Florida educators explore international tourism at 2023 Global Business Summit

Professional development opportunity offers new perspectives on sustainable tourism and green business

BY TULY BADILLO Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management, Broward College

I was fortunate to participate in the 2023 Global business Summit. We came together to explore the link between Florida’s tourism industry and the global connection to hospitality, marketing, logistics, language, and culture. Importantly, how sustainability and green business efforts may affect the tourism industry.

I teach supply chain management at Broward College, and the dialogue we had with colleagues honed-in on the core issues of supply chains and sustainability concepts. More and more share- holders are requiring companies to integrate green products and processes in business operations and include sustainable processes. The issue affecting companies is keeping a balance between profits and a new focus by shareholders who are starting to require sustainable and green practice. Moreover, the younger generations are also putting market forces by changing consumer behavior towards green products and companies that have social and environmental responsibility as part of their mission statements. Younger generations are shifting away from plastics and one time use products.

The global summit afforded me the opportunity to gain knowledge from different perspectives on the impact on the tourism industry and how sustainable is the growth. Bear in mind that the global forces to go green and be sustainable are a challenge to integrate. Going green and implementing sustainable growth will require a paradigm shift in our approach to profitability and waste reduction. At this meeting, I realized the importance of including said concepts in the K-12 classrooms. It is paramount that the education begins in the K-12 classrooms.

The visit to Port Canaveral enhanced our perspectives of the green and sustainable challenges of the tourism industry and the logistical operations complexity of loading a ship with passengers, food, and drinks. It is amazing how complex the compliance for sourcing of food items is in the international tourism industry. ◆