When we think of tourism, we often think of hotels, airlines, restaurants, attractions, and tour guides. But the industry is far more complex than this and includes many more stakeholders beyond what we see on the surface. For instance, how do the roads you travel on get built? What happens to your trash after you dispose of it? And who maintains the parks and beaches you visit? In addition to the more obvious participants, tourism also involves government departments and agencies, local and global NGOs, and host communities.
Guest Contribution by: Rich Shea, Director of Communications at CREST.Every year, the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST), collaborating with leading tourism organizations, including Sustainable Travel International, publishes what’s come to be known, shorthand, as “Trends & Statistics.” This report is a compilation of facts, quotations, data, and resources designed to advance the practice of responsible travel worldwide.
Guest Contribution by: Louise Twining-Ward, The World Bank / Co-Author: Damien Shiels, The World Bank
Sustainable tourism is a proven tool for development, benefitting communities in destinations around the world. A new World Bank Group report released on World Tourism Day explains 20 Reasons to Integrate Tourism in Your Development Agenda. The paper, which also celebrates the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, explains how sustainable tourism counts not just for travelers, but for tourism destinations and local residents.
Guest Contribution by Dr. Robert Brumbaugh, Director of Ocean Planning and Protection, The Nature Conservancy
Tourism is one of the world’s largest industries, contributing trillions of dollars to the global economy and supporting the livelihoods of an estimated one in ten people worldwide. Much of that tourism depends on the natural world—on beautiful landscapes and seascapes that visitors flock to in search of escape, a second wind, and a direct connection with nature itself. Coastal and marine tourism represents a significant share of the industry and is an important component of the growing, sustainable Blue Economy, supporting more than 6.5 million jobs—second only to industrial fishing. With anticipated global growth rates of more than 3.5%, coastal and marine tourism is projected to be the largest value-adding segment of the ocean economy by 2030, at 26%.
Most of us have seen the photos and videos filling up our news feeds, but for countless people across the Caribbean, the devastation from Hurricane Irma is not just something they’ve seen from afar. It hit home and it hit home hard. People watched as their houses, schools, and hospitals were reduced to rubble and their homeland transformed into a landscape of uprooted trees and debris. Too many families lost nearly everything and have been forced to leave their lives behind, not knowing when they will be able to return.
From protecting the nesting habitats of endangered sea turtles to preserving cherished cultural heritage sites, travel philanthropy funds such as the Heart of St. Kitts Foundation have the power to create real, tangible impact at the local level. But this progress doesn’t just happen on its own or because of the isolated efforts of a few people. The potential of travel philanthropy funds to make a difference instead relies on the support and participation of the local community as a whole. It doesn’t matter whether a person is a hotel owner, tour guide, environmental specialist, government official, school student, or artist – each and every destination resident can play a role in growing this collective impact.
