By Contributor,Dianne Plummer,Michael Melford
Copyright forbes
Woman enjoying sunlight against mountain range and sea during vacation
Today is 27 September, World Tourism Day, and in 2025 the official theme is “Tourism and Sustainable Transformation.” This is a call to realign tourism, not as a standalone growth engine, but as a catalyst for positive environmental, social, and economic change.
Tourism has rebounded strongly from the pandemic. According to UN Tourism, international tourist arrivals in 2024 reached an estimated 1.4 billion, recovering to pre-pandemic levels. In the first half of 2025, arrivals grew another 5 percent year-on-year, putting them roughly 4 percent above 2019 levels. Yet this return to volume alone is not enough, unless tourism changes how it operates, it risks reinforcing inequalities, accelerating environmental damage, and eroding cultural heritage.
Tourism Transformation
Tourist snorkeling among Sergeant major fish (Abudefduf saxatilis). Long Bay, Jamaica. (Photo by: Michael Melford/Design Pics Editorial/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Design Pics Editorial/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Sustainable transformation means shifting the model. First, governance and planning must embed sustainability from the start. According to HospitalityNet, delivering on the theme demands “good governance, strategic planning, robust monitoring and clear priority setting” in alignment with long-term sustainability goals.
Second, tourism must be greener: energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste reduction, water stewardship, and carbon accounting are non-negotiable. More than 50 countries have already signed a UN sustainable tourism declaration, acknowledging that the global tourism sector accounts for about 3 percent of global GDP and 8.8 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.
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Third, sustainable transformation demands inclusivity. Tourism should power livelihoods in host communities, maintain cultural authenticity, and spread benefits equitably. The concept of sustainable tourism in UNWTO’s framework includes economic, social, and environmental dimensions together meeting visitor needs while protecting host communities and future generations. This is also supported by the voluntourism model.
Responsible Tourism
According to Aruba’s Responsible Tourism Impact Report, 96% of travelers believe responsible tourism is important, and 80% say it should go beyond minimizing impact to actively uplifting local communities. Yet while 73% of travelers want to learn how to make a positive impact, only 23% feel they have been given clear guidance, highlighting a gap between intention and action.
Aerial from Manchebo beach on Aruba island in the Caribbean at sunset
These findings show that travelers are ready to engage, but they expect destinations and industry leaders to provide the pathways to make every trip a force for good
Fourth, the privates sector and local actors must lead innovation. A recent spatial analysis of tourism in Italy showed that private sector initiatives such as Eco-certification, green investments, and visible sustainability practices exert stronger direct influence on tourism flows than public actions, though both produce beneficial spillovers regionally.
World Tourism Day 2025 is a charge to rebuild better, supporting community-based tourism, promoting nature-based assets, enforcing environmental safeguards, and creating resilient tourism systems that withstand shocks such as climate, economic, or health. With this shift, tourism is slated to become a force of sustainable transformation rather than a driver of degradation.
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