Travel Agencies And Ecological Sustainability İn Mardin

TRAVEL AGENCİES AND ECOLOGİCAL SUSTAİNABİLİTY İN MARDİN

The main purpose of establishment of travel agencies is to make profit like any other company. The fact that an agency operates in an environmentally and environmentally sensitive manner while doing this will benefit both the world we live in (in general) and that business in the medium and long term (in particular). Finally, environmentally conscious consumers pay attention to working with environmentally friendly businesses. Ecological sustainability will not be possible only with the efforts of certain individuals or organizations. This is a team effort and every individual living on earth is a member of this team. Travel agencies should also fulfill their obligations with their corporate identities. In this study, I will try to analyze where the travel agencies operating in Mardin stand in terms of ecological sustainability.

Mardin 

Resembling a fairy tale scene, Mardin is a unique city with its architectural, religious, ethnographic, archaeological, historical and gastronomic values. Mardin, which borders Syria in the southeast of Turkey, on the Silk Road route and in the south, has 9 districts and a population of 876,000. The district has a continental climate, with hot and dry summers and cold and rainy winters. The vegetation is maquis oak trees. The high mountains in the north are effective on the climate of Mardin province. There are many mosques, tombs, churches, monasteries and similar historical buildings in Mardin, each of which is a work of art. Although it is far behind the place it deserves in terms of tourism due to problems such as politics and security, it looks to the future with hope due to its potential.

Travel Agencies in Mardin

Nearly 40 travel agencies operate in the city. Almost all of these agencies are A group agencies and they mostly work on tour activities in the region and Southeast. Some agencies only work on ticketing. It cannot be said that the travel agencies in Mardin have a direct, conscious activity or effort in terms of ecological sustainability. The indirect benefits to ecological sustainability are based on purely pragmatic reasons. For example; Due to the high paper costs, paper consumption in offices has been reduced, and document sharing, which can be done via e-mail or social media (watsapp, messanger, etc.), has started to be done in electronic environments (passenger list, activity document, vehicle contract, etc.). Again, depending on the increase in electricity prices, the lamps in the offices were replaced with LEDs and they were started to be turned off when not needed. Apart from these mentioned, unfortunately, it is not possible to mention that the enterprises are directly and consciously making an effort towards ecological sustainability. 

What Can/Should Travel Agencies in Mardin Do for Ecological Sustainability? 

1. To prefer vehicles with low emission rates while providing services.
2. To engage in afforestation activities.
3. Using environmentally friendly materials.
4. To work with businesses that attach importance to ecological structure.
5. Consciously minimizing paper consumption.
6. To save electricity on the basis of environmental awareness.
7. Preventing the guide, driver or other personnel/business partners from harming the environment while doing their job.

8.To cooperate with international organizations that contribute to ecological sustainability.

Why don’t Travel Agencies in Mardin do what needs to be done for Ecological Sustainability? 

The answer to this question is basically about environmental awareness and sensitivity. The education that individuals receive and the quality of that education, socioeconomic and sociocultural factors are the main reasons that affect the development of this awareness and sensitivity. And unfortunately, at this point, we have a lot of shortcomings both locally and nationally. “Why don’t travel agencies in Mardin do what needs to be done for ecological sustainability?” In order to explain the question in more detail, I would like to explain what these agencies should do:

• Preferring low-emission vehicles while providing services:

In order to achieve this, both the agencies that have their own transport vehicles and the carrier companies need to renew their fleets, which means a financial obligation that there are very few organizations that can do this under current conditions.

• Engaging in afforestation activities: The main problem in this activity, which does not require a very high cost and labor force; businesses do not have enough awareness at this point. In addition, it is obvious that the trees to be planted in Mardin will not/cannot be given the post-planting care they will need, considering the annual rainfall is very low, there are almost 5 months of summer, there are households that are still without water for days even in the central district, and the irregularities in the local administration are considered.

• Using environmentally friendly materials: At this point, we again encounter financial difficulties and lack of awareness.

• Working with businesses that attach importance to ecological structure: There are basically 3 types of businesses in which travel agencies are in constant interaction: food and beverage businesses, accommodation businesses and transportation businesses. Travel agencies prefer the brands that they can make the most profit. At this point, we again come across the financial dimension and awareness.

• Consciously minimizing paper consumption: It is necessary to focus on this issue, which is currently considered to a certain extent, not only because of its economic weight, but also on the basis of environmental awareness. At this point, the consciousness factor comes into play.
• Saving electricity on the basis of environmental awareness: Here, too, the situation exhibits the same character as the phenomenon in paper consumption.

• Preventing the guide, driver or other personnel/business partners from harming the environment while doing their jobs: At this point, especially the agencies’ difficulties in finding alternatives to the guide, driver or other personnel they will work with reduces the chance of the agencies to intervene in the wrong actions of these people or institutions.

• Collaborating with international organizations that contribute to ecological sustainability: At this point, there is a lack of awareness, financial and individual/institutional skills to realize this. (I contacted ASTA, American Society of Travel Advisors, to become a member of such an organization, you need to pay an annual fee of approximately 20,000 TL.)

As can be seen, when we evaluate the situations that need to be corrected, we encounter two factors in particular; finances possibilities and awareness. Very detailed and multidimensional views of consciousness can be developed. But we can make a comfortable assessment about the financial dimension. Mardin, like Cappadocia or Antalya, is not a destination that attracts tourists in almost every season and has managed to get its name engraved on the minds (there are many reasons for this, such as the corruption of the local government, corruption and indifference). For this reason, the revenues of the agencies are limited due to their activity periods; most agency owners support their families by doing additional work. Mardin is in a geopolitically sensitive region. This means that in the slightest insecurity, touristic activities will be interrupted (eg, in the trench incidents and in a long period of 4 years, tourism has almost completely ended in Mardin). Infrastructure deficiencies, inadequate quality and quantity of accommodation establishments in the city, and lack of a ring road in the city are among the problems experienced by the city. The last thing I want to point out is that agencies also behave similarly to people. Few people who are in economic distress or uncertainty are able to develop awareness towards their environment and nature. Because he has to devote most of his energy and attention to economic anxiety. However, intellectual identity begins to develop in segments of society that have reached a certain level of economic comfort, and only this segment begins to realize that they have a responsibility to the nature in which they live. The situation is similar for agencies; this is why when we look at the brands that contribute to “ecological sustainability”, we come across big players such as TUI, RCCL, JOLLY, TOURISTICA. And yet, we see very few small businesses making such an effort on the stage.