Featured: Countries sign onto a joint declaration on ocean and climate action
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 […]
Originating in the 1700s, citizen science (also referred to as ‘community science’) embraces public involvement in a broad range of scientific inquiry, encouraging curiosity and greater understanding of science by enabling participants to work with professional scientists. All over the world, citizen science engages, educates and empowers the public, including those who are vulnerable and […]
The ocean and the marine environments continue to be the fastest-growing areas of the world’s tourism industry, accounting for a significant share of global tourism receipts and arrivals, supporting jobs and economies in more than 70 countries and territories across the world[1]. Indeed, approximately 30 percent of global tourism activities take place in coastal areas […]
Marine tourism can be a powerful tool for conservation and has the potential to protect not only fragile ecosystems but the communities which depend upon them. As oceans around the world succumb to the cascading pressures of climate change, overfishing, pollution, ocean acidification and coral bleaching, areas with active protection become increasingly precious. Marine protected […]
Building equitable and resilient ecosystems and communities in marine World Heritage sites The UN’s World Ocean Assessment in 2021 states that the role of coastal communities is being increasingly valued in ocean conservation and sustainable marine tourism around the world. This is because local communities often play a critical role in the stewardship of the […]
Equity in tourism should include recognising and celebrating diversity while ensuring inclusiveness through benefit-sharing. In coastal and marine tourism, equity should strive for fairness in the access, use and distribution of benefits from tourism development in a fragile environment. This essay will focus on examples from Southeast Asia to illustrate equity issues in coastal and […]
Coastal and marine tourism are recognised as important facets of the blue economy for coastal communities and small island developing states. The blue economy refers to the ‘sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem’[1]. The International Coastal and Marine Tourism Society defines coastal […]
The Responsible Tourism Institute (RTI) was created in 1995 after the first World Charter for Sustainable Tourism with the mission to transfer the objectives established in the UN summits and charters to all the actors involved in this industry: public administrations, private companies, citizens and tourists. After more than 25 years of experience in this […]
How Antarctica Can Become An Example for Responsible Ocean Tourism Antarctica has become a symbol for climate change—so how does a sustainable travel company balance operating trips in this fragile ecosystem with meeting its environmental and social responsibilities? This was the question Intrepid Travel asked—and that we continue to be asked by both internal and […]
The complexity of ocean governance Sustainable coastal and marine tourism, the non-consumptive use of natural and cultural resources and systems, provides an opportunity to protect and conserve biodiversity and culture while supporting local and Indigenous economies[1]. This approach offers a tool to governments at all scales to avoid the binary choice of protect or exploit […]
