We are a leading international sustainable tourism organisation dedicated to ensuring that tourism has a positive impact on destination communities. We work with governments, community groups and tourism businesses for fairer, climate-positive tourism.

We work towards tourism that is fair for destination communities.
Tourism can catalyze growth in the local economy, providing good quality jobs and opportunities for enterprise, supporting conservation, and improving quality of life. But if it is not managed well, tourism can burden local communities and environments, creating long-term problems for residents. These negative impacts are often not identified until they become significant issues. We partner with public sector authorities and businesses to help them work together to become destination stewards. We aim to give residents a stronger voice in tourism planning and management, and we build knowledge of the actual costs and benefits of tourism to local communities. We improve skills and know-how, supporting destinations to build back better in the wake of the pandemic by tackling key issues such as lack of market access for local businesses to tourism opportunities.

We work towards climate-positive tourism.
Climate change is already harming tourism destinations, with wildfires, coral bleaching, drought, storms and hurricanes all increasing in severity and frequency, as well as a growing threat from rising sea levels. Tourism accounts for around 8%-11% of global carbon emissions; unless we act now, the industry’s emissions will keep growing.

Join us as we create a better future for tourism destinations, accelerating change towards a more balanced tourism model through advocacy, training, demonstrating good practice, and enabling collaboration between the many tourism stakeholders.

Find out more at our website!