As the graphic shows, these are leisure or “soft” skills. This provides strong evidence of Jost Krippendorf’s forecast in The Holiday Makers, published in 1987, almost 40 years ago. Drawing on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Krippendorf wrote: “…we shall increasingly see emancipated tourists, tourists who have, so to speak, come of age. Their need for physical recreation (sleeping, eating, drinking) will decline in favour of the need for ’emotional recreation’ through activities and experiences which are not possible in everyday life. Many tourists are becoming more demanding. They take the satisfaction of their elementary needs, for instance, good food and comfortable lodging, more or less for granted. What they want to find now, in addition to this, is the satisfaction of social needs: contact with other people and self-realisation through creative activities, knowledge and exploration.”

As Krippendorf anticipated nearly four decades ago, tourists are increasingly seeking meaningful travel experiences. Mastercard’s survey found that 51% of travellers said holidays feel more meaningful when they learn something new, while 48% believe new skills are now “a more valued memento than souvenirs.”

VisitEngland research published last year also investigated what encourages people to book sustainable holiday accommodation. The factor mentioned most frequently was the opportunity to enjoy “authentic experiences.”

Attractions can also provide opportunities for learning and skill development. The Scottish Crannog Centre, on the banks of Loch Tay, is a reconstructed Iron Age defensive dwelling built on stilts. Responsible tourism lies at the heart of the centre’s work, earning it Gold and Global Finalist recognition in the 2024 Responsible Tourism Awards.

“People come to learn about the past and find out what role it can play in our future. Aside from the crannog itself, we have a number of thatched buildings in which our team demonstrates traditional skills, such as weaving, blacksmithing and woodworking, to our visitors, keeping these crafts alive and introducing them to new generations,” explains Mike Benson, director of the Scottish Crannog Centre.

Emily Downes, a sustainable tourism consultant and former tour operator specialising in responsible tourism, argues that travellers are increasingly seeking “experience for money” rather than simply “value for money”. As she puts it, “Local knowledge, creativity and authentic experiences are often what create the greatest value for travellers – and these are precisely the areas where DMCs play a critical role.”

The focus is shifting from volume to value, from selling as many trips as possible to delivering the most meaningful experiences possible. In her ethical partnership guidelines, Downes argues that tour operators should recognise that destination management companies (DMCs) possess deep knowledge of logistics and the local landscape, acknowledge that itineraries are co-developed with local expertise, respect their intellectual property, and treat them as genuine partners.

For destinations, the challenge is no longer simply to attract more visitors, but to create the conditions for meaningful encounters that benefit both travellers and host communities. As Manisha Pande, Board Director of ICRT.global and Co-founder and Managing Director of Village Ways, argues, “a responsible tourism initiative is all about a community and the people with whom tourists will interact; the immersive experiences they will facilitate; and the memories they will help to create.” Ultimately, she concludes, “being able to instil trust, transparency, a sense of pride in local cultural practices, quiet confidence, and ensuring overall well-being are the building blocks that lay the foundation of any successful community-based responsible tourism ecosystem.”

L’article Holidays and the pursuit of self-actualisation est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Transport & Environment commissioned the New Economics Foundation (NEF) to report on aviation’s contribution to fuelling unaffordable housing across Europe. NEF’s research “reveals that the average annual rents in five of Europe’s largest tourism-dependent economies are projected to rise by up to €250 per year over the next five years (2026-2031) as a consequence of incoming air tourism. These rises will primarily affect lower-income households, as income fails to keep pace with rental costs.” In short, more air tourism results in housing cost inflation. “In Europe, emissions from international tourist arrivals by air are projected to rise over 60% between 2016 and 2030.” As Transport & Environment point out, despite the growing concern over the impacts of tourism on local communities and the growing climate risks to the region, European governments continue to double down on aviation and tourism-driven growth – Spain has committed €12.9bn to airport investment, Athens is spending €1.3bn to boost capacity by 25%, and terminal expansions are underway in Lisbon.

Data Journalist, Thomas Hinton, has been looking at the evidence on the impact of tourism on rising rents and housing shortages. As he points out “when housing shortages, rising rents, and tourism accommodation are treated as one and the same problem, the policy discussion can quickly become blurred.” As so often when addressing overtourism, the local details matter. As Hinton points out “STRs may affect housing availability in specific neighbourhoods, but they are only one piece of a broader puzzle that includes zoning laws, construction permits, demographic shifts, urban concentration, and wider cost pressures.”

The issue is not whether STRs have an impact on housing for local people; they do. The challenge is to determine the scale of the tourism impact and whether or not “policies aimed at short-term rentals are proportionate, non-discriminatory, and aligned with EU-level rules designed to protect fair access to services across the internal market.” Research conducted by  Eurocities Monitor in 2025 found  76% of mayors identify demand outpacing supply as the main driver of housing unaffordability in European cities; only 25% cited STRs as a cause. According to the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, STRs represent around 1.2% of total housing. In Barcelona, short-term rentals make up 7.1% of local housing stock, compared to 2.8% in Paris and 1.9% in New York.

And we should remember that a quarter of Europeans cannot afford a week-long holiday.

L’article Short-term rental challenge est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The Global Tourism Forum Angola Investment Summit did not merely promote Angola as another emerging destination. It attempted something more ambitious: to turn Angola’s tourism potential into an investment agenda, supported by policy dialogue, international partnerships, private-sector engagement and measurable commitments.

With more than 2,000 participants, the summit became one of Angola’s most significant tourism investment gatherings in recent years. It brought together government officials, international institutions, hospitality investors, sustainability partners, local tourism operators, business chambers and global decision-makers around one central question: how can Angola convert tourism potential into bankable investment?

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That distinction matters.

In global tourism, natural beauty is rarely enough. Many countries have coastlines, wildlife, cultural heritage and undeveloped land. What separates destinations that attract capital from those that remain permanently “promising” is the ability to convert those assets into bankable projects, credible partnerships and a clear policy framework.

Angola used the summit to make precisely that case.

Its achievement can be measured across three areas: visibility, credibility and execution.

First, visibility

Angola entered a crowded African tourism investment landscape where countries are competing for hotel groups, infrastructure capital, airline connectivity and destination branding. By hosting an international summit under the Global Tourism Forum platform and attracting more than 2,000 participants, Angola moved from being a country with latent tourism potential to one actively presenting itself to global investors at scale.

The setting mattered. Luanda was not used merely as a backdrop; it was positioned as the political and commercial gateway to Angola’s tourism future. From the welcome programme to the official sessions, the summit projected a message that Angola wants to be seen not only as a resource economy, but also as an Atlantic tourism and investment destination.

Second, credibility

One of the summit’s most important outcomes was the positioning of Angola’s tourism sector within a stronger institutional framework. The presentation of UN Tourism’s Tourism Doing Business – Investing in Angola investment guidelines gave the event a policy dimension that extended beyond speeches and panel discussions. The focus was not only on what Angola has to offer, but also on how investors can understand the country’s opportunities, legal framework, institutional partners and priority sectors.

Those priority areas were clear: ecotourism, nature-based tourism, hotel and resort development, coastal tourism, cultural heritage and historical destinations. In other words, Angola was not selling a vague dream. It was beginning to define investable opportunities.

The summit also gave international investors a clearer sense of political commitment. Angola’s Ministry of Tourism did not treat the event as a symbolic gathering. The presence and active engagement of the country’s tourism leadership sent a clear message that the sector is being taken seriously as part of Angola’s economic diversification strategy.

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Third, execution

This is where the summit proved most significant.

Too many tourism forums end with applause, photographs and little follow-through. In Luanda, the emphasis was placed on moving from promotion to transactions, from conversation to commitments, and from visibility to implementation.

Several memoranda and strategic cooperation initiatives were advanced under the umbrella of Angola’s tourism investment agenda. These included international investment groups, global business networks, sustainability partners and domestic tourism operators.

One of the most significant outcomes was the signing of 11 memoranda of understanding during the summit. That figure matters because Angola does not simply need visibility; it needs a pipeline of partnerships capable of moving the sector from promotion to implementation.

The summit also demonstrated that Angola’s tourism strategy is not centred on one type of investor or one narrow market. It brought together foreign capital, institutional partners and local operators, creating a broader platform for hotel development, destination infrastructure, sustainability and private-sector participation.

This balance between international engagement and domestic participation is essential. Tourism development cannot be imported wholesale. It must be built on local knowledge, local employment and local ownership of the country’s tourism story.

The summit also produced something less visible but equally valuable: a new narrative.

For decades, Angola’s international image has been dominated by oil, reconstruction and infrastructure. Tourism rarely occupied the centre of that story. The Global Tourism Forum Angola Investment Summit helped change that narrative. It presented Angola as a country with an Atlantic coastline, national parks, rich cultural heritage, growing cities and a genuine opportunity to diversify its economy through tourism.

That shift is not merely symbolic. Perception influences investment. Investors rarely enter markets simply because governments say opportunities exist. They engage when they see organisation, accessibility, policy direction and credible intermediaries. In Luanda, Angola began to offer that combination.

The role of the Global Tourism Forum was to act as a bridge between state ambition and global capital. It brought together the language of diplomacy and the language of investment. It helped translate Angola’s tourism potential into a format that international investors, hotel groups, sustainability partners and media stakeholders could understand.

This is platform diplomacy in practice.

Modern tourism development is no longer only about destination marketing. It is about building ecosystems that connect investors, policy-makers, operators, media, airlines, hotel groups, sustainability partners and local communities. The Angola summit worked because it recognised this complexity. It did not reduce tourism to beaches and brochures. It treated tourism as an economic development sector.

Of course, the real test begins after the summit.

Angola must now convert visibility into projects. Memoranda must become implementation plans. Investor interest must become capital allocation. Policy guidelines must become simpler procedures. Local operators must be supported. Infrastructure must improve. International hotel brands must see viable routes into the market. Sustainability commitments must move from conference rhetoric to effective destination management.

But the significance of the summit lies in the fact that Angola now has a stronger platform from which to do that work.

The Global Tourism Forum Angola Investment Summit achieved more than a successful three-day gathering. It placed Angola’s tourism sector firmly within the international investment conversation. It connected the country with institutional partners, commercial networks, hospitality investors and local tourism stakeholders. It gave Angola’s tourism story structure, credibility and direction.

In a sector where perception shapes investment, that is a significant achievement.

Angola is no longer simply a country with future tourism potential. After Luanda, it is a country beginning to build a present-day tourism investment agenda.

And for an economy seeking to diversify beyond oil, that may be the summit’s most important legacy.

L’article Angola transforms tourism vision into an investment agenda est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Within the Responsible Tourism Movement, we have not talked much about taxation. One of the most extractive forms of tourism is short-term rentals, where the owner rents a home out as a holiday let and does not reside and pay tax locally. If a Londoner owns a second home in Wales or Portugal and banks the rent in London, the local economic benefit will be limited to payments to the cleaner and a little maintenance. If renting out a property in Wales, there is a good chance that UK tax will be taken. If the rental property is in Portugal, there is a good chance that the UK taxman will not take a cut and Portugal certainly won’t.

When we applied the ICRT Global’s “economic benefit” methodology to Piggs Peak Hotel in Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, we were able to report that it paid 5,242,525 Emalangeni, 281,000 Euro, in taxes and levies to government, most of which would amount to a local economic benefit.

Ewan Cluckie of Tripseed and ICRT Thailand has gone further. Ewan analysed a sample of 17 well-known destination management companies and tour operators in Thailand, revealing significant variation in tax practices.

As Ewan points out:

“This data reveals a troubling paradox warranting further research: companies without sustainability certifications are, on average, contributing a higher amount to Thailand’s public finances (proportionally to their revenue share within our anonymised sample – 1.13% Tax-to-Revenue Ratio) than those with prestigious international sustainability certifications. In this sample, certification status shows a negative association with tax-to-revenue ratios. We do not infer causation and note potential confounders such as credits, loss carry-forwards, consolidation, or timing.”

Ewan rightly points out that Thailand’s ability to invest in managing tourism impacts and build resilience requires funding from taxation or levies.

A couple of weeks ago, Tripseed became the first company in the world to be accredited under the Fair Tax Foundation’s new National Business Standard for the Fair Tax Mark. An independent accreditation that recognises businesses paying the right amount of corporation tax, in the right place, at the right time, and being transparent about how they do it. It isn’t a logo you can buy or a pledge you can sign. It’s an assessment of how a business is structured, governed and taxed, checked against a published standard.

Will other businesses follow?

L’article Taxation matters est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Climate patterns, school holidays, and long-established travel habits naturally concentrate demand into relatively short periods of the year. For some destinations, this means operating at full capacity during peak months while facing significant underutilisation during the rest of the year.

The challenge is substantial. According to Eurostat, “July and August accounted for 31% of all annual nights spent in EU tourist accommodation in 2025.” In countries such as Croatia, Greece and Bulgaria, more than 40% of annual tourism nights were concentrated during those two months.

The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission has similarly highlighted variability of tourism demand throughout the year as a potential source of economic vulnerability. Destinations that combine high tourism intensity with high seasonality can become particularly exposed to sudden sectoral shocks because so much economic activity is concentrated within a small part of the year.

Against this backdrop, the latest European Accommodation Barometer set out to explore this very theme.

Rather than accepting seasonality as a challenge to be endured, hoteliers are experimenting with and deploying creative strategies to bolster demand outside traditional peak periods.

Moving beyond discounts

Discounting remains the most common tool used: nearly nine in ten European accommodations offer special rates, discounts, or bundled packages during quieter periods.

However, the more important lesson is that this structural challenge cannot be addressed through a one-size-fits-all approach. European accommodation providers are remarkably diverse, ranging from independent guesthouses and short-term rentals to campgrounds and international hotel chains.

The strategies that work best depend on the type of property, its location, and the visitors it hopes to attract. The common thread is not the specific tool being used, but the willingness to mix and match multiple approaches and calibrate in real time.

European accommodations use a wide range of distribution channels, host events, or partner with event organisers. Creating demand outside the peak season requires both an attractive offer and an effective route to market.

A discounted stay becomes hotel revenue only if and when a potential guest discovers it.

When asked which channels are most effective in securing off-season stays, hoteliers overwhelmingly pointed to online travel agencies. More than four in five respondents described them as effective.

Platforms like Booking.com, Expedia, and Airbnb make it easier for travellers to discover destinations, compare options, and make informed choices. As two-sided marketplaces, online travel platforms depend on the success of the hospitality partners that list with them, including smaller and independent properties that get access to scale and thus are better able to stay competitive.

This matters particularly for destinations outside the traditional tourism hotspots.

Previous research commissioned by Booking.com and carried out by Tourism Economics found that while only 16% of accommodation bookings in Europe were in rural areas overall, that figure increased to 38% for bookings made through online travel platforms.

In other words, the tools used to market and distribute tourism can also influence where tourism takes place.

Events are becoming a strategic tool

Another notable finding from this year’s Barometer is the growing role of event-driven hospitality. Half of European accommodations reported benefiting from events over the past twelve months.

For many operators, events are doing far more than generating short-term occupancy gains. Two-thirds reported higher revenue per room, while six in ten saw increased bookings during periods that would otherwise have experienced weaker demand. More than half said event-driven travel helped offset lower income-generation at other times of the year.

This is an important distinction. Unlike many businesses with relatively stable demand curves, accommodation providers face high volatility. When events take place, they also face higher operating demands: 66% adjust staffing schedules and pay overtime, while 42% hire temporary or additional staff. Room rates are one of the mechanisms that help balance supply and demand during these periods, but they also reflect the additional costs of operating at peak capacity and the reality that demand is often concentrated into relatively short periods of the year.

Conferences, trade fairs, sporting competitions, concerts, festivals and cultural events all have the potential to attract visitors during shoulder season. In doing so, they can help spread tourism activity more evenly throughout the year.

Half of European hoteliers say they would like to coordinate more closely with local authorities and tourism boards around event-related demand. This was one of the clearest signals in the survey: accommodations increasingly view seasonality not simply as a hotel issue, but as a destination-wide challenge requiring collaboration across the tourism ecosystem.

Local communities are part of the solution

The Barometer also highlights a connection that is sometimes overlooked in discussions about seasonality. Travel accommodations are deeply embedded within their local economies.

Across Europe, many establishments source a substantial share of their non-labour spending locally, while 43% also make facilities such as restaurants, meeting rooms, fitness centres, or wellness areas available to residents.

This local integration becomes particularly relevant when thinking about year-round tourism.

Destinations that maintain vibrant economies, active cultural calendars, and strong community engagement often create more reasons for visitors to travel outside traditional peak periods. At the same time, more evenly distributed tourism activity can support local businesses beyond the summer season.

The relationship works both ways.

A shared challenge

The European Commission has noted that better use of existing tourism infrastructure and staff in the low season can help businesses improve productivity and support a more stable workforce. That is a useful way to frame the issue: seasonality is not only about filling rooms, but about making better use of the capacity Europe has already built.

This cyclical pressure isn’t going anywhere. As an industry, we can and should strive to make the peaks less overwhelming and the quieter months more viable. This has to be a multi-stakeholder, destination-specific conversation that provides a view of what makes it worth visiting: not only beds and beaches, but also events, culture, seamless transport infrastructure, unique local businesses, and the distribution channels, digital or otherwise, that connect travellers to them.

The more destinations that get this right, the stronger Europe’s travel ecosystem will be.

L’article Rethinking seasonality est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The Normandy example was highly extractive, the economic value stripped out to UK bank accounts. The Ireland example was quite the opposite, a form of community-based tourism with the economic value captured locally. In neither case did this form of tourism accommodation have a big impact on property prices and rental values. This all changed with the internet.

Airbnb is not the only short-term rental facilitator, but it is the biggest, and it has driven change. It’s called Airbnb because the company’s founders started renting out air mattresses in their living room in San Francisco in 2007, creating an “Airbedandbreakfast.” In a B&B, the guest shares the owner’s accommodation and is served breakfast by the host. The economic benefit stays local.

As AIRDNA reports, “Airbnb works by empowering anyone (well, so long as they adhere to local regulations) to rent out a room or an entire property. …  the platform has captured the attention of real estate investors who have made Airbnb-ing their full-time job.”

The conjunction of the emergence of internet facilitators like Airbnb, increasing demand and changes in a now largely unregulated housing market has led to rapid growth in short-term rentals. Airbnb alone reached one million booked nights in 2011.

Jaume Collbon, Barcelona’s mayor in November 2024, identified housing as the city’s number one problem, reporting that in the past 10 years, rental prices in the city had soared by 68% while the cost of buying a house had climbed 38%. The 10,101 short-term rental licences became the target with announcements that the licences would not be renewed from 2018. It is a problem in Cape Town, too, with over 23,000 properties currently available according to Inside Airbnb. In Belgium, research by ING found that in 2024, around 1.23 million stays were booked via short-term rental platforms in Belgium, accounting for 12.3 million overnight stays.

Short-term rental platforms create value, but it is most often captured outside of the local economy by second and multiple homeowners, creating employment only for cleaners and maintenance workers. The local community are priced out of housing, suffers inflation in bars, cafes and restaurants, overcrowding, noise and partying.  Local authorities are increasingly being pressured by the electors to act.

The European Parliament, back in 2024, adopted plans (2024/1028) to increase transparency in the short-term rentals sector. The new regulations are designed to support better policymaking, improve transparency in the sector and encourage the sustainable development of tourism. According to Eurostat, guests spent 951.6 million nights in short-term rental accommodation booked through online platforms in 2025.

• When Member States opt for the new rules, registration procedures introduced by national authorities must be fully online and user-friendly. Hosts will receive a unique registration number for their property.
• Online platforms will be required to display and verify registration numbers and carry out random checks to help identify illegal listings. Public authorities will also be able to request the removal of non-compliant listings.
• Platforms will share monthly data on guest stays and nights booked with public authorities through a Single Digital Entry Point established by each Member State. Simpler reporting obligations will apply to small and micro platforms.
• Aggregated data collected under the Regulation will contribute to tourism statistics produced by Eurostat and support the development of innovative tourism-related services, while ensuring the protection of personal data.

Unfortunately, “The Regulation has been adopted in an “opt-in/opt-out” mode, meaning that Member States are not obliged to apply it.”

L’article EU acts on short-term rentals est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Across the continent, governments are increasingly looking beyond traditional growth models and towards sectors capable of creating jobs, attracting investment, strengthening national brands and connecting their economies more closely to global markets. In this evolving development landscape, tourism is no longer a secondary industry. It is emerging as a strategic instrument of economic transformation.

Angola is among the countries embracing this shift.

Under the leadership of João Lourenço, Angola is positioning tourism as a pillar of national development. This ambition extends far beyond attracting more visitors. It is about creating a platform for investment, infrastructure development, cultural diplomacy, regional growth and international confidence.

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This approach deserves attention well beyond Angola’s borders. It reflects a modern understanding of tourism as statecraft, recognising that tourism today is not only about destinations but also about perception, connectivity, competitiveness and trust. It shapes how a country presents itself to investors, international partners, travellers and global institutions.

Tourism occupies a unique position within economic policy because of its ability to connect multiple sectors simultaneously. It supports aviation, hospitality, construction, culture, technology, conservation, agriculture, creative industries and small businesses. Crucially, it creates opportunities not only in major cities but also in coastal communities, rural regions and emerging destinations.

When strategically managed, tourism becomes far more than an economic activity. It becomes a development framework capable of generating investment, supporting entrepreneurship and enhancing international visibility.

Angola’s current direction reflects this understanding. By giving tourism a more prominent role within its broader economic agenda, the government is signalling that the sector is viewed as a vehicle for long-term growth, private sector participation and global engagement.

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This political commitment is particularly significant because tourism development cannot rely solely on marketing campaigns or promotional slogans. Successful destinations are built through infrastructure investment, public-private partnerships, skills development, investment facilitation, cultural promotion and effective institutional coordination.

Roads, airports, hotels, coastal developments, national parks, conference facilities, digital platforms and hospitality training programmes are not isolated initiatives. Together, they form the foundations of a competitive tourism economy.

In this respect, Angola offers an important lesson for the wider African continent. Africa possesses some of the world’s most remarkable natural and cultural assets. Its landscapes, coastlines, cities, cuisine, music, traditions and heritage provide an extraordinary basis for tourism growth. Yet the next phase of development requires more than attractive destinations. It requires leadership, confidence and a clear national vision capable of transforming assets into opportunities and opportunities into investment.

By placing tourism at the centre of its economic repositioning, Angola is demonstrating how the sector can serve as a bridge between domestic development objectives and international capital. Tourism can strengthen a country’s global image, support new investment corridors and create platforms for dialogue between governments, businesses and international institutions.

This is especially relevant at a time when investors are seeking destinations with strategic clarity, long-term ambition and predictable policy environments. Capital follows confidence, and confidence is often built through coherent vision and political commitment.

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Angola’s tourism agenda also reflects a broader African priority: economic diversification through sectors that are inclusive, visible and scalable. Tourism remains one of the few industries capable of linking large-scale investment with local communities. A hotel development generates employment, but it also supports farmers, transport providers, designers, guides, restaurants, artisans and numerous other service businesses. A destination, therefore, becomes more than a place to visit; it becomes an ecosystem of economic opportunity.

For Angola, this multiplier effect has considerable potential. With its Atlantic coastline, cultural heritage, diverse landscapes, vibrant cities and growing investment profile, the country possesses many of the ingredients required to become one of Africa’s most compelling tourism destinations. The challenge now lies in continuing to build the strategic framework necessary to convert these advantages into sustainable economic value.

This is not solely an Angolan story. It reflects a broader African conversation about development, competitiveness and global positioning. Across the continent, there is growing recognition that tourism should not be viewed as a decorative sector but as a serious component of economic policy. Countries that succeed will be those that integrate tourism into wider strategies for investment, infrastructure, connectivity and international engagement.

The experience of Angola illustrates how political leadership can help drive that transformation. By incorporating tourism into a broader national vision, the country is contributing to a wider redefinition of tourism’s role in economic development. The sector is not simply about visitor arrivals, hotels or events. It is about how nations organise their future, communicate their ambitions and build confidence among global partners.

The lesson is straightforward: tourism succeeds when it is supported by political will.

Angola’s tourism strategy is therefore more than a sectoral initiative. It is an expression of national ambition and a reflection of a country seeking to engage with the world through confidence, purpose and long-term planning. It demonstrates how African nations can build development models rooted in their own assets, cultural identity and strategic priorities.

For investors, Angola merits attention. For policymakers across Africa, it offers a timely example of how tourism can contribute to economic diversification and international positioning. And for the global tourism industry, it serves as a reminder that the future of tourism will be shaped not only by destinations themselves, but by leaders who recognise the sector as one of the most powerful instruments of national development in the twenty-first century.

L’article Angola’s tourism push: how João Lourenço is rewriting Africa’s development playbook est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The difference is rarely the destination itself. Many countries possess coastlines, heritage sites, biodiversity, urban culture, hospitality traditions and landscapes capable of attracting international visitors. What separates successful tourism economies from unrealised potential is not simply the quality of the product, but the quality of political commitment behind it.

Tourism growth begins as a political decision.

Without clear political will at the highest level of the state, tourism tends to remain fragmented. Ministries may launch campaigns. Agencies may attend fairs. Investors may be invited. Master plans may be written. But without a coherent signal from the presidency, the prime minister’s office or the central executive authority, tourism policy often becomes cyclical, reactive and institutionally weak.

In such environments, the sector remains vulnerable to bureaucratic discontinuity, underinvestment, unclear regulation and limited investor confidence. Tourism potential may exist, but it does not mature into a structured economy.

The historical record is instructive.

Türkiye’s tourism transformation did not emerge spontaneously. It was the outcome of a deliberate policy shift beginning in the 1980s, when tourism was elevated into a strategic growth sector. Investment incentives, coastal development, hotel capacity expansion and infrastructure modernisation were aligned with a broader national objective. Over time, that political decision reshaped the Turkish economy, turning the country into one of the world’s most competitive tourism destinations.

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Egypt provides another example of the relationship between state policy and tourism resilience. Under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, tourism has remained embedded within a broader national development agenda that includes infrastructure expansion, heritage restoration, security management and destination repositioning. Egypt’s ability to recover and expand its tourism economy reflects not only the strength of its historical assets, but also the continuity of political attention given to the sector.

Indonesia has followed a comparable logic. By identifying tourism as a priority sector, the Indonesian state has connected destination development with infrastructure, regional growth, investment facilitation and employment policy. The result is a model in which tourism is not treated merely as a visitor industry, but as a platform for inclusive and sustainable development.

These cases illustrate a central policy lesson: tourism becomes transformative only when it is governed as a national economic strategy.

This lesson is particularly relevant for Africa.

The African continent holds some of the world’s most compelling tourism assets. Its natural landscapes, cultural diversity, wildlife, coastal corridors, historical depth and young populations represent an extraordinary foundation for future growth. Yet much of Africa’s tourism potential remains undercapitalized. The issue is not a lack of attraction. The issue is the absence, in many cases, of a fully institutionalized tourism investment framework supported by the highest levels of government.

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International investors do not evaluate destinations solely through the lens of beauty or market potential. They evaluate the political economy of the destination.

They ask whether the country offers stability. They ask whether the government sees tourism as a long-term priority or a short-term promotional exercise. They examine the clarity of the regulatory environment, the credibility of institutions, the quality of infrastructure, the availability of bankable projects and the consistency of leadership. In emerging markets, political confidence often precedes financial confidence.

This is where Angola deserves closer attention.

For decades, Angola was primarily viewed through the lens of energy, natural resources and post-conflict reconstruction. Today, however, the country is attempting to reposition itself within a broader economic diversification agenda. Tourism is increasingly part of that conversation. The country’s landscapes, Atlantic coastline, cultural heritage, biodiversity and urban development potential offer a basis for a more ambitious tourism economy.

But Angola’s most important asset may not be physical. It may be political.

Under the leadership of President João Lourenço, Angola has begun to articulate a clearer development agenda focused on reform, diversification, infrastructure and international engagement. In this context, tourism is not simply a sectoral opportunity; it is part of a wider state-building and economic modernization project.

For tourism investors, this distinction matters.

A country can possess attractive destinations but fail to attract capital if investors do not believe in the policy environment. Conversely, a country that demonstrates political stability, executive commitment and institutional seriousness can accelerate investor confidence even before its tourism infrastructure is fully mature.

This is the stage at which Angola now finds itself.

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The country is not yet a fully developed tourism powerhouse. Nor should it be measured by the standards of mature destinations that have benefited from decades of accumulated investment. Angola should instead be understood as an emerging destination economy at the beginning of a long-term transition. Its current value lies not only in what already exists, but in what can be built if political will, public policy and private capital are aligned.

That alignment is precisely what international tourism investment platforms are designed to support.

As Global Tourism Forum, our role in Angola is not limited to convening an event. It is to contribute to the construction of investor confidence around a country that is seeking to reposition tourism within its national development agenda. The Global Tourism Forum Angola Investment Summit is intended to function as a strategic interface between the Angolan state, international investors, hotel groups, financial institutions, aviation stakeholders, sustainability organizations and global tourism leaders.

Such platforms matter because investment does not move only toward opportunity. It moves toward confidence.

When investors gather in a country, meet its leadership, understand its priorities and observe institutional commitment, perception begins to change. The country becomes more legible to global capital. Its projects become more credible. Its tourism narrative becomes more structured. In emerging destinations, this process of confidence-building is often the first step toward long-term investment.

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Angola’s current tourism trajectory should therefore be viewed through a generational lens.

The foundations being laid today may not produce their full results immediately. Tourism economies are built over decades. Airports, hotels, coastal zones, cultural districts, national parks, training systems, investment legislation and destination brands require time. But the earliest stage of transformation is always political. Before the hotels are built, before the routes are expanded and before the visitor numbers rise, the state must decide that tourism matters.

President João Lourenço’s vision appears to recognize this reality.

By supporting Angola’s economic diversification and opening the country to broader international engagement, his leadership is helping create the conditions under which tourism can become a serious component of national development. The significance of this moment lies not merely in current projects, but in the strategic direction they represent.

The seeds being planted today may appear modest. But this is how destination economies are built. Türkiye’s tourism success was not visible in full at the beginning of its reform period. Egypt’s current momentum rests on years of political attention and institutional continuity. Indonesia’s tourism growth reflects a sustained national prioritization of the sector.

Angola is now entering its own formative phase.

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If the country maintains political consistency, strengthens institutional coordination, improves the investment environment and continues to position tourism as a pillar of diversification, the results could be profound. In twenty years, the decisions being made today may be remembered as the early foundations of Angola’s emergence as one of Africa’s most important tourism investment destinations.

For this reason, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to H.E. President João Lourenço. His vision and leadership are helping place tourism within Angola’s broader national development conversation. The initiatives undertaken today may begin as small institutional steps, but over time they can grow into a durable tourism economy that benefits future generations.

Tourism is not only about visitors. It is about the credibility of the state, the confidence of investors and the capacity of a country to convert its identity into economic value.

In the twenty-first century, tourism is increasingly a matter of statecraft.

And Angola, under its current leadership, is beginning to demonstrate that it understands the strategic importance of that choice.

L’article Tourism as statecraft: how political will can transform destination economies est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Businesses that are taking responsibility need to be able to secure differentiation in the marketplace, use their positive impacts in their PR to secure market advantage from their efforts and enable consumers to make sustainable choices. Concern in the parliament about the impact of the Green Claims Directive on small businesses was one of the major reasons that it was abandoned.

Green hushing won’t help us travel more responsibly – and neither will certification.

If you are being told that you must certify to protect your business from mis-selling, reflect on the fact that certification has been remarkably unsuccessful across Europe. Recent research by Xavier Font and colleagues reveals that only 9.3% of European hotels in a sample of 82,301 properties on the Booking.com platform were certified in 2024. Certification is highly concentrated among chain-affiliated, large, high-end hotels.

The Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (ECD) will apply across the EU from September 2026 and will address further areas of mis-selling. The changes most likely to impact tourism businesses are:

1. making an environmental claim that is unsubstantiated, or not based on a product’s entire life cycle
2. making an environmental claim without “clear, objective, publicly available and verifiable commitments.”

It is no longer acceptable to claim that a product is green without considering how it is dealt with as waste. Obviously, this would make it impossible to suggest that potable water in a plastic bottle was “green” or that potatoes sold in non-biodegradable bags were “environmentally friendly.”

I am deeply sceptical of the value of certification schemes, most of which are based on tick boxes.  Having a certificate will not provide “clear, objective, publicly available and verifiable commitments.” Nor will a certificate carry any meaning or make any connection with your potential guest. From the beginning of the Responsible Tourism  Movement in the 2002 Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism  in Destinations, we have recognised the importance of “more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues.”

I cannot be sure from a certificate that a hotel composts food waste or pays above the minimum wage. Certification is opaque; the consumer cannot find out what specifically the business does. An issue hammered home to me during the drought in Cape Town in 2018. It was impossible to find out which hotels used the least water per bednight and make an appropriately informed choice about where to stay.

Worse when, as requested, you place your used towels back on the rail to reuse them, the room attendant replaces them with freshly laundered towels you cannot seek redress. The consumer who finds that the hotel fails to deliver on sustainability has little chance of securing redress; the guest cannot find out what the hotel has been certified for and has no contract with the certifying agency from which they might otherwise secure compensation for mis-selling.

Way back in 2017, I posted on the WTM Global Hub Certification: what comes next?

“Certificates are awarded for effort rather than achievement. I am less concerned about how a hotel reduces its energy consumption per bed night than that it reduces the consumption. Wouldn’t it be amazing if certificates were awarded for achieving an acceptable level of water and energy consumption per bed night, for paying wages above minimum wage levels, and meeting a minimum set of labour standards?

Wouldn’t it be even more amazing if hotels and operators published their operational performance against the standard, and the certifiers audited that performance and signed off on the evidence, thereby taking real responsibility for their certificates? Metered electricity consumption would quickly reveal the real performance of the hotel – and whether or not the room key light switches were being overridden. We need to know what the business has achieved that makes them worthy of the certification, and we need to know how they compare with others. Then, when travelling to a water-scarce region, I could choose to stay in one of the hotels with the lowest water usage per bed night or the one with the best employment conditions. Then certification would carry real meaning.

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Responsible Tourism takes a much more transparent approach:

1. Consider what issues arise in or from the impacts of your operations and affect your neighbours.
2. Which of these issues could you address through your business, alone or working with others?
3. Decide what you can afford to do without bankrupting your business and destroying jobs.
4. Tell you suppliers, customers, neighbours and other businesses what you are doing and how?
5. Report your impact using verifiable evidence.

Booking.com has annually reported for some time that large majorities of tourists want to travel more sustainably, but the same consumers say that there are few sustainable options available.

“Our research indicates that as many as 68% of travelers want to travel more sustainably in the coming year. However, the supply of options meeting credible sustainability criteria remains limited, and standards are often inconsistent or difficult to assess. As a result, travelers face uncertainty and lack clear, trusted information to guide their choices.” Booking.com stated in its 2025 Sustainability Report.

It just may be the case that certificates are opaque and fail to meaningfully communicate what responsible travellers are looking for. If you want to see examples of effective Responsible Tourism marketing, take a look at Responsible Travel with user content collateral.

Professor Xavier Font wrote a series of guides for tourism businesses more than a decade ago. The one produced for Failte Ireland using local examples opens with a quote from Simon Ashe of Ballynahinch Castle:” Your customers will only value your sustainability efforts if you make it fun and you communicate it with passion but without making them feel guilty.”

It is important to make your messages meaningful for your target customers – you can’t do everything, as we have seen, you need to choose. Consider your market, amongst other things, when you choose what to take responsibility for.

The Failte Ireland “Green Marketing Toolkit” was published back in 2011, and VisitWales published “Keep it real” in 2012.

In February 2025 Accor, Booking.com and the University of Surrey published cutting edge research on how to engage travellers and “deliver effective and engaging sustainability communications to guests.”

• Highlight sustainability practices – including for less sustainable amenities – and show how guests can easily contribute
• Balance appeals to pleasure and comfort for optimal results
• Empower guests, don’t constrain or dictate to them
• Help guests act as responsibly as they do at home

Follow the link for really helpful guidance.

The most recent research by Booking.com reveals that 85% of travellers say that more sustainable travel is important or very important to them. Older generations demonstrate greater commitment to specific, more sustainable behaviours than their younger counterparts. Less than half (47%) of the Boomer survey respondents (61+) say they want to travel more sustainably in the coming 12 months, compared to 60% of Gen Xers (45-60), 71% of Millennials (29-44) and 75% of Gen Z (18-28). Research shows that perhaps their actions speak louder than words.

• Of those who intend to travel more sustainably over the next year, two thirds of Boomers (67%) say they will reduce general waste when travelling compared to 56% of Gen X, 52% of Millennials and less than half of Gen Z (48%).
• 60% of Boomers intend to reduce energy consumption (such as turning off air conditioning and lights in their room when they aren’t there), compared to 51% of Gen X, 46% of Millennials and 42% of Gen Z.
• 59% of Boomers say they will shop more at local, independent stores on their trips compared to 50% of Gen X, 44% of Millennials, and 42% of Gen Z.
• And perhaps, unsurprisingly, older generations were much more likely to report plans to travel outside of peak season: Boomers (63%), Gen X (48%), Millennials (41%) and Gen Z (36%).

The market is increasingly complex, requiring businesses to carefully evaluate what truly matters to their clients and target audiences. Success depends on identifying and building meaningful connections that drive sustainable growth and long-term value.

L’article Cheaper and smarter ways to prevent mis-selling without certification est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Under the leadership of John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, the government’s renewed focus on building a new national airline and attracting majority private investment deserves recognition. It shows that Ghana is once again viewing aviation not only as transport, but as a tool for national development.

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Recent reports indicate that Ghana is seeking investors and strategic partners to help establish a new national airline. This is a timely and encouraging step. For a country with Ghana’s cultural depth, coastal assets, diaspora strength, business potential, and regional influence, air connectivity is not a secondary issue. It is the foundation of tourism growth.

In tourism, mobility is not just a technical detail. It is the first layer of infrastructure.

A destination may offer hotels, heritage, beaches, events, investment opportunities, and a strong national brand. But without direct access, reliable air routes, and a competitive aviation ecosystem, it cannot fully convert its potential into economic value. Tourism begins with the ability to arrive.

This is why Ghana’s renewed airline vision should be seen as a national development strategy, not merely an aviation project.

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Nearly a decade ago, we highlighted the importance of this issue. At the time, we emphasised that Ghana needed to strengthen its aviation capacity, expand international connectivity, and position itself as a regional hub for tourism, investment, and mobility. The idea was simple but strategic: if Ghana wants to become a stronger tourism economy, it must first become more accessible to the world.

Unfortunately, the political leadership of that period did not take sufficient ownership of this vision, and the opportunity remained unrealised.

Today, however, President John Dramani Mahama’s administration appears to be reopening this strategic chapter with a more investment-oriented and pragmatic approach. The decision to seek private-sector participation and strategic investors is particularly important. In the modern aviation economy, national airlines cannot be built on political ambition alone. They require capital discipline, experienced operators, commercial logic, route strategy, brand positioning, and strong public-private cooperation.

This is where Ghana has a real opportunity.

A new national carrier, if structured correctly, could support not only inbound tourism but also business travel, investment flows, regional trade, diaspora engagement, MICE tourism, and Ghana’s broader international visibility. It could connect Accra more effectively with key African capitals, Europe, the Middle East, and North America, while strengthening Ghana’s role as a gateway to West Africa.

Ghana takes steps toward reviving a national airline as Ambassador Victor Emmanuel Smith engages Boeing in Seattle on a strategic partnership. pic.twitter.com/PQ0am4iS28

— CDR AFRICA (@cdrafrica) April 30, 2026

For tourism, this would be transformative.

Ghana has already made meaningful progress in positioning itself as a destination with cultural identity, heritage value, and international relevance. But the next stage of growth requires stronger air access. Tourism promotion without mobility is incomplete. Investment promotion without connectivity is limited. Destination branding without aviation capacity is not enough.

The government of President John Dramani Mahama deserves credit for reopening this strategic discussion and inviting potential partners into the process. This is the right direction. It signals seriousness, openness to private investment, and an understanding that tourism infrastructure must include aviation as a central pillar.

As the World Tourism Forum Institute, we strongly welcome this direction.

We stand ready to support Ghana by providing strategic leads, introducing relevant investors, facilitating international tourism and aviation dialogue, and helping position the country’s renewed aviation vision before the global tourism and investment community. Our role has always been to connect governments, investors, tourism leaders, and strategic institutions around projects that can create long-term national value.

@amberstravels Paradise found in Ghana #fyp #ghana #ghanatiktok #vacationmode #wintersun #oceanlife #watersoblue #2024travelbucketlist #luxurytravel #traveldestinations #ghanatiktok ♬ Praise Jah In The Moonlight – YG Marley

Ghana’s airline ambition is exactly such a project.

This is not only about launching aircraft under a national flag. It is about creating a platform for economic movement. It is about making Ghana easier to reach, easier to invest in, and easier to promote as a serious tourism and business destination.

Tourism is not only about hotels, beaches, or campaigns. It is about transportation, infrastructure, trust, investment, and vision. Ghana has the opportunity to combine all these elements into a new growth story.

If the country builds the right aviation model, commercially sound, privately supported, internationally connected, and strategically aligned with tourism, Ghana can become one of Africa’s most important tourism and mobility hubs.

The opportunity is clear. The timing is right. And the leadership shown by President John Dramani Mahama’s government deserves recognition.

For Ghana, aviation can become more than transport. It can become the engine of a new tourism economy.

L’article Ghana’s new aviation ambition could become a turning point for African tourism est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.