On 20 November 2025, Travalyst and the Travel Foundation in collaboration with UN Tourism, convened the Global Sessions on Climate Action in Tourism, a six-hour virtual event aligned with the official tourism thematic days at COP30 Climate Summit in Belém, Brazil.
The sessions brought together policymakers, businesses, destinations, researchers, NGOs, and global tourism leaders across time zones for a day of knowledge exchange, fresh insights and collective reflection.
COP30 marked a pivotal shift from commitments to implementation. With countries expected to submit strengthened NDCs following the Global Stocktake, the discussions in Belém reinforced the urgency of moving from commitments to delivery, particularly on climate adaptation and the mobilisation of finance for vulnerable countries and communities most exposed to climate risk.
Despite its exposure to escalating climate risks, high dependency on nature and communities and its contribution of roughly 10% of global GDP and one in ten jobs (WTTC, 2024), tourism however continues to be insufficiently reflected in national climate strategies.
Yet, the growing visibility of tourism at COP through the second official tourism thematic day (tourism dialogue), signals a recognition of the sector’s importance. Strengthening its role within national and international climate frameworks is essential to ensuring a credible, equitable and resilient transition.
The 2026–2030 window will define the future of tourism. COP30 made one thing clear: the sector must move from commitment to performance — from fragmented action to coordinated, data-enabled, finance-ready, community-rooted systems transformation. Clear messages came out of the day:
Building on the COP29 Declaration for Enhanced Climate Action in Tourism that was adopted by 70 countries, NDCs and NAPs include a growing number of references to tourism. Yet these references remain little actionable and need to be further connected with access to climate finance for implementation. At COP30, the newly established Interinstitutional Working Group on Tourism and Climate Action of UN Tourism’s Executive Council was presented as a mechanism to strengthen the governance of climate action in tourism.
Tourism is increasingly visible in the negotiations, but there is still so much work to do. – Jorge Laguna Celis (One Planet Network, UNEP)
Governments and businesses have a moral obligation to lead. The climate crisis is no longer a distant threat, and the decisions we make today will echo across generations. – Susanne Etti (Intrepid Travel)
Across panels, speakers stressed that tourism is on the frontline of climate change: heatwaves, biodiversity loss, water stress, extreme weather, and ecosystem degradation are already reshaping destinations. Adaptation is where climate, biodiversity and communities meet — and where tourism can play a leading role by supporting nature restoration, local economies, and climate-risk preparedness. Speakers stressed that adaptation requires locally driven, community-centred action and that communities most vulnerable to climate change must be at the heart of climate planning. At COP30 tourism was recognised as one of the sectors with high potential for stewarding forests, oceans and biodiversity – one of the key objectives of the Action Agenda.
Many people in the Global South, as well as low-income and disadvantaged people in the Global North, will face the biggest challenge of adapting to the impacts of global heating. – Harald Buijtendijk (BUAS)
Data remains fragmented, inaccessible, unaligned, and inconsistent across borders.
A recurring message: interoperability, shared standards, and trusted data infrastructure are critical to system change. The first version of Travalyst’s Data Hub was presented as a foundational step toward an open, secure, accessible and scalable sustainability data ecosystem for the sector.
We see data as the fuel. But to use it for the greater good of our industry, we need it to be accessible. – Jessica Steenkamp (Travalyst)
Destinations and investors alike emphasised that climate ambition cannot advance without stable enabling environments. This includes coherent national–local frameworks, harmonised sustainability standards, and incentives for SMEs and community enterprises.
What tourism policy lacks is the integration of climate resilience into planning. – Anu Kumari Lama (ICIMOD)
Across regions, a major gap persists between ambition and funding. Speakers stressed the need for:
We need to make sure that the finances we’re accessing actually reach the communities and people who deliver the tourism experience. – Nicole Usher Solano (Ministry of Tourism, Belize)
At COP30 there were increasing conversations and important advocacy efforts toward climate solutions that restore ecosystems and strengthen communities. Multiple speakers throughout the day emphasised that regeneration, one of the strategic pathways of the Glasgow Declaration, needs to be practical, not abstract — and can guide capital flows, destination strategies, and community-led innovations.
It’s looking at how regenerative approaches can support the whole shift we’ve been talking about – restoring ecosystems, changing mindsets and rethinking how tourism operates. – Rebecca Armstrong (The Travel Foundation)
No single actor — not governments, businesses, NGOs, nor travellers — can drive sector-wide transformation alone. The event reaffirmed the Glasgow Declaration as the unifying framework and initiative for accelerating action across its five pathways: Measure, Decarbonise, Regenerate, Collaborate, Finance. Discussions are ongoing for the inclusion of a sixth pathway specifically focusing on adaptation.
We need a shared understanding and shared priorities if we’re going to protect destinations, especially the most vulnerable. – José Juan Lorenzo Rodríguez (Canary Islands Tourism)
The launch of the Travel Foundation’s Where Next? report highlighted the need for systems change to close the gap between what existing structures can deliver and what destinations need. Several speakers highlighted that voluntary, business-by-business actions are insufficient. Destinations need collective action, stronger regulation and policy reform to reduce emissions, tackle injustice, and build genuine long-term resilience.
Passion is one thing, but the ability to work at scale requires a science-based support system. – Gopinath Parayil (Blue Yonder)