Destination Climate Action
Destinations around the world face increasing threats from climate change, such as extreme weather, resource depletion, and biodiversity loss. Addressing these issues is imperative for the tourism industry, which relies on healthy ecosystems and a stable climate to attract visitors.
Urgent and strategic climate action is needed to secure the future of these destinations. We help destinations develop and implement roadmaps that foster climate-forward tourism practices, reduce emissions, and build resilience.
How We Guide Destinations Toward Climate Action
Our inclusive process fosters collaboration and ensures diverse voices have a seat at the table, enhancing community engagement and ownership. By combining data-driven insights with local perspectives, we develop a tailored Climate Action Plan outlining clear steps to help your destination mitigate and adapt to climate change. These strategies support long-term resilience and advance global climate goals and frameworks like the Glasgow Declaration.
Step 1
Measure Tourism’s Carbon Footprint
Understanding tourism’s impact lays the foundation for successful destination climate action. We’ll conduct a carbon footprint analysis of your tourism value chain, including transportation, accommodation, meals, and activities. This will identify your industry’s baseline carbon footprint and key emission sources, providing insights to guide the development of reduction targets and strategies that support sustainable economic growth.
Step 2
Educate Businesses on Climate-Friendly Tourism
Tourism businesses directly influence the industry’s emissions and resource use. Educating local businesses on why and how to take climate action strengthens their involvement in destination efforts. Through hands-on training and educational materials, we raise awareness of climate change’s impacts on the tourism industry and equip businesses with best practices to decarbonize and boost their climate resilience.
Step 3
Foster Collaboration Through Inclusive Planning
A successful climate strategy is shaped by the people who know the destination best. We facilitate discussions and workshops with government representatives, tourism professionals, and community and environmental organizations to align priorities and build shared commitment. Together, we identify practical strategies and collaboration opportunities in areas like transportation, energy, waste, and conservation based on the local context.
Step 4
Develop a Strategic Climate Action Plan
We transform carbon footprint data and stakeholder insights into a destination-specific Climate Action Plan aligned with the Glasgow Declaration’s five pathways. This plan provides a prioritized roadmap that breaks down longer-term climate goals into actionable steps with defined resources, responsibilities, and timelines. Designed to be feasible yet impactful, the plan helps maintain momentum and measurable outcomes.
Step 5
Implement and Monitor Progress
Creating the plan is just the beginning – the next step is putting it into action. We provide resources, technical guidance, and capacity-building to help your destination turn its climate plans into reality. Ongoing progress monitoring allows for strategic adjustments, keeping efforts on track to meet long-term goals. We’ll equip you with tools to measure, evaluate, and adapt strategies, helping you celebrate success while driving continuous improvement.
"Sustainable Travel International's expertise and commitment have helped us shape impactful initiatives, from community-driven sustainability programs to the development of our Tourism Climate Action Plan – ensuring that our island leads by example in the global fight against climate change."
See Destination Climate Action in Practice
Curious about how this process comes to life? Read about how we partnered with St. Kitts to develop the destination’s Tourism Climate Action Plan.
