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Future-Proofing Tourism
A Guide to Climate Adaptation and Community Resilience for Travel Businesses. A new international research report revealing that climate change poses some of the greatest economic, environmental, and social risks to the global tourism sector — and the scalable, evidence-based solutions already emerging across the world.
With extreme weather events increasing in frequency and intensity, tourism businesses and destinations are facing unprecedented operational disruptions, rising insurance costs, damaged natural assets, and shifting traveler preferences. 2024 was the hottest year ever recorded, and the report analyzes how tourism destinations from Dubai to Greece to Thailand are experiencing devastating heatwaves, floods, and wildfires that directly impact business viability, traveler safety, infrastructure stability, and destination appeal.
Co-authored by researcher Shivya Nath and O'Shannon Burns, the study synthesizes 30 climate adaptation case studies across six global destinations — anchored in coastal, mountainous, and urban terrains — to illustrate how tourism businesses of all sizes are already implementing practical, community-aligned climate solutions.
“Climate change poses an outsized risk to the tourism sector because it depends on the integrity of place. Fortunately, communities around the world are already pioneering creative, culturally-rooted solutions to these hazards. With the right partnerships, the travel and tourism industry can help ensure these initiatives are funded, scaled, and implemented in ways that build community resilience and protect destinations.”
Major Risks Identified
The findings underscore that the tourism sector's reliance on natural and cultural resources makes climate adaptation no longer optional, but essential for long-term viability.
Financial Pressures
Revenue decline from extreme heat and damaged natural assets, rising insurance premiums, and increased operating costs.
Operational Threats
Degraded reefs and glaciers on which destinations depend, water scarcity, health and safety hazards, and infrastructure damage.
Transition Risks
Stricter climate regulations, loss of competitiveness, and evolving traveler expectations toward low-carbon, resilient experiences.
When Tourism Embraces Climate Justice, New Solutions Emerge
Many of the world's most tourism-dependent regions — including the Caribbean, Pacific Islands, and parts of Africa and Asia — are among the most climate-vulnerable, despite contributing the least to global emissions. The report demonstrates that centering local and Indigenous communities through a climate justice approach strengthens adaptation planning and reveals solutions that would otherwise be missed.
Examples from the Amazon, Peru, the Maldives, and Kerala demonstrate how community-led resilience initiatives — when supported by tourism — can safeguard livelihoods, economies, ecosystems, and cultural heritage.
Key Adaptation Strategies Emerging Across Destinations
The report outlines a Climate Adaptation Framework for tourism businesses, built around two pillars: nature-based adaptation and product-based adaptation.
Climate-Resilient Experiences
Maldives guesthouses co-creating farm-to-table, mangrove, and cultural tours to offset coral bleaching impacts.
Strengthening Local Food Systems
Peru's El Parque de la Papa (Potato Park) using tourism revenues to conserve over 1,300 native potato varieties, enhancing Indigenous food security and lifeways.
Tourism Infrastructure for Resilience
Bangkok hotels installing green roofs, hydroponic farms, and vertical gardens to reduce heat island effects and stabilize supply chains.
Rebuilding Livelihoods After Disaster
Kerala's Chendamangalam weavers using tourism networks to turn flood-damaged cloth into 'Chekutty' dolls, restoring income for 300 families.
Educational Resilience Tools
Peru's 'Route of Climate Change' trail reframing glacial loss into an educational tourism experience.
Urban Biodiversity Sanctuaries
Amsterdam accommodations installing swift houses, bat boxes, and insect habitats to restore urban ecological systems.
Industry-Wide Climate Training
Switzerland's Climate Company Challenge training hotel apprentices to implement waste reduction, plant-rich menu innovations, and other adaptation projects.
Five Pathways to Accelerate Climate Resilience
- 1Create a global portal for climate adaptation in tourism to centralize best practices and case studies.
- 2Facilitate collaboration across public, private, and academic sectors.
- 3Scale private-sector adaptation through blended finance and innovative funding models.
- 4Leverage tourism as a tool to fund community-led climate resilience.
- 5Support tourism SMEs with 'quick win' adaptation solutions and technical assistance.
A Sector Poised for Leadership
As the world's largest employer of women and a major economic engine for developing regions, tourism is uniquely positioned to accelerate climate adaptation at scale. The report makes clear that businesses investing in climate resilience not only reduce risk — they also unlock new tourism opportunities aligned with travelers' growing demand for ethical, meaningful, and environmentally-conscious experiences.
About the Report
Future-Proofing Tourism draws from national climate action plans, expert interviews, and primary field research conducted between 2010–2024 across India, the Maldives, Peru, Switzerland, Thailand, and the Netherlands. The study serves as a practical roadmap for tourism businesses, governments, impact investors, and development agencies seeking to safeguard tourism's future while supporting community resilience and ecosystem health.
About the Organizations
Regenerative Travel
A global community of hotels and travel designers advancing regenerative hospitality — where every stay leaves the world better than you found it.
Climate Conscious Travel
An initiative equipping travel businesses and destinations with the tools, training, and frameworks to measure, adapt, and respond to the climate emergency.
Aurora Collective
A collective working at the intersection of sustainability, community, and place — partnering with destinations to design and scale climate resilience from the ground up.
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