Destination Stewardship Center

Extending the work of the National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations.

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Western Balkans—Tourism on the Cusp

Posted on August 21, 2019 by Cristina Angeles
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VIDEO – Our expedition to the Balkan Adriatic shows what tourism should do—and not do. The rugged coastal regions including Albania and Montenegro have sustainability lessons the world should heed. Continue reading →

Advice for a Basque Destination

Posted on May 9, 2019 by Jonathan Tourtellot
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How should undiscovered coastal destinations handle sustainable tourism? Learn tips from Jonathan Tourtellot’s interview with Urdaibai, a Basque magazine. Continue reading →

Overtourism, Airbnb, and the Numbers Problem

Posted on June 10, 2018 by Jonathan Tourtellot
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Yet another voice in the overtourism discussion, this time from an Airbnb report with a Foreword by Destination Stewardship Center director Jonathan Tourtellot. Also, a re-post of his National Geographic Voices blog on the topic. Continue reading →

Controlling Overtourism Requires Destination Councils

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Jonathan Tourtellot
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At GSTC’s annual meeting, this year in Chile, hot topics included overtourism and the need for destination stewardship councils. Here, a set of recent news and comment on these topics. Continue reading →

What To Do About Overcrowded Destinations

Posted on October 25, 2016 by Salli Felton
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Salli Felton, CEO of The Travel Foundation in the U.K., shows how mass tourism can get out of hand. There’s a solution, she says: Measure success in terms of impacts, not arrivals. The tools for doing so already exist. But does the will to use them? Continue reading →

Two Billion Footprints: Good News Or Not?

Posted on September 27, 2015 by Jonathan Tourtellot
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The upbeat theme for World Tourism Day – “One billion tourists, one billion opportunities” – does, however, raise questions of carrying capacity and quality of the travel experience. Places are getting crowded, as the late Yogi Berra understood. It’s time to move the emphasis from quantity to quality. Continue reading →

New Tsunami Hits Phuket: Mass Tourism

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Arild Molstad
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Facing congestion in Phuket, whether at the airport, on the roads or on beaches has long been a familiar phenomenon. What is different is that the congestion is mostly caused by the onslaught of mass tourism from Russia and China. Continue reading →

Casinos: A Bad Bet

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Jonathan Tourtellot
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Any destination that’s flirting with gambling should heed the collapsing casinos of Atlantic City, New Jersey, and beware. Continue reading →

Challenging Hit-and-Run Tourism in Cultural Heritage Sites

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Engelbert Ruoss
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Cultural Heritage sites facing Hit-and-Run Tourism need to elaborate targeted strategies in order to balance tourism and heritage conservation, to define limits or find solutions in order to protect natural and cultural heritage and to mitigate negative impacts. In a … Continue reading →

9 Tough Lessons from SE Europe

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Jonathan Tourtellot
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Managing tourists at popular World Heritage sites has long been a focus for Englebert Ruoss, who formerly headed up the UNESCO office in Venice and has now launched a sustainable-destinations initiative called Global Regions. Its new 164-pp publication is SUSTAINABLE … Continue reading →

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  • Maui Islands Look to Redefine Tourism | Eturbo
    Moving to management from mere marketing.
  • Florence Plans New Solution to Overtourism | CNN
    To disperse the crowds, disperse the museum.
  • Tourism Braces for Slow Rebound | WSJ
  • Locals Fear Repeat Alaska Cruise Hiatus | Washington Post
  • USA: New Natl Park Nod for WV | Washington Post
    Locals divided on New River Gorge uplift.
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by Jonathan Tourtellot