Moving the Needle on Climate Action and Digital Sustainable Transformation
ITB Berlin is the main event in the calendar for the travel industry and 2026 marks its 60th year. Sadly, the event was overshadowed by the war in the Middle East with few visitors from the region able to attend due to flight cancellations and military action targeting key global hubs in the UAE and Qatar. Nevertheless, there was a sense of resilience and hope especially for sustainable tourism that often appeared on the mainstages.
Mind the gap
The conference seminars covered an array of topics from responsible, community and regenerative travel to agentic AI – and everything in between. A common theme that cropped up was the gaps that exist in the travel ecosystem, for example, the finance gap and climate adaptation gap.
Data from Mascontour puts the situation in sharp relief where 65% of destinations expect to be significantly or very significantly impacted by climate change over the next five years. However, in contrast, only 18% have implemented a climate action plan according to its report into Climate Adaptation in Tourism. Jeremy Sampson. CEO of The Travel Foundation said that the industry is on a cliff edge when it comes to finance and insurance. While countries such as Tuvalu will see 11% of GDP lost to climate change by 2050, compared to the current rate of 7% according to Riskalyer’s CEO, Dr Bijan Khazai.
The Travel Foundation’s session ‘These Ideas will Transform Tourism’ along with UN Tourism laid out three potential pilot solutions: nature and climate resilience won the pitch battle against resident sentiment and risk. However, all three solutions could equally work especially when combined together to mitigate risk, drive resilience and ensure sustainable transformation. This very much supports The Travel Foundation’s Where Next? Agenda.
AI takes centre stage
Seminars on the topic of AI were packed out, with AI mentioned at almost every session attended. Microsoft reported that 50% of consumers are using AI for travel and 72% expect AI agentic experiences where AI conducts tasks autonomously such as booking travel on behalf of a person. This exuberance for all things AI was tempered by Booking.com saying that less than 10% trust AI.
Google presented an optimistic view of future growth, with an additional USD4.3 trillion to unlock by 2050, advising a playbook of targeting younger consumers, following new source markets, enhancing profitability and providing agentic commerce. Yet despite the exuberance of guaranteed growth, others were pushing for greater balance especially in the face of overtourism and capacity challenges in top tier destinations.
Without losing the human connection
Others were more cautious about AI’s capabilities, considering the technology as a facilitator rather than replacement for human engagement especially in the tours and activities sector. Tourradar launched a ChatGPT app, however its traffic has plateaued illustrating that there is a ceiling for consumers’ interest in AI. ToursbyLocals has seen AI enabling greater levels of personalisation with 150% more use of AI. Despite the growth in AI usage, the company warned about the importance of keeping travel human.
Technology instrumental in sustainable business success
Bruce Poon Tip of G Adventures and Planeterra offered fascinating insights into the integral role of technology has played in the success of his business over the years. It has helped to create emotional connections between brand and consumer through storytelling and the power of social. To him, social was the best thing that ever happened providing transparency and accountability to customers.
He cautioned that travel compounds such as large all-inclusive resorts are on a collision course with communities, and in future, they will need to spend more time educating consumers through technology to only travel if there is a purpose.
One of the most outstanding examples of diversity and inclusion was the presentation by the German National Tourism Office of its mixed reality experience at its UNESCO sites. This technology enables accessibility through the provision of 3D information pre-booking, which is a major challenge for accessible travellers looking for trusted information.
Destinations on the frontline
Professor Stefan Gössling warned that climate change is already affecting tourism, but we do not know how to act on mitigation; and that business as usual creates higher risks over the long term. The travel industry is facing rising insurance costs, seasonality issues, brand image and infrastructure challenges.
Dona Regis-Prosper, Secretary General and CEO of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation responded that the region has 40 million people and 40 million visitors that have a lived experience of climate change, where they have gone beyond sustainable tourism to regenerative tourism.
Putting biodiversity first
According to the IPBES, the value of biodiversity is worth twice that of global GDP, being the driving force behind Indigenous community and nature-positive tourism in countries like Panama.
In Bocas del Toro, the beach is reserved for turtles, and instead rural lodges with farm to table experiences are offered to visitors as highlighted by El Trip de Jenny. While the Guna Yala 365 island archipelago has no hotels built there to preserve local Indigenous culture, offering instead hammocks or over the water cabins for local accommodation. Panama is also minimising emigration through community tourism and showcasing its diverse heritage and artisanal skills for truly authentic travel experiences.
Transformation in play
With AI collapsing the booking window and reducing the time between inspiration/discovery and booking, the desire for immersive and authentic travel experiences remains paramount. In places like Phuket Old Town this means encouraging visitors to slow down. The aim is to drive greater engagement between visitors and community for a more balanced tourism ecosystem, not commoditised industry.
