Global Tourism at a Crossroads: Embracing Sustainability
The global tourism industry is at a crossroads, with the ecotourism market projected to reach USD 279 billion by 2025. As the sector recovers from COVID-19, there's a growing consensus that sustainability, inclusion, and resilience must be embedded into its structure. This year's World Tourism Day, hosted in Melaka, Malaysia, will highlight 'Tourism and Sustainable Transformation'.
Vietnam is leading the way in sustainable tourism transformation. By 2025, it plans to implement national to local programs promoting green, ecological, cultural, and community-based tourism models, supported by digital platforms to reduce environmental impact. Global initiatives, such as those backed by the OPEC Fund, are focusing on transformative projects in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, including sustainable livelihoods and resilient infrastructure relevant to tourism.
To achieve measurable progress, transformation efforts should focus on good governance, strategic investment, ecosystem integrity, value retention, and accountability. Travellers are increasingly interested in sustainable travel, with 84% considering it important and 75% planning to travel more sustainably in the next year. Destinations, operators, investors, travellers, and civil society all have a role to play in this transformation. Travellers can contribute by choosing certified sustainable options, supporting local businesses, minimising waste, and respecting cultural and environmental sensitivities.
Without drastic interventions, tourist waste could rise to 205 million tonnes annually by 2034, accounting for 7% of global solid waste. Unchecked tourism growth can undermine the very assets that draw travellers, such as ecosystems and cultural heritage. The tourism industry must embrace sustainable transformation to protect these assets and ensure a resilient future for the sector.
Read also:
- AI-Powered Geospatial Analysis: Elevating Insights through Spatial Knowledge
- Natural Chemical assaults: A toxicologist's guide to Poison Ivy agony and Bee Sting discomfort - 2 instances of nature's chemical combat
- Outlining a blueprint for eco-conscious journalism within the aviation sector
- UK Guide on Air Source Heat Pumps (2025 Edition)
