We’ve launched a consultation to shape a bold new agenda for tourism’s climate resilience and adaptation.
The consultation, part of the Where Next? campaign, invites feedback on four Big Ideas designed to drive system-wide change across the travel and tourism sector. The consultation calls for other ideas that should also be considered. The Travel Foundation will develop the proposals over the coming months and present them during the COP30 UN Climate Summit in November.
Click here to give your feedback.
The consultation is open to anyone whose work or daily life intersects with tourism – from tour guides to mayors, business managers and community groups. Every voice matters. The aim is to gather insights that will help shape the future of tourism as it adapts both to climate change and the needs of destination communities. The consultation asks:
- Are these the right ideas to catalyse systems change?
- What other Big Ideas should also be considered?
- What considerations must be factored into their development?
- What barriers or enablers could shape their success?
The four proposals under consultation are:
A global climate risk register for destinations
A shared, open-access platform with localised climate risk profiles to support planning, investment, and decision-making.
Equity as a standard in tourism planning
Community support should be a condition of tourism development, with communities actively engaged and benefiting from decisions that affect their places.
A climate justice fund for frontline destinations
A new global fund to support climate adaptation in tourism-dependent places that are most exposed to climate risks.
Phasing out harmful tourism models and investing in better options
A just transition away from high-polluting, extractive forms of tourism, supported by reskilling workers and investing in low-carbon, community-owned alternatives.
These aren’t abstract concepts. Each proposal will build on existing research and real-world cases. They will be designed to be practical, fundable and shaped by those on the front lines of tourism.
“We need to change how we do tourism, so why not choose to do it better? We have an opportunity to design practical interventions that put frontline communities at the centre, and we need your input to ensure they’re effective and equitable. We need to hear from everyone who has a stake in that future, particularly those whose communities are most exposed to climate risk.”
Jeremy Sampson, CEO, the Travel Foundation
A focus on adaptation and resilience
This campaign’s focus on adaptation and resilience is in addition to the critical priority of reducing emissions across tourism, including key reforms such as integrating international aviation emissions into destination carbon budgets, phasing out fossil fuel subsidies for aviation in favour of sustainable transport, and managing demand through targeted policy measures.
The consultation builds on the Travel Foundation’s growing body of work addressing climate risk and equity in tourism, and is part of the wider Where Next? campaign launched last month with Preferred Travel Group and Beyond Green (our lead accommodations partner for the initiative), The Travel Corporation, Finn Partners and Cuidadores de Destinos. Campaign partners will also be gathering input through workshops and events, including at New York Climate Week, with particular efforts to engage audiences from Latin America and the Caribbean.
Have your say
The consultation will remain open until the 30th September. It takes 15-30 minutes. The Travel Foundation will present the results during the COP30 UN Climate Summit later in the year, within a publication that sets out a shared understanding of what is needed to advance these ideas. The report will identify common threads, enabling conditions and the principles that should guide future efforts. From this, a more detailed roadmap will follow, building on the outcomes of the consultation.
For more on the campaign click here.
