Destination Stewardship Report
September – December 2024 (Volume 5, Issue 2)
The Destination Stewardship Report is a collaboration between the Destination Stewardship Center, Center for Responsible Travel, and Global Sustainable Tourism Council. Our goal is to provide practical information and insights useful to anyone whose work or interests involve improving destination stewardship in a post-pandemic world. Subscribe HERE.
UXUA’s Tale – Coping with Political Hostility
You are creating a sustainable, lovely, fair-labor beach resort in the state of Bahia, Brazil. Unfortunately, a less-than-fair local establishment doesn’t appreciate it – stressing their point with an act of demolition. The Uxua hotel’s co-owner Bob Shevlin describes the process then needed to rework community relations.
“Going it Alone” With Your New Resort May Not Be Wise
International hoteliers do not like to see their new business knocked down by a bulldozer. For any reason, let alone because they practiced sustainable tourism. But we learned that anything is possible when you attempt to go… READ MORE →
Park Protection the Indigenous Way
It is still unusual for a national government to make a conservation deal with Indigenous groups, even more so when it means repeatedly shutting down a heavily visited national park. The team from Colombia’s Tayrona park explains this successful agreement.
In Tayrona, Colombia, Indigenous Values Give a National Park Time to Breathe
“The Law of Origin is embedded within the ancestral territory itself—in every sacred space, in the sound of the wind, in the song of the birds, in the water, in the animals, in the lands, and in their arrangement… READ MORE →
Conference as a Stewardship Model
Wes Espinosa, Executive Director of CREST, explains why the structure of the innovative 2024 two-day meeting he organized in Atlanta models the collaborative principles of good destination stewardship, up close and personal.
A Tourism Event Can Demonstrate Community Engagement for Destinations
In September 2024, CREST held its annual World Tourism Day Forum, but this time we tried something new. In addition to convening it in Atlanta, GA, we designed the two-day Forum to break traditional molds of tourism… READ MORE →
Opinion: Cruise Crisis
Things in the cruise world are getting dire, even in progressive Norway, where a CEO suggests a tax on his own passengers. Journalist and consultant Arild Molstad offers his own thoughts.
A Modest Proposal to Tamp Down Crowding
Norway’s long coastline, always a popular cruise destination, is now joining other such places in experiencing a massive increase in traffic. Part of the reason is affordability due to a surprising decline in the Norwegian… READ MORE →
Cultivating Stewardship
Would you like to transition from herding tourists to stewarding travelers? If so, Ivana Damnjanović has some ideas. Underlying them lies the reality that tourism focused on authentic experience is beneficial for destinations. Here she addresses travel entrepreneurs.
Tips for Travel Professionals
Transformational tourism, as I define it, is an approach to both the design and experience of travel. We need an invitation to actively enhance ourselves, the natural world, and the communities we visit and belong… READ MORE →
Two Winners from the Top 100
Every year, Green Destinations organizes the Top 100 Destination Sustainability Stories competition, which invites submissions from around the world – a vetted collection of stories spotlighting local and regional destinations that are making progress toward sustainable management of tourism and its impacts. From the winners, we’ve selected stories from Hungary and Estonia. Synopses by Ian Vorster.
Heritage and Nature Find Harmony
Top 100 submission by the Tokaj Wine Region Development Council.
Hungarian Town Blends Renewal with Conservation
Nestled in the heart of Hungary, the Tokaj Wine Region is a place where the beauty of nature intertwines with centuries-old human craftsmanship. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the region is a romantic landscape of cellar labyrinths, vines and slopes, forts and rivers… READ MORE →
Estonia Cleans Up Its Big Event
Top 100 submission by the Tourism Department of the Tallinn Strategic Management Office.
Tallinn’s Song Festival Defies the Throw-away Economy
Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is a compact and multifaceted city on the Baltic Sea. The country has a population of just 1.4 million, boasts a captivating history, a rich cultural heritage… READ MORE →
Bookshelf
Video Documentary
Cruise Boom: A Community on the Cusp of Change, PBS, 55:29 (2024). Ellen Frankenstein’s documentary about the impact of large cruise ships’ arrival in Sitka, Alaska.
Books Note: Descriptions are taken from publisher blurbs.
Day, J. (2024). Chapter 20: Destination stewardship and sustainable urban tourism. In Handbook on Sustainable Urban Tourism. Edward Elgar Publishing. This chapter examines growing use of the term destination stewardship and how destination management organizations and other tourism stakeholders are applying it. Explores three interrelated trends in destination stewardship from focusing on criteria and tasks to building capital in destination communities.
Tyagi, P. L., Nadda, V., Kankaew, K., Dube, K. (2024). Examining Tourist Behaviors and Community Involvement in Destination Rejuvenation. IGI Global. This book explores regenerative practices and offers a roadmap for industry stakeholders to transition towards sustainable models that prioritize environmental stewardship, cultural preservation, and community empowerment.
Nair, V., Hamzah, A., Musa, G. (2024). Responsible Rural Tourism in Asia. Channel View Publications. Promotes conservation of nature, protects the authenticity of culture, and offers socioeconomic benefits for local communities, including case studies from a range of Asian countries.Examines both successful and failed attempts in developing responsible rural tourism, and lessons we can apply for future efforts in the region.
Reports, White Papers, Plans/Guides
Navigating Your Stewardship Journey. Wayfinder, Caraggio Group, Miles Partnership (2024). Whitepaper guide for destinations transitioning from marketing to destination stewardship. Outlines four principles for effective destination stewardship and actionable insights and strategies for implementing them.
Colorado Destination Stewardship Strategic Plan: Fiscal Year 2025-2035. Colorado Tourism Office (2024). This plan emphasizes sustainable and regenerative tourism practices, aiming to harmonize resident quality of life with enriching visitor experience and safeguarding natural environment.
Destination Monitor
Notable News on Stewardship Developments Around the World
➢ How 39 Destinations Combat Overtourism | Independent Useful rundown
➢ Barcelona Uses Its Tourist Tax for Climate Action | CBS
➢ Andaman Island Plan Called “Ecocide” | Deccan Herald Port project endangers Great Nicobar tribes, biosphere reserve
➢ Tulum, After the Airport | Washington Post Once off-beat, the Maya coastal town girds for mass tourism
➢ Safaris Are Getting Better for Africa | WSJ Less colonial imagery, more conservation
➢ Tourist-Hating May Decline in 2025 | Fortune
➢ Canary Islands Tiptoe Into a Tourism Tax | TTW Fighting overtourism with 0.15 of a euro per day?
➢ Seychelles: Proposed Atoll Hotel Raises Doubts | S&E African Tourism Update
➢ Tourism Stokes Pig Takover in Bologna |NY Times Fixation on mortadella displaces traditional shops
➢ Florence Announces 10-Point Overtourism Plan | Florentine
➢ Fogo Island’s Travel Revolutionary | NY Times “Community first,” says Canada’s Zita Cobb
➢ Greenland Braces for More Tourists | WSJ
DSC’s Destination Monitor offers continuing selections of news stories.
Sponsored by:
Executive Editor – Jonathan B. Tourtellot
Scheduling, design & distribution – Tiffany Chan
Photo Editor – Gabe Gerson
Contributing editors – Ian Vorster
Editorial assistance – Ailin Fei, Samantha Bray
Cindy Linnell, Sarah-Jane Johnson, Paula Lewis
DSC Webmaster – Tim Greenleaf