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André Lüthi: “Everyone easily pays an airport tax, a security tax, a fuel surcharge. Why isn’t a contribution to the climate accepted?”
Jean Claude RaemyEditor Economics
Greenpeace recently sounded the alarm. According to a study commissioned by the environmental organization, private jets belonging to WEF participants emitted 9,700 tons of CO₂ during last year’s WEF week – this corresponds to the weekly emissions of 350,000 cars. Things are also happening again in intercontinental holiday travel. Thailand wants to welcome around 80 million tourists a year as early as 2027. That would double the number of tourists received in 2019 (the last year before the pandemic). All good intentions regarding a more sustainable tourism are apparently thrown to the wind. According to his own statements, André Lüthi (61), CEO of the Globetrotter Group based in Bern, is one who is fighting against this.
BLICK: André Lüthi, as soon as you can travel freely again, the travel industry is back to full growth. Where is the climate protection?
André Luthi: In fact, some actors have not learned any lessons from the Corona crisis. But there is a new awareness: the social compatibility of travel and climate change are the focus for more and more travelers. During the pandemic, people thought about travel behavior.
Isn’t travel becoming cleaner, thanks to technological advances, so that it can cope with growth?
Growth can only be sustained if emissions also decrease. Aircraft manufacturers and many other industries have made enormous progress in this regard in recent years. But cleaner mobility requires more development, more research, new technologies. That costs money. Who should pay for this?
tell us
There must now be a CO₂ tax when flying. These funds are then to be used in full for the research and development of even more environmentally friendly mobility technologies.
The revised CO₂ law, which provided for such a tax, was rejected by Swiss voters on June 13, 2021!
Because the money would not have been invested 1:1 in climate protection. Otherwise, in my view, the vote would have been accepted.
If travelers are more environmentally conscious, they can voluntarily offset CO₂ using existing instruments. So why ask for a new tax?
Stricter measures are needed than voluntary compensation. For one thing, it is used far too little. On the other hand, I am not a fan of this «selling in indulgences». It does not change consumer behavior, but removes pangs of conscience by contributing to an improvement somewhere in the world. Nobody cares what exactly is done. Many compensation projects have already been shut down. After all: Compensating sensitizes us to the topic. And not to mention taxes: Everyone easily pays an airport tax, a security tax, a fuel surcharge. Why is a contribution for the climate not accepted?
Then set a good example. Is Globetrotter now introducing a CO₂ tax?
No, you can’t go it alone. A global launch would be best. This is going to be difficult. Maybe we can make a small contribution by promoting fewer short city trips on cheap flights and one or two long trips a year.
But then there is less travel.
Yes and no. We tripled our sales after the 2022 pandemic. This growth has not paralleled the increase in passengers. That means: It wasn’t traveled three times more – but more was spent on it. In addition, prices have also risen, flight prices alone have increased by 30 percent since 2019. This is the way. You can’t ban travel. But we can travel more consciously.
When travel becomes more expensive, many can no longer afford vacations.
I do not think so. Travel used to cost more. You had to save money and looked forward to the trip. And is not with the pocket money for two days to Mallorca. In general, we need to rethink our consumer behavior – and not just when we travel.
The travel pioneer
The head of the Globetrotter Group has turned his passion into a profession. André Lüthi originally trained as a baker/confectioner. But after the apprenticeship, the native of Bern was drawn to far away places. He then managed to get into the travel industry, rising from clerk to co-owner and president of Globetrotter, the largest independent travel agency in Switzerland. Lüthi has been to the Himalayas more than 45 times, by canoe in Alaska and to various mountain peaks in Russia and South America. Lüthi is on the board of the Swiss Travel Association and represented the interests of the industry to the Federal Council and society during Corona.
The head of the Globetrotter Group has turned his passion into a profession. André Lüthi originally trained as a baker/confectioner. But after the apprenticeship, the native of Bern was drawn to far away places. He then managed to get into the travel industry, rising from clerk to co-owner and president of Globetrotter, the largest independent travel agency in Switzerland. Lüthi has been to the Himalayas more than 45 times, by canoe in Alaska and to various mountain peaks in Russia and South America. Lüthi is on the board of the Swiss Travel Association and represented the interests of the industry to the Federal Council and society during Corona.