The Grove Crete – State-sponsored greenwashing? Article 9 of the Transition 1 | 2022 (by Serhat Ünaldi)

The Grove Crete – State-sponsored greenwashing? (Serhat Ünaldi)

How misguided tourism policies make it difficult for green startups to get off the ground 

On the need to think holistically, intersectorally and qualitatively about sustainability in the hospitality industry 

In 1983, U.S. student and environmentalist Jay Westerveld was vacationing in Fiji. Although he was staying in a small guesthouse, he fetched fresh towels at the sprawling Beachcomber Resort next door. As he did so, he noticed a sign asking guests of the resort to reuse their towels to avoid having to wash them daily – for the sake of the environment. Jay paused and pondered, for the resort was about to expand even further along the surrounding coral reef, significantly impacting the environment.
He concluded that environmental protection is often used as a fig leaf in tourism and he invented a term for it: “greenwashing”. Given the continued focus of sustainability- minded investors and policymakers on large-scale projects, the term has lost none
of its relevance. 

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