Now more than ever, with the impact of a global pandemic still deep, the travel industry and cities must align to plan for the future. The findings of the WTTC & JLL Global Cities’ Readiness for Sustainable Tourism Growth report identify five key considerations and factors to enhance a destination’s readiness.

Public-private-community engagement
Partnerships and multistakeholder engagement have always been key to effective destination planning and management. However in recent years, the concept of destination stewardship, an approach that balances and meets the needs of all stakeholders has gained increased traction. To thrive, destination stewardship must approach needs and goals holistically and requires public-private-community collaboration.

Sustainability at the core
As highlighted during COP26 in 2021, climate change and environmental degradation are worsening at an alarming pace, requiring urgent action to avoid a devastating impact on destinations, businesses, local communities, the global economy, and our way of life.

With today’s decisions defining the world of tomorrow, there is a need to increase both ambitions and actions to protect people and planet. Communication & outreach Strategic planning leveraging technology

Communications and outreach
A clear and compelling communications and outreach strategy is essential to support a city’s strategic plan for sustainable and resilient Tourism growth. Indeed, effective communication and outreach can significantly contribute to deeper engagement by all stakeholders, including city officials, business leaders and the local community, as well as building trust, in turn making the plan more impactful.

Leveraging technology
While the acceleration of digital technologies and the resulting innovations have been a prominent feature of the COVID-19 crisis, digitisation has been a growing trend for decades. Although digitisation should not be employed to replace human interaction given the high-touch nature of the Travel & Tourism sector, it should be leveraged as a means to enrich the travellers experience and enhance the liveability of the city.

Strategic planning
Successfully integrating tourism into the destination’s agenda requires careful planning and consideration. It is not only essential to have a comprehensive tourism plan, but to ensure that the travel and tourism goals and approach are aligned and integrated into the destination’s broader strategy to steward the destination’s future successfully.