Sustainable Tourism

Travel and tourism account for a significant percentage of global domestic product (GDP), but its negative impacts on people and planet demand that sustainability is positioned as a strategic driver.

The sector has enormous potential to drive fulfillment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and advance quality of life for people and places.

The interdependency of travel and tourism with other sectors, for example, energy, transport, buildings, and food, create challenges and opportunities to advance sustainability.

This course presents frameworks and insights, illustrated by research case studies and guest speakers drawn widely from across the sector.

Students are encouraged to recognize technical, organizational, economic, and political barriers to scaling sustainability solutions and understand the trade-offs and dilemmas of pursuing sustainability at a strategic level.

As a sector, travel and tourism is widening its view of sustainability beyond immediate operational impacts to consider the broader systems in which it operates, adopting sustainability practices for the twenty-first century and beyond.

To accelerate sustainability, more attention is being paid to leadership and change efforts in collaboration with other stakeholders.

Travel and tourism has enormous potential to educate the traveler and sustain global communities, cultures, and conservation as part of global efforts to create a world that leaves no one behind.