing nature of city tourism and its possible implications for the future of cities

54
.
*- Centre for Climate and Energy Solutions.). Outcomes of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in
Paris. 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (COP 21). December 2015.

*- Davos Declaration. Climate Change and Tourism; Responding to Global Challenges. Davos,
Switzerland, 3 October 2007.

*- Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jorgen Randers, William W. Behrens III. The
Limits to Growth. 1972 New York. Universe Books. ISBN 0-87663-165-0

.*- Economist Intelligence Unit, (sponsored by Siemens). Munich, Germany, 2009.

European Green City Index. Assessing the environmental impact of Europe’s major cities.

*- European Commission. DG Environment by the Science Communication Unit. Science

for Environment Policy (2015.) Indicators for sustainable cities. In-depth Report.
*- European Commission. Towards quality urban tourism. Integrated quality management (IQM) of
urban tourist destinations. Brussels, 2000.

*- Fontolan, Silvia. Benchmarking Sustainable Tourism Practices within the Formal Environment of
European National Tourism Organizations. European Travel Commission. Brussels, 2017.

*- Mairie de Paris. Assessment of Paris Climate and Energy Action Plan 2004-2014. July 2016.
Conception : Mairie de Paris, Direction des Espaces Verts et de l’Environnement, Agence
d’Ecologie Urbaine.

*- Mairie de Paris. Press release: City of Paris passes its new Air Quality, Energy & Climate Action
Plan. Paris, France (21 March 2018).

*- Mairie de Paris. Overview of the Paris Sustainable Development Report for 2016. https://api-
site.paris.fr/images/90042

*- Mairie de Paris. Paris Climate and Energy Action Plan 2012 Update. March 2013. Conception
: Mairie de Paris, Direction des Espaces Verts et de l’Environnement, Agence d’Ecologie
Urbaine.

*- Mairie de Paris. Paris Sustainable Development Summary 2016. https://api-site-

cdn.paris.fr/images/97521

*- Mairie de Paris. Schéma de Développement Touristique de Paris 2017-2022. Comité de la

destination Paris. (2016).

*- Mairie de Paris. 2022 Tourism Strategies Development. (2017)

*- Mairie de Paris. White Paper on the circular economy of Greater Paris. September, 2015.

55
*- Nhuta, Stephen, (July 2015). Midlands State University. Tourism and Sustainanble
Development: perpectives and learning for a sustainable future.
*- Office du Tourisme et des Congrès de Paris, (2017). Tourism in Paris. Key Figures 2016
*- Postma, Albert. Dorina-Maria Buda. Katharina Gugerell. 2017. The future of city
tourism. Journal of Tourism Futures, Vol. 3 Issue: 2, pp.95-101,
https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-09-2017-067

*- Scott, Daniel. Gössling, Stefan. Tourism and Climate Change Mitigation, Embracing the Paris
Agreement: Pathways to Decarbonisation. ISBN: 978-92-95107-12-0.B. European Travel
Commission. Brussels, 2018.

*- United Nations Environment Programme. Making Tourism More Sustainable. A Guide for
Policy Makers. http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/dtix0592xpa-
tourismpolicyen.pdf

*- UNEP/ICLEI, (2003). France/Germany. Tourism and Local Agenda 21. The Role of Local
Authorities in Sustainable Tourism.

*- United Nations. Our Common Future. Report of the World Commission on Environment
and Development. (1987).

*- United Nations Environment Programme. (2004). Sustainable Tourism: Definition. Website:

http://www.unep.fr/scp/tourism/sustain/ (13.05.2012).

*- UN-Habitat (2015). City Prosperity Initiative. Global City Report.

*- UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme). State of the World’s Cities
2012/2013. Prosperity of Cities. ISBN13: 978-0-415-83888-7 (2013).

*- World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). 2014, AM Reports, Volume ten. Global

Benchmarking for City Tourism Measurement.

*- World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). 2012. Global Report on City Tourism. Cities 2012
Project (AM Report nº six).

*- World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Guidebook on Indicators of Sustainable Development

for Tourism Destinations. http://www.adriaticgreenet.org/icareforeurope/wp-
content/uploads/2013/11/Indicators-of-Sustainable-Development-for-Tourism-
Destinations-A-Guide-Book-by-UNWTO.pdf

56
*- World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Publications on Sustainable Development of Tourism.
http://sdt.unwto.org/content/publications-22

*- World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and United Nations Global Compact

Network, Spain. . ISBN: 978-92-844-1829-9. Copyright © 2016. The tourism sector and the
Sustainable Development Goals. Responsible tourism, a global commitment.
http://cf.cdn.unwto.org/sites/all/files/pdf/turismo_responsable_omt_acc.pdf

*-World Travel and Tourism Council. Travel and Tourism Economic Impact 2017.
https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic-impact-research/regions-
2017/world2017.pdf

4.2 Web sites

The websites have provided up to date data.

C40 Global Network of Large Cities http://www.c40.org/

UNITED NATIONS. Environment Programme Tourism Project
https://www.google.es/search?ei=8i_0WqPvK8yAU6KZrugP&q=United+Nations+Envi
ronment+Programme+Tourism+Project&oq=United+Nations+Environment+Program
me+Tourism+Project&gs_l=psy-ab.12...0.0.0.15050.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1..64.psy-
ab..0.0.0....0.oVIQd2RwqjI

UNEP DTIE. Sustainable Tourism web site.

http://www.uneptie.org/tourismUNEP.United Nations Environment Programme Tourism Project.
http://web.unep.org/10yfp/programmes/sustainable-tourism-programme
WTO. Sustainable Development of Tourism Department’s website.
http://www.world-tourism.org/sustainable
UNWTO. Tourism and climate change.
http://sdt.unwto.org/content/events-climate-change-and-tourism
http://sdt.unwto.org/content/faq-climate-change-and-tourism

Paris web sites

https://www.apst.travel/2015/10/26/transport-aerien-et-environnement-ou-en-est-on/
http://static.aeroportsdeparis.fr/DossierPresse2014/DossierPresse2014.pdf
http://www.airfranceklm.com/fr/changement-climatique
https://en.parisinfo.com/What-to-do-in-Paris2/sustainable-accommodation-in-paris
https://www.ecologique-solidaire.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/Emissions_gazeusesVF.pdf

57
https://reseauactionclimat.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Cinq-mythes-sur-le-
transport-ae%CC%81rien.pdf
https://api-site-cdn.paris.fr/images/98569
http://www.apc-paris.com/article-rubrique/transport-ecomobilite-0
http://www.visitparisregion.com/guides/envie-de/tourisme-durable/balades/circulation-
douce-65139.html
https://www.parisinfo.com/decouvrir-paris/tourisme-durable-a-paris/se-rendre-et-se-
deplacer-a-paris-sans-polluer
https://www.ratp.fr/groupe-ratp/newsroom/mobilite-durable/open-tour-paris-met-en-
service-son-premier-bus-imperiale-hop
http://www.vie-publique.fr/decouverte-
institutions/institutions/approfondissements/metropole-du-grand-paris.html
https://www.lejdd.fr/politique/grand-paris-les-departements-de-la-petite-couronne-
jouent-leur-va-tout-3544364
http://www.metropolegrandparis.fr/
http://www.cohesion-territoires.gouv.fr/le-grand-paris-l-environnement
http://www.leparisien.fr/economie/nouvelles-mobilites/mobilite-durable-deux-villes-
francaises-au-top-mondial-22-03-2018-7622880.php
https://www.consoglobe.com/paris-troisieme-ville-au-monde-en-matiere-de-mobilite-
durable-cg
https://www.paris2018.com/transport/
http://www.apc-paris.com/actualite/paris-ville-engagee-pour-mobilite-durable
http://www.marketing-professionnel.fr/secteur/energie-transports-en-commun-paris-
developpement-durable.html
https://www.climatebonds.net/files/files/CBI%20Rail%20Webinar%20-
%20SLoCaT%20Presentation%20-%202016-09-08%281%29.pdf
https://mon-essence.fr/blog/2017/11/20/plan-climat-paris/
http://www.apc-paris.com/sites/www.apc-
paris.com/files/file_fields/2016/09/12/ecomobiliteaparis-agenceparisienneduclimat_0.pdf
https://www.actu-environnement.com/ae/news/paris-plan-climat-energie-territorial-2050-
29992.php4
http://airinfo.org/2017/01/14/developpement-durable-le-transport-aerien-francais-
poursuit-ses-efforts/
https://www.apst.travel/2015/10/26/transport-aerien-et-environnement-ou-en-est-on/

58
5. ANNEXED

Figure 1.
The different Paris areas

City of Paris

Le Seine Department

3. Paris and the Petit Couronne

3. Grand Paris Metropole

4. Ile de France region

59