Decades of unfettered growth in travel have put the world’s treasured places at risk – environmentally, culturally, socially, and financially. In an effort to steward collaboration over competition, CREST joined forces with the Destination Stewardship Center, Green Destinations, Sustainable Travel International, The Travel Foundation, and Tourism Cares to form the Future of Tourism Coalition (FoTC), with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council as our first formal advisor. Together our mission is to create an inclusive, multisector global movement that puts destination needs at the center of tourism for a sustainable future. 

Our Guiding Principles

Recognizing the power of our unified voices and the considerable knowledge and tools we have together, we first developed a set of 13 Guiding Principles, our attempt to establish an inspiring framework for tourism’s recovery and beyond.

Looking Ahead

Since our launch, nearly 500 signatories have committed to the Guiding Principles. We then underwent a listening and reflection phase with global partners to develop our mission, strategy, and ambitious 3 – 5 year goals, which include:

  • Rebalance the tourism model to benefit people, places, the planet, and our industry.
  • Catalyze and amplify a multisector community to implement the new tourism model.
  • Maximize Coalition members’ individual and collective potential, impact, and fundraising.

In 2021, the Coalition expanded our advisory committee to ensure the integration of varied perspectives and priorities consistent with our Guiding Principles. They provide support and expertise in areas that are strategic for the transformation of tourism and may otherwise be under-represented.

  • Kelley Louise | Founder and Executive Director, Impact Travel Alliance
  • Ben Sherman | Chair, World Indigenous Tourism Alliance (WINTA)
  • Jeremy Smith | Co-Founder, Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency
  • Anna Spenceley | Chair, IUCN WCPA Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group (TAPAS Group)
  • Masaru Takayama | Founding Chair, Asian Ecotourism Network
  • Roni Weiss | Executive Director, Travel Unity

This year we seek to build and grow the breadth and depth of our community, compile and provide practical tools, and collaborate with partners to reframe key performance indicators in alignment with other tourism and stewardship actors. The FoTC is just getting started, and CREST is proud to be a part of this groundbreaking initiative.