Jeremy Sampson, who is also chair of the Future of Tourism Coalition, stressed the importance of destinations becoming more sustainable during the Future of Tourism Summit in Athens on Thursday (29 September). TTG Media is the event’s media partner.

“It’s in destinations where climate action ultimately will be taken and led,” Sampson told the summit. “The impact of climate change will also be felt most critically in destinations. Destinations are everybody’s business in travel and tourism, and that’s why public-private collaboration is so critical and will be a recurring theme.”

Sampson also spoke about the importance of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, which was launched a year ago and now has more than 700 signatories.

This includes online travel giant Expedia, which is working with the Travel Foundation to provide training and support for DMOs (destination management organisations) around the world.

Albert Salman, president of Green Destinations, added that climate change was “top of the list” for destinations, which needed to be thinking about their first steps in tackling the issue.

“We’re committed to help destinations plan for climate,” said Salman. “We have a carbon footprint calculator and we can help destinations with climate mitigation planning.”

Paloma Zapata, chief executive of Sustainable Travel International, said that collaboration was vital to prevent different parts of the industry working in their own “silos” on sustainability.

“Through collaboration we can find a path and meaningful sustainability for the sector,” she explained. “We believe tourism done well can be a means of conservation and economic development.

“We have to support businesses and destinations in their journey by providing climate friendly products, and by understanding, measuring and mitigating the carbon footprint. We also have to communicate the story on the climate friendly journey to raise awareness of travellers.”