What is sustainable tourism?

By its very nature, tourism values things that are precious in our world: stunning landscapes, wildlife, history, culture and people. It can be a catalyst for growth in the local economy, providing jobs, opportunities for enterprise and funds for conservation. But, wherever it occurs, tourism can, and often does, have negative impacts on communities and the environment. This includes loss of housing, loss of access to land and resources, overcrowding, pollution, the destruction of ecosystems and damage to cultural heritage. Many of these impacts are intensified by the impacts of climate change, which tourism has played no small part in fuelling.

The aim of sustainable tourism is to increase the benefits and to reduce the negative impacts caused by tourism. Going beyond managing the negative impacts of tourism, the term regenerative tourism describes tourism that restores and improves the environment, culture, and economy of a destination. Regenerative tourism seeks to create a positive impact on local communities and leave the destination in a better state than it was found, while providing an authentic travel experience for visitors.

Unfortunately, much of tourism today focusses on growth in numbers of arrivals, overnight stays, and visitor spending. Increasingly, the few at the top of the value chain gain the economic benefits of tourism. While, all to often, no one accounts for the real cost of tourism for destinations and their communities and it is local residents who lose out.

Travel Forward’s role is as a driving force for change in tourism – for the wellbeing of destination communities.