CEO Spotlight: Jeremy Sampson of The Travel Foundation

The conversation around sustainability in tourism has evolved and matured, but meaningful action still lags.

Jeremy Sampson, CEO of The Travel Foundation, said the consensus around tourism’s impact on people and the environment has created “a false sense of progress.”

“The system itself hasn't really changed at the rate it needs to, and now the challenges the industry is facing from the climate crisis and other world events are increasing, and the direct impact that has on the industry is also increasing.”

Sampson described it as “the future collapsing into the present.”

“What we expected to happen in 10 or 15 years down the line in terms of impact is already occurring.”

As the industry confronts this reality, Sampson said he expects regulation to drive change. Whether the industry is ready or not, his feeling is that destinations will have more control over the sector’s impact in the future.

He highlighted the Canary Islands' recently launched regenerative tourism initiative RegNext as a good example of industry and government joining forces to support growth and sector evolution.

Other destination marketing organizations have started talking about their sustainability programs in terms of economic resilience, which Sampson said helps bring more stakeholders on board.

He also shared views on the good and bad of improved access to data, the consumer say-do gap and what success in tourism sustainability looks like.

See below for the full interview with PhocusWire's Linda Fox.