World Tourism Day 2025: Tourism and Sustainable Transformation
Dr Md Wasiul Islam :
Yesterday was World Tourism Day. Every year, on 27 September, this day is observed across the world since 1980, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) officially recognised this day. The main purpose is to raise public awareness of the social, cultural, political, and economic significance of tourism worldwide.
Tourism nowadays is one of the largest industries and economic sectors in the world. It not only contributes to foreign exchange earnings and employment generation but also strengthens cultural exchange and global unity, plays a role in conserving natural and cultural heritage, improves the quality of life, empowers local communities, contributes significantly to addressing climate change, and provides direction for environment-friendly and sustainable development.
The theme of this year’s World Tourism Day is “Tourism and Sustainable Transformation”. Today’s world faces multiple crises like climate change, biodiversity loss, pressures of over tourism, and social inequality. To address these challenges, partial improvements in the tourism sector are no longer enough, a well-structured process of sustainable transformation is required.
This theme calls on us to develop tourism in such a way that it not only brings enjoyment to travellers but also ensures that the world becomes more sustainable, inclusive, and equitable for future generations.
To realise this potential, good governance, strategic planning, strong monitoring, and clear priority setting aligned with long-term sustainability goals are essential. The vision of sustainable transformation emphasises three key shifts: (i) From footprint to handprint: not just reducing negative impact (e.g., carbon emissions, waste, economic leakage) but scaling up positive impact (e.g., ecosystem restoration, skill development, local economic multipliers) (ii) From projects to systems: aligning policy, incentives, finance, and data so that sustainability is accelerated and (iii) From visitors as consumers to visitors as partners: engaging tourists as contributors who finance and participate in nature conservation and community-based initiatives.
Sustainable transformation in tourism is a purposeful, time-bound process of restructuring policies, market incentives, business models, and behaviour so that the sector operates within planetary boundaries while advancing human well-being. This transformation rests on five key principles:
· Science-based: aligned with the Paris Agreement, biodiversity, and circular economy targets.
· Place-based: respecting local carrying capacities and cultural integrity.
· Just and inclusive: ensuring decent work, gender equity, youth opportunities, and recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.
· Data-driven: transparent measurement and disclosure of impacts and outcomes.
· Regenerative: not only sustaining but also restoring ecosystems and cultural assets.
Over the past three decades, the tourism sector has embraced the concept of sustainability, but limited improvements such as installing low-flow taps and showers or organising tree-planting programmes are no longer sufficient.
Sustainable transformation means moving beyond “doing less harm” to redesigning the entire tourism system – destination planning, transport, accommodation, attractions, mobility, food systems, and the informal economyto create and distribute value in new ways.
The key areas and actions for sustainable transformation are outlined below:
Eco-friendly travel and decarbonisation:
Transport: prioritising rail and electric buses, increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), promoting the “longer stays, fewer trips” approach.
Buildings: mandating energy efficiency standards for hotels and homestays, using solar power, heat pumps, and passive cooling in heritage buildings.
Food systems: shortening local supply chains, adopting seasonal menus, reducing food waste through “measure-to-manage” programmes.
Adaptation: integrating climate risk into land-use planning, nature-based solutions such as mangrove and dune restoration.
Nature conservation and biodiversity protection:
Conservation financing: allocating portions of visitor fees and revenues for conservation and community benefit, introducing debt-for-nature swaps and blue carbon models.
Wildlife protection: banning exploitative practices, certification for nature-based tourism operators.
From loss to gain: mandatory biodiversity impact assessments for tourism infrastructure, linking licences to restoration or performance outcomes.
Nature indicators: monitoring biodiversity hotspots and the effectiveness of protected areas.
Circular economy and waste-free destinations:
Plastics and materials: banning single-use plastics, implementing refill and reuse systems.
Water management: efficient water use, rainwater harvesting, and greywater reuse.
Logistics: systems for recycling, converting organic waste into compost or biogas.
Visitor footprint: tracking per capita carbon and water usage.
Decent employment and inclusive growth:
Employment: ensuring living wages, formalising informal labour, adopting anti-harassment policies.
MSMEs and community enterprises: providing microfinance, connecting local producers with hotels and restaurants.
Cultural conservation: co-management with communities, intellectual property rights and benefit-sharing for cultural resources.
Capacity building and education:
Programmes for youth and women entrepreneurship development, digital training, language and guiding skills, cultural interpretation, training hotel and business owners in sustainable practices, modernising curricula, research partnerships, and academia-industry collaboration through internships.
Smart, ethical data and visitor capacity management:
Tourism must be driven by strategic innovation and responsible entrepreneurship. Digitalisation and innovative business models present immense opportunities.
Supporting MSMEs and start-ups, particularly those led by women and youth, can significantly enhance inclusive prosperity and sustainable economic diversification.
Without empowerment, sustainable transformation is impossible where education is the key driver of this transformation.
On the other hand, green and sustainable investment is a powerful lever of transformation. Such investment must focus on long-term community benefits, climate adaptation, and cultural integrity.
Between 2019 and 2024, the sector attracted over 2,300 green field FDI projects globally, amounting to USD 126 billion. However, these investments must prioritise long-term community benefits, resilience-building, and climate action.
Investments must be smarter and more sustainable. Guided by the UN Tourism Principles of Sustainable Tourism Investment, both public and private stakeholders should collaborate to align growth with climate objectives, social impact, and innovation.
The theme of World Tourism Day 2025, “Tourism and Sustainable Transformation”, is not just a slogan but a new direction. It calls upon us not merely to minimise tourism’s negative impacts but to reconstruct the future of this sector.
If tourism genuinely advances along the path of sustainable transformation, it will contribute to environmental protection, preservation of local cultures, ensuring justice in economic development, and transforming travellers into responsible partners -not only in Bangladesh but across the world.
In the twenty-first century, sustainable transformation will play a pioneering role in shaping the future of tourism locally and globally.
On this World Tourism Day, let us commit ourselves to making tourism a platform for systemic and sustainable transformation, driven by good governance, strategic planning, rigorous monitoring, and clear collective priorities.
The potential of tourism lies not only in fostering peace but also in empowerment, regeneration, and the sustainable transformation of our planet. This is the best time to act now. Let us realise tourism’s full potential to build a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient future for all.
(The author is a Professor, Forestry and Wood Technology Discipline, Khulna University Email: [email protected])
