CREST believes the best solutions are born from collaboration. We seek partnerships of all types in order to develop, compile, and/or share best practices on a variety of tourism topics.
In recent years collaborative efforts have resulted in the formation of the Future of Tourism Coalition, conferences, free best-practice publications, books, films, and hot-button research.
Featured Collaborations
Compiling best practices through the Impact Tourism Handbook
One of our longest-running programs, impact tourism is defined by CREST as tourism that makes strategic contributions of time, talent, and treasure to social and environmental projects in destinations. This includes tourism businesses, travelers, and organizations in partnerships with host communities.
This free, digital publication released in 2020 shares innovative insights and practical advice from businesses, NGOs, and destinations that are making strategic contributions of time, talent, and treasure to local environmental and social projects. As an update to CREST’s 2011 Traveler’s Philanthropy Handbook, our 2020 Impact Tourism Handbook takes a deeper look at the thoughtful and innovative ways that impact tourism is materializing around the world. We hope this resource will encourage destination managers, business and nonprofit representatives, and travelers to consider how they may better leverage partnerships and resources to make a positive difference.
We are infinitely grateful to our sponsor Elevate Destinations, Hilton, Holbrook Travel, and Overseas Adventure Travel for making this project possible.
Serving on advisory committees
Starting in 2020, we began serving on the Indigenous Tourism Forum of the Americas, organized by George Washington University International Institute of Tourism Studies Institute, the Organization of American States, and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.
As part of this collaborative, more than 50 leaders, representing both the Indigenous Leaders Advisory Committee (IAC) and Tourism Industry Advisory Group (IAG) have come together to discuss challenges, opportunities, and ways to support Indigenous tourism.
The ongoing collaborative seeks to strengthen indigenous tourism in the hemisphere through cross-sectoral dialogue and the implementation of solutions related to COVID-19 Recovery, Building Capacity, Creating Sustainability, Representation and Inclusion In Planning and Development, Financing and Industry, and Government Respect and Inclusion.
Editing volumes on climate change and coastal & marine tourism
As the island and coastal nations of the Caribbean respond to and prepare for the effects of climate change, tourism has the potential to both exacerbate and mitigate these efforts. In 2016, CREST released two books entitled Coastal Tourism, Sustainability, and Climate Change in the Caribbean. Volume I focuses on Beaches and Hotels and Volume II on Supporting Activities, including Golf, Sustainable Food Sourcing, and Airlines & Airports. Both volumes contain essays and case studies written by 33 different experts that look at how various tourism sectors both contribute to and are impacted by climate change.
In 2017, CREST released two volumes entitled Marine Tourism, Climate Change, and Resilience in the Caribbean. Volume I focuses on Ocean Health, Fisheries, and Marine Protected Areas and Volume II on Recreation, Yachts, and Cruise Ships. Both volumes feature essays and case studies from thirty different authors. These four volumes grew out of the 2015 Think Tank on Climate Change and Coastal & Marine Tourism, which CREST and the Grupo Puntacana Foundation hosted in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. also highlight innovative tourism businesses that are providing solutions to addressing climate change.