Conventions come, conventions go, and except for the money the conference attendees spend, too often, these meetings have little impact on the community. But what if it was about more the money the conference and its attendees contribute to the economy? What if conventions were a catalyst for learning and skill development beyond the walls of the conference center? What if conventions positively changed the destination community and improved the quality of life? The Glasgow Convention Bureau (GCB) has a program designed to do just that. GCB encourages conferences...

03 June, 2023 /

Planning for (Sustainable Tourism) Success Sustainable tourism is about maximizing the benefits of tourism while minimizing negative impacts. It’s easier said than done. Sustainable tourism requires planning. But what needs to be planned for in a good sustainable tourism plan?  The Global Sustainable Tourism Council Destination Criteria talks a lot about planning for sustainability success. Plans included in the GSTC criteria: Visitor ManagementSafety and Security PlansWorkforce DevelopmentCultural heritage protectionEnvironmentEncourage Tourism Businesses to Adopt Sustainable Tourism PracticesRisk and Crisis ManagementClimate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Check out our analysis of the GSTC Destination Criteria....

24 October, 2022 /

Last week there were massive wildfires, once-in-a-thousand-year floods, and ongoing droughts. The impacts of climate change are evident across the globe. And in each place, tourism will be affected in some way. It almost seems unnecessary to say climate change will impact the tourism system, and any discussion of sustainable tourism needs to consider the impacts of climate change. And it doesn't work to say – "let's deal with one first, then we can get to the other." Climate change and sustainability are inextricably connected. Address climate change, and you...

26 July, 2021 /

Sustainable tourism, at is simplest, is a set of activities designed to maximize the benefits of tourism.  Making sure we maximize the benefits of tourism, and minimize the negatives, particularly for host communities, is hard to argue against. So why don’t we see more great examples of sustainable tourism? Sustainable tourism is a wicked problem. Wicked problems are both complicated and complex. Sustainable tourism is complicated because, to achieve its promise, there are many things to do. Fortunately, over the last 4o years we’ve got a pretty good idea of what...

23 May, 2020 /

Conversations about sustainability in tourism can seem a little vague. This is particularly true for sustinable destinations. Often there are general conversations about the environment, social issues, and economics that seem to lack action steps or measures. Too often these conversations fail to move to practical steps to getting started. Sustainable tourism management is both actionable and measurable. The good news is that no destination needs to "start from scratch". Over the years several organizations have developed sets of actions required to achieve sustainability in destinations. These criteria...

20 August, 2019 /

[caption id="attachment_754" align="alignright" width="300"] Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash[/caption]   Sustainable tourism is not a niche, suitable only for a small group of specialist travelers traveling to out of the way places. Sustainable tourism principles can be applied to all tourism destinations and all tourism businesses. While it can be applied to everyone, it’s not easy. Ensuring that we maximize the benefits of tourism, and reduce the negative impacts of tourism, is a complex set of activities that require the active participation of a variety of folks working together. That’s true...

09 February, 2019 /

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