18 May
2023

Travel’s positive impact and making tourism sustainable

As we discuss in ABTA’s Tourism for Good report – travel is a powerful force for good: creating economic and social value in destinations across the globe. And next week, we’ll be exploring the positive contributions travel businesses can make – and the challenges which need to be addressed – at our Delivering Sustainable Travel Conference.

The focus will be on showing how travel can make a positive impact on the world, with practical examples and case studies of developments since our last sustainability conference in 2022. Topics under discussion include supporting local communities, taking plastic out of the supply chain, setting science-based targets for reporting, and increasing biodiversity.
 
The conference is a great opportunity to come together, share ideas and learn from each other. We’re really pleased to be hearing from Julia Simpson, President and CEO of WTTC, who will be giving the keynote address on the climate footprint of the global travel & tourism sector. Places for the sustainability conference can be booked here.

One of the big challenges for the travel and tourism industry is reducing carbon emissions from flying. Sustainable Aviation, which is an industry group looking at what needs to be done for aviation to decarbonise, launched its updated ‘roadmap to net zero’ last month. Not only does it set out what the aviation industry needs to do to achieve net zero but also highlights the support needed from government to make it happen. ABTA is a member of Sustainable Aviation and has been working with colleagues in the group on the development and communication of the roadmap. More information can be found here.  

Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive