Future of Travel and Tourism 2025

Businesses across sectors should take advantage of cross-sector collaboration to create seamless experiences or provide personalized travel experiences. Simultaneously, they should seek to incorporate elements in their tourism offerings that promote sustainable practices. Associations and organizations Associations and organizations including international entities support the sector by facilitating global or sector-specific dialogue, and coordinate efforts to address common challenges. These organizations are typically well-equipped to set standards and guidelines and ensure that the sector grows in a way that benefits all stakeholders. Destination management organizations (DMOs) play a critical role by bridging the gap between local and global tourism efforts. They actively promote and develop destinations, ensuring alignment with pre-defined goals while enhancing the visitor experience. DMOs often serve as catalysts for innovation, working closely with public and private stakeholders and the local community to build competitive and resilient tourism ecosystems. Collectively, these organizations have the opportunity and power to shape the sector going forward – they can facilitate knowledge-sharing and capacity-building, and promote research and innovation to drive its transformation. Local communities Local communities are the heart of tourism destinations. Sustainable practices avoid creating negative effects for them, and elicit their active participation for creating authentic experiences. There is an opportunity to empower local communities to shape tourism in local areas, and ensure benefits are more equitably distributed. Local communities play a crucial role to ensure that unique cultural traditions and natural environments are preserved. For example, community-based tourism is an approach that enables local communities to play a key role in planning and delivering tourism experiences, while ensuring that they participate in the tourism economy in an equitable manner. Placing local communities and their development at the centre of tourism policies will be critical for a sustainable and inclusive sector. Supporting them with education, investment and technology can not only preserve cultures and the environment, but can also transform lives.15 Travellers The travelling public themselves are powerful agents of change in the ecosystem as they play an influential and multifaceted role (e.g. as demand drivers, promoters and consumers). As consumer preferences continue to evolve towards more sustainable and responsible travel options (86% of survey respondents between ages 25 and 34 favour eco-friendly options during their travel),16 travellers have the power and opportunity to continue driving demand for eco- friendly practices. They can also support authentic cultural experiences by making informed choices and engaging with the right stakeholders. The sector can facilitate this decision-making by providing access to relevant information and encouraging responsible travel behaviour through education and awareness campaigns, as most travellers show flexibility in their selection of activities during their vacation or trips. Extent to which environmental impact affects choices, by age FIGURE 3 Source: Kearney17Survey question: To what extent did the impact on the environment and on the planet play a role in the selection of destination or resort/hotel? OverallAge groups 32% 43% 24% 18% 13% 17% 30% 43% 55%45% 50% 47% 37% 35% 29%37% 36% 36% 33% 22% 16%21-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ Major role Somewhat of a role No role Future of Travel and Tourism: Embracing Sustainable and Inclusive Growth 6