Projects > Innovators in Coastal Tourism Development

Background

Over the last decade, the rapid pace of resort and vacation home developments, particularly along coastlines and on islands within a day’s reach of the North American market, has contributed to a variety of environmental and social problems. This powerful development phenomenon is destroying critical habitat formyriad endemic species and drastically altering countless local communities.

Through our research and field projects on coastal and cruise tourism, however, Center for Responsible Travel (CREST) has identified a growing number of developers, hoteliers, financiers, architects, and others tourism executives who are on the cutting edge of green design and social responsibility. CREST realized that this small, scattered group of entrepreneurs has the potential to form a powerful bloc within the industry, and that they have an interest in spreading the responsible practices they’ve been pioneering. In the words of one such innovator, “we don’t want to be islands of sustainability in our destination, surrounded by a sea of wasteful development”.

Overview

In order to provide a forum for key figures in coastal tourism to disseminate innovative ‘green’ practices, CREST partnered with the Stanford University Graduate School of Business to organize the first-ever Symposium for Innovators in Coastal Tourism Development. The symposium, held January 20-22 2010 at Stanford University, brought together 85 ‘thought-leaders’ and pioneers who are breaking the mold of cookie-cutter hotels and vacation homes, and forging new, sustainable, approaches to coastal tourism development. Attendees included executives behind the development of responsible resorts, vacation homes, marinas, golf courses, and other tourism facilities and activities.

You can watch Symposium exerts from several of our keynote speakers below.

Sylvia Earle - Innovators Symposium 2010

David Orr - Innovators Symposium 2010

Chris Blackwell on Tourism - Innovators Symposium 2010