COVID-19 is of course a trend breaker and business is not as usual anymore. See also our GEN Insight in how we might emerge from this.

Anna Spencely has made a great overview of sources on what COVID-19 could mean for sustainable tourism. [more…]

The view from the OECD, stressing the need to rethink tourism and double down on sustainability. [more…]

Keep up to date with vaccination progress. [more…]

There is no reliable global data on ecotourism, but you can get an idea by analyzing consumer data and their lifestyles and attitudes. Remember the global data do not automatically translate into useful data for your destination or product, but they can help you formulate more specific studies.

Though adventure travel is not the same as ecotourism, their markets and measures overlap.

Here you can access to the Adventure Travel Trade Association’s research – for free download or purchase. [more…]

The National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation (FHWAR) reports result from interviews with U.S. residents about their fishing, hunting, and wildlife watching. Report from 2016, new one scheduled for 2022. [more…]

The Ethical Consumer Markets Report has been acting as an important barometer of UK spending since 1999. [more…]

Nice roundup of overall sustainability trends form various sources will help you think about your business or destination. [more…]

These are general tourism trends, but some of them apply or can be adapted to ecotourism:

CREST’s 2020 Trends & Statistics report has a special focus on the two major crises facing our world today: climate change and COVID-19. [more…]

Earth Changers has put together a comprehensive review of Sustainable Travel Trends for 2021. [more…]

IPK and ITB partner on World Travel Trends. [more…]

WTM and Euromonitor partner on discussing Global Travel Trends. The basic data is free, more detailed reports ar  available for a fee. [more…]

World Economic Forum takes on tourism. [more…]

Skift has recently released their Travel MegaTrends 2025. [more…]

Animal welfare is a growing issue in tourism and ecotourism. We need to consider the welfare of wild, working and farmed (for food) animals.

World Animal Protection (formerly WSPA) is a great source for issues concerning animals, including in the tourism industry. [more…]

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has produced the first Global Welfare Guidance for Animals in Tourism, supported by six manuals covering specific topics. [more…]

Climate change is an urgent global issue and its effects have a direct impact on tourism destinations and their visitors. Here is the access to UNWTO publications. The keynote at the 2019 ITB Convention was dedicated to the topic: Climate Change, Global Warming, Weather Extremes: Status Quo and Constraints to Action.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the international body for assessing the science related to climate change. Its latest  and sixth report is a stark reality check. [more…]

The World Economic Forum’s 2022 Global Risks Report dedicates a chapter on Disorderly  Climate Transition. [more…]

Flying, tourism and climate change, an uneasy alliance. Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, global air transport demand was expected to triple between 2020 and 2050. [more…]

IMF – While the world’s attention is on dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change remains a greater existential threat to vulnerable countries that are highly dependent on a weather-sensitive sector like tourism. [more…]

Plastic waste is everywhere including in “pristine” places that ecotourists value so much.

Read up with this WEF report on Rethinking The Plastic Economy. [more…]

The Ellen McArthur Foundation focuses on the circular economy in general. The vision for plastic is that it never becomes waste. [more…]

Protected areas enable quality ecotourism. Ecotourism boosts the value and appreciation of our Planet B and the need to protect it.

IUCN brings together the world’s most influential organisations and top experts in a combined effort to conserve nature and accelerate the transition to sustainable development. [more…]

Protected Planet Reports are biennial landmark publications that assess the state of protected areas around the world. They are based on the data contained in the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), jointly managed by UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, as well as other relevant resources. [more…]

The Living Planet Report, WWF’s flagship publication released every two years, is a comprehensive study of trends in global biodiversity and the health of the planet. [more…]

ICMBIO (manages Brazil´s Federal Protected Areas) published Assessing Economic Impacts of Visitor Spending in Protected Areas of Brazil. [more…]

Non-Consumptive Wildlife Tourism vs. Trophy Hunting: The pro-hunting lobby claims that it is better for rural communities than wildlife viewing. Of course hunting offers work and creates revenue, but when measured in the bigger picture against a range of factors, including ecological and ethical ones, well-managed, non-consumptive tourism offers a significantly better long-term model.

Here are some studies with some good facts:

The Lion’s Share – On the economic benefits of trophy hunting, a study commissioned by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society International and Born Free USA/Born Free Foundation and authored by Economists at Large. [more…]

The Economic Impact of Bear Viewing and Bear Hunting in the Great Bear Rainforest study by the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST) finds that bear viewing ecotourism in British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest “generates far more value to the economy” in terms of revenue, taxes, and jobs than the older and more well-established trophy hunting of grizzly and black bears. [more…]

What´s happening in the business world that´s related to sustainability?

Check out Greenbiz’ most recent State of Green Business report. [more…]

Globescan publishes reports on Sustainability, which may also be useful for tourism. [more…]

Leveraging sustainable procurement to transform tourism: case studies (One Planet Network). [more…]

The report describes how destinations must uncover and account for tourism’s hidden costs, referred to as the “invisible burden”, to protect and manage vital destination assets worldwide. [more…]

Perhaps the most vulnerable destinations are not necessarily cities, but rather coastal, islands and rural heritage sites. [more…]

In 2017, the World Travel & Tourism Council published this study and recommendations for “Coping with Overtourism”. [more…]

Heritage (Natural and Cultural) interpretation is a key component of ecotourism. This link will take you to a PDF for basic understanding of what this is. [more…]

Interpret Europe, mission: To serve all who use first-hand experiences to give natural and cultural heritage a deeper meaning. [more…]

The National Interpretation Association (NAI) is a great source and also  is active internationally. [more…]