The Travel Foundation has become Travel Forward
We’ve changed our name to Travel Forward to better reflect our mission to mobilise collective action for the wellbeing of tourism destinations around the world.
Our new name is also an invitation to support action as climate risks, visitor pressures and inequalities grow.
The change comes as visitor economies face growing stress from unprecedented climate impacts, record numbers of arrivals and overnight stays, and widening inequality, creating greater risks for communities, businesses and local economies.
Travel Forward remains an independent global charity, building on more than two decades of research, advocacy, partnerships and on-the-ground experience to bring partners together around practical solutions that support destination communities and places.
At the same time, our focus has evolved to address the root causes of risk in tourism, including climate impacts, unmanaged growth and unequal distribution of benefits.
“This is not a change in who we are. We’ve built the foundations through more than 20 years of work with destinations and businesses. But for our industry to travel forward, we need to move beyond incremental change and respond with greater ambition. The pressures facing communities and places are growing, and we’re here to help the sector respond with greater urgency, collaboration and purpose.”
Jeremy Sampson, CEO of Travel Forward.
Get involved
We’re calling on our industry partners to get involved by:
- Joining Travel Forward Connect, our new membership community for travel businesses and destinations ready to collaborate on practical solutions and share learning.
- Backing campaigns and pilot projects that can help shift tourism onto a new pathway, from sponsoring the forthcoming Destination Climate RiskScan report to supporting Nature Risk pilots and Climate Week events in London and New York focused on unlocking finance for tourism’s transition.
- Drawing on Travel Forward’s training, insight and advisory support, from climate action planning and risk and resilience training to market trend analysis and tourism impact assessments.
A huge thank you to Holiday Extras, Rise and Shine and Partners, and Four Communications, whose generous pro-bono support has enabled us to make this change without diverting resources from our core mission.
“The name Travel Forward reflects our role in helping the sector move from intention to coordinated action. We are here to support those ready to act and to create opportunities to change tourism’s impact on destinations for the better. But this is a shared effort. We need partners to get involved, help mobilise support, fundraise where they can, and be part of something bigger.”
Megan Morikawa, Travel Forward Chair of Trustees
“In 2003 The Travel Foundation was created to ‘care for places we love to visit’. That imperative is greater now than ever. 23 years on, the world has changed dramatically and demand for international travel continues to grow, increasing by around 4% in 2025 to a record 1.52 billion worldwide. The term “overtourism” is now well-understood and destinations that rely heavily on tourism, particularly island nations, are too often significantly more vulnerable to the effects of climate overheating and sea level rise than two decades ago. Travel Forward is an expert resource to help destinations respond to today’s challenges and work towards a more secure future. I am delighted to see how the organisation has developed since its founding.”
Sue Hurdle, Travel Foundation founding CEO (2003 to 2013)
Travel Forward will continue to operate as a registered charity in the UK under its existing legal entity, the Travel Foundation, while rolling out our new name and identity across communications and programmes.
