Tourism is one of the pillars of the Sustainable Blue Economy and plays a key role in the preservation of a healthy ocean, our well-being and economic growth. Around half of tourists chose coastal destinations for vacations in 2019. Prior to COVID-19, tourism accounted for 10.4 percent of global gross domestic product and 10 percent […]

Pay to play: Sustainable ocean tourism[1] Among small-island, big-ocean nations, ocean-based tourism is a crucial economic engine. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this engine stalled, causing massive disruptions. Small island developing states (SIDS) often have ocean areas far larger than their land masses, by a factor of 4,000 in the case of Kiribati. According the to […]

The untapped potential of private sector involvement in marine governance In 2016, nations around the world committed to a 30×30 target—to ensure that 30 percent of the world’s ocean (and its land area) is protected and managed effectively and equitably by 2030[1]. In the marine realm, this has meant scaling up the establishment of marine […]

The ocean and its coastal zones is critical to tourism. According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) almost 70 million trips are taken each year just to visit coral reefs, generating US$36 billion a year in revenue and creating 6.5 million jobs[1]. Marine protected areas (MPAs) provide a wide variety of ecosystem services, conserving important […]