A blueprint for climate action in destinations is to be developed as two global initiatives, the Future of Tourism Coalition and Tourism Declares, come together.
Frameworks, tools, best practice and resources required for destinations to deliver action plans that align tourism with the need to reduce global emissions by at least half by 2030 will be combined.
The aim is to publish in time for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November as a free, practical resource for anyone to use.
The hope is that it will be adopted as a standard approach to scale up climate action and transform the industry.
Other climate action blueprints are also being created by Tourism Declares for accommodation providers and tour operators.
Supporters and members of both groups will help co-create the destination blueprint, and a smaller group of ‘destination climate leaders’ will be identified to lead the process.
Progress will be shared regularly to encourage wider consultation and contributions from anyone working on this issue.
Jeremy Smith, co-founder of Tourism Declares, said: “It is essential that 2021 is a turning point for our industry, the year when delivering against science-based climate action plans becomes standard practice for travel and tourism organisations.
“It is great that the Future of Tourism Coalition is aligned to this ambition, and we shall combine our expertise and growing community networks to co-create a new, low-carbon, destination blueprint.”
Future of Tourism Coalition chair Jeremy Sampson said: “We’ve been working closely with Tourism Declares since we launched last summer, as climate change is the big issue that cuts right across our 13 guiding principles for the future of tourism.
“We would like our two initiatives to align as seamlessly as possible, as we need engagement, insights, experience and expertise from all parts of our diverse industry to find the best solutions for tomorrow’s tourism.”