Climate Change in Tourism

Building Destination Resilience Through Climate Action

The global climate crisis continues to escalate, and destinations worldwide are increasingly impacted by its effects. From coastal erosion and flooding, to heatwaves, wildfires and droughts, climate-related shocks continue to surface—resulting in a loss of biodiversity, displacement of vulnerable communities, increased exposure to disease, destruction of infrastructure and more adverse outcomes. 

Today, the travel and tourism industry is at a pivotal point where climate action must become a core function for organizations that want to build thriving and resilient destinations for their communities to work, live and play in for generations to come. 

How Travel & Tourism Contributes to Climate Change

Travel and tourism’s contribution to climate change is undeniable. However, understanding the full extent of the industry’s impact remains challenging, driven in part by a lack of consistent metrics and reporting standards to guide collective action. 

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Environmental & Social Research 2025, travel and tourism emissions accounted for 7.3% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2024, down from 8.3% in 2019. Closely tied to tourism demand and consumption, the leading drivers of industry emissions in 2024 were transportation (40%), utilities (19%) and food and agriculture (12%). 

In addition to a decline in GHG emissions, 2024 also marked the year that tourism’s GDP footprint grew 6% past its pre-pandemic peak and overnight tourist numbers virtually recovered. While these milestones signal positive environmental and social progress for the industry, the climate crisis is much more complex. 

For example, while international tourist numbers recovered, results varied across regions with the Americas and Asia Pacific regions remaining 3% and 13% below 2019 levels, respectively. To add further context, a University of Queensland-led study found that three countries, the U.S., China and India, were responsible for 39% of global tourism emissions in 2019. 

This research underscores the intricacies of the industry’s contribution to the climate crisis, and reinforces the need for a collective, collaborative approach to continue making advancements. 

How Travel & Tourism Can Address the Climate Crisis

As an industry that both contributes to and is impacted by climate change, we have much to gain—and lose, when it comes to addressing the climate crisis. Climate change will shift tourism patterns, affecting when visitors travel and where they travel to. It will impact the places, culture and experiences that make each destination unique. And it will disproportionately affect destinations and communities that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as small islands that are both geographically isolated and reliant on tourism and Indigenous communities that have deep connections to the land and its natural resources. 

There are two key strategies tourism organizations should seek to implement to build more resilient destinations: climate change adaptation and climate change mitigation. 

Climate Change Mitigation Strategies

Tourism organizations can develop and implement climate change mitigation strategies to reduce their destination’s GHG emissions, prioritizing strong drivers of emissions like those related to tourism consumption (i.e., money spent on accommodations, gastronomy, transportation). 

Mitigation strategies are essential for meeting industry-wide goals and should include decarbonization activities such as transitioning to renewable energy sources, improving energy efficiency, promoting sustainable land use and implementing policies that decrease overall destination emissions. 

To get started, destination organizations should begin by measuring emissions and establishing a reliable baseline for future improvement and decision-making, using tools like carbon calculators or working with industry experts. Measurement enables destinations to set attainable goals and develop a credible climate strategy. 

Singapore’s integration of national policy, destination-level certification and high-performance building standards provides a model for how destination organizations can align green-building advocacy with wider sustainability goals. Find more examples of destinations taking climate action in “Destination Stewardship: A Guide to Action on Climate Change“.

Climate Change Adaptation Strategies

While mitigation focuses on reducing GHGs and lessening the impacts of climate change, adaptation strategies focus on strengthening a destination’s resilience against its unavoidable impacts. For tourism organizations, this can include creating disaster preparedness and response plans, investing in climate-resilient infrastructure and diversifying the tourism economy in order to prepare for a changing future. 

Destination organizations can get started by assessing climate-related risks throughout their destination, ranging from vulnerable tourism assets and communities to management and operation processes. By understanding these risks, destinations can make more informed decisions when developing adaptation solutions. 

Both climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation strategies are essential for destinations to not only address climate change but implement a holistic destination management approach. Together, they help reduce a destination’s vulnerability to climate change while also supporting stakeholders based on the actual and expected realities of climate change.

For coastal and island destinations, healthy coral reefs are essential for both ecological and economic resilience. Destination organizations can partner with conservation groups to fund coral nurseries, educate visitors and integrate restoration activities into diving and snorkeling experiences. Explore more practical steps for taking climate action in “Destination Stewardship: A Guide to Action on Climate Change“.

Taking a Destination Stewardship Approach 

Climate change will continue to pose an immense challenge for the travel and tourism industry, compelling tourism organizations to prioritize more holistic strategies and initiatives that build destination resilience and actively regenerate their places and communities. 

As organizations that connect the public and private sectors and as stewards of place for their communities, destination organizations specifically, are in an opportune position to be a supporter, facilitator and leader of climate change action in their destination—not as a separate initiative or side project, but as a stewardship lens for decision-making and how they choose to engage with visitors and residents. 

Download A Guide to Action on Climate Change