Tourism & Development

The tourism sector is not only one of the fastest growing economic sectors, but also one of the most important in the world today. In 2017, it contributed a respectable ten percent towards global economic output. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), every tenth job is linked to the tourism industry.

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However, this enormous growth is not without its downsides. Tourism is not only a major contributor to global challenges such as climate change and resource depletion, but is itself affected and suffers as a result of these dynamics. The littering of dream beaches, unchecked floods of tourists that are becoming a problem for many holiday destinations ("over-tourism" phenomenon), loss of biodiversity, the boom in cruise tourism and "low-cost airlines", overburdened infrastructure, gentrification and human rights violations are gradually making the industry and travellers sit up and take notice.

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Against this background, the concept of sustainable tourism is more topical than ever before and requires further action. If appropriately managed, tourism, especially in countries of the global South, offers great development opportunities for building infrastructure, creating jobs and thus income, promoting local economic cycles, preserving natural resources and thus reducing poverty among the population. Tourism can thus make a significant contribution to global sustainable development, and for this reason the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Agenda 2030 explicitly call on tourism to take responsibility.

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For more than 10 years, we have been committed to sustainable tourism in Germany and around the world, from which everyone has something to gain. Central aspects of our work are included: