No one person or organisation can tackle the carbon crisis alone. We need industry leaders to join forces and commit to the attractions sector being carbon negative by 2030, if we’re to play our part in averting Earth Death
AM is calling on industry leaders to take action on carbon / photo: shutterstock/ nicostock
As we head towards COP26 in Glasgow, the world has never been in worse shape.
The Amazon rainforests are now emitting a billion tonnes more carbon each year than they absorb. Societies the world over are being ravaged by wildfires, floods and landslides and climate scientists are telling us we’ve reached the tipping point in the acceleration towards Earth Death.
There are many daunting challenges facing peoplekind, but the issue of carbon and climate is the most pressing and it’s incumbent on all of us to do everything we can to find solutions.
In this special VAC edition of Attractions Management, we talk to an operator who’s made a commitment to putting climate action at the heart of its business, with significant success.
PortAventura World in Spain has been working on its ESG programme for years and announced recently that it has become carbon neutral, following a drive to reduce its environmental impact.
On page 44, PortAventura’s director of corporate responsibility, Choni Fernandez Veciana, talks us through how the operator has achieved Guarantee of Origin certification to confirm that 100 per cent of its electricity comes from renewables, while also achieving the recovery of 90 per cent of its waste.
PortAventura has shown that good intentions are even more powerful when combined with a commercial incentive and the key to saving the planet is emerging as a combination of the two.
We’re watching the work of companies such as Chris Sacca’s www.lowercarboncapital.com, with its mission to support businesses in ‘unfucking the planet’ by driving environmental improvements that also save or make money.
We’re calling on industry leaders and trade bodies to take action now and to commit to the industry being carbon negative by 2030.
We want to see them joining forces to promote carbon reduction initiatives and also making information available to attractions operators to empower them to adopt systems and practices that will both save them money, and help reduce the world’s carbon load.
All parts of the industry need to become exemplars of best practice when it comes to carbon – we want our industry to excel and lead the way, to achieve the valuable win:win of a healthier bottom line and a healthier planet.
New opening: The deepest dive
Featuring post-apocalyptic underwater environments and the world’s deepest pool, Deep Dive Dubai is making waves
Sustainability: A brighter future
With a zero-emission hotel and plans for a huge photovoltaic plant, PortAventura World is moving towards a new energy model
Museums: Play on
Using emotion, technology and special effects, Ravinia Music Box is bringing the music of Leonard Bernstein to new audiences
Tourism: Local heroes and global nomads
From globally-renowned art galleries to community-run attractions, a new breed of visionaries are reimagining tourism in this rural idyll
Planetariums: Thomas J Wong
As the world’s largest museum of astronomy opens in Shanghai, we speak to the architect who helped make the vision a reality
World Expo: Expo 2020 Dubai launches
It was delayed by a year due to COVID-19, but the Expo has now opened with more than 200 exhibitors and a masterplan designed by HOK, Arup and Populous
Museums: Phillip Tefft
The Imperial War Museum is bringing untold stories to life with its Second World War and Holocaust Galleries. Exhibition designer Phillip Tefft shares the journey
No one person or organisation can tackle the carbon crisis alone. We need industry leaders to join forces and commit to the attractions sector being carbon negative by 2030, if we’re to play our part in averting Earth Death
AM is calling on industry leaders to take action on carbon / photo: shutterstock/ nicostock
As we head towards COP26 in Glasgow, the world has never been in worse shape.
The Amazon rainforests are now emitting a billion tonnes more carbon each year than they absorb. Societies the world over are being ravaged by wildfires, floods and landslides and climate scientists are telling us we’ve reached the tipping point in the acceleration towards Earth Death.
There are many daunting challenges facing peoplekind, but the issue of carbon and climate is the most pressing and it’s incumbent on all of us to do everything we can to find solutions.
In this special VAC edition of Attractions Management, we talk to an operator who’s made a commitment to putting climate action at the heart of its business, with significant success.
PortAventura World in Spain has been working on its ESG programme for years and announced recently that it has become carbon neutral, following a drive to reduce its environmental impact.
On page 44, PortAventura’s director of corporate responsibility, Choni Fernandez Veciana, talks us through how the operator has achieved Guarantee of Origin certification to confirm that 100 per cent of its electricity comes from renewables, while also achieving the recovery of 90 per cent of its waste.
PortAventura has shown that good intentions are even more powerful when combined with a commercial incentive and the key to saving the planet is emerging as a combination of the two.
We’re watching the work of companies such as Chris Sacca’s www.lowercarboncapital.com, with its mission to support businesses in ‘unfucking the planet’ by driving environmental improvements that also save or make money.
We’re calling on industry leaders and trade bodies to take action now and to commit to the industry being carbon negative by 2030.
We want to see them joining forces to promote carbon reduction initiatives and also making information available to attractions operators to empower them to adopt systems and practices that will both save them money, and help reduce the world’s carbon load.
All parts of the industry need to become exemplars of best practice when it comes to carbon – we want our industry to excel and lead the way, to achieve the valuable win:win of a healthier bottom line and a healthier planet.
New opening: The deepest dive
Featuring post-apocalyptic underwater environments and the world’s deepest pool, Deep Dive Dubai is making waves
Sustainability: A brighter future
With a zero-emission hotel and plans for a huge photovoltaic plant, PortAventura World is moving towards a new energy model
Museums: Play on
Using emotion, technology and special effects, Ravinia Music Box is bringing the music of Leonard Bernstein to new audiences
Tourism: Local heroes and global nomads
From globally-renowned art galleries to community-run attractions, a new breed of visionaries are reimagining tourism in this rural idyll
Planetariums: Thomas J Wong
As the world’s largest museum of astronomy opens in Shanghai, we speak to the architect who helped make the vision a reality
World Expo: Expo 2020 Dubai launches
It was delayed by a year due to COVID-19, but the Expo has now opened with more than 200 exhibitors and a masterplan designed by HOK, Arup and Populous
Museums: Phillip Tefft
The Imperial War Museum is bringing untold stories to life with its Second World War and Holocaust Galleries. Exhibition designer Phillip Tefft shares the journey
The Montana Historical Society has officially celebrated the opening of its new Montana
Heritage
Center, a US$107 million (£79 million, €92 million) destination that combines immersive
storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual technology to bring the sta
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
