Unfortunately, much of the tourism industry still clings to traditional—and, in many cases, wasteful—marketing practices. It's hard to give up those glossy brochures and rack cards. The recent economic upheaval, however, may have interesting side effects that reduce some of the green washing.

As is custom, many organizations are cutting back on traditional marketing efforts. Interestingly, many are actually redirecting resources toward online efforts. Thus, the environment may be the unintended beneficiary of the slowdown. What remains to be seen is if these organizations will simply go back to old habits once things pick up.