Close Menu
  • Home
  • Education
  • Health
  • National News
  • Politics
  • Relationship & Wellness
  • World News
What's Hot

Amid student’s mental health struggles, Madras High Court tells college to return certificates, backs Rs 10 lakh bond

March 13, 2026

Dell agrees with Sam Altman on Pentagon, says: Any company doing business with the government can’t tell … – The Times of India

March 13, 2026

Need balance between privacy and public interest: SC | India News – The Times of India

March 13, 2026
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Global News Bulletin
SUBSCRIBE
  • Home
  • Education
  • Health
  • National News
  • Politics
  • Relationship & Wellness
  • World News
Global News Bulletin
Home»Tourism»Tourism’s biggest threats, opportunities: five years to 2030
Tourism

Tourism’s biggest threats, opportunities: five years to 2030

editorialBy editorialDecember 1, 2025No Comments24 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email Telegram Copy Link
Tourism’s biggest threats, opportunities: five years to 2030
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email Copy Link



What is tourism’s biggest oppor­tun­ity and/or threat, either in your spe­cif­ic loc­a­tion or glob­ally, over the next five years (2026 – 2030)?

Thanks to the 17 good people who respon­ded to this “Good Tour­ism” Insight Bites ques­tion, includ­ing aca­dem­ics, edu­cat­ors, and activists.

Spe­cial thanks to those who work in busi­ness and cor­por­ate roles for tak­ing the time to share their thoughts. Like the industry it serves, The “Good Tour­ism” Blog is all about bridging worlds.

Find below, for your con­sid­er­a­tion and enjoy­ment, place-based per­spect­ives from Eng­land to Iran, Bar­celona to Bend; mul­tiple glob­al issues from cost-cut­ting arti­fi­cial intel­li­gence to out-of-whack aca­demia; women’s empower­ment to ocean plastic. The responses appear in the order I received them.

Have a thought toshare?

Respond in the com­ments at any time. Orwrite a Biteof yourown.


Pilgrimage, culture, relaxation … and surgery … inIran

Zohreh Khosravi, Content Manager, flysepehran.com, Iran

Since I work for an Ira­ni­an air­line and our office is loc­ated at Mash­had Inter­na­tion­al Air­port (MHD), I see many pas­sen­gers every day who are either return­ing home after vis­it­ing Mash­had and oth­er cit­ies in Iran or depart­ing for pil­grim­age trips toIraq.

I have no inten­tion of cri­ti­cising or endors­ing pil­grim­ages at this time, but the fact that there are daily flights to these des­tin­a­tions, and even mul­tiple flights in a single day, indic­ates that reli­gious travel is highly desired by the people of Iran and its neigh­bours, includ­ing Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.

These jour­neys are fre­quently organ­ised as tours that include accom­mod­a­tion, round-trip tick­ets, pil­grim­age tour ser­vices, attrac­tion vis­its, and souven­ir pur­chases, mak­ing the trip easy and enjoy­able for the travellers.

Inter­na­tion­al vis­it­ors to Iran fol­low a sim­il­ar pat­tern, which involves a com­bin­a­tionof

  • Pil­grim­age to Mash­had in north-east­ernIran;
  • Cul­tur­al excur­sions to Shiraz, Isfa­han, and Yazd;and
  • Relax­a­tion by the Caspi­an Sea and in the UNESCO World Her­it­age Hyrcani­an forests

These will remain the main focus for organ­ised tours to and with­in Iran, espe­cially among middle-aged and older groups who will con­tin­ue to make up the major­ity of travellers.

Med­ic­al tour­ism in Iran, includ­ing for cos­met­ic sur­gery, is espe­cially pop­u­lar among Middle East­ern women and rep­res­ents anoth­er opportunity.

Back tomenu^

Is Bend and Central Oregon caught in an ‘amenity trap’?

Ed Jackiewicz, Professor,California State University, Northridge, USA

Not too long ago, I relo­cated to Bend, Ore­gon, wit­ness­ing the rap­id trans­form­a­tion of this small city. I often con­sider what the near future might hold. Here I share my thoughts through the lens of the ‘amen­ity trap’ concept, which describes how places blessed with nat­ur­al amen­it­ies can become vic­tims of their own attract­ive­ness.

Cent­ral Oregon’s rich out­doors and year-round appeal con­tin­ue to draw tour­ists, long-term vis­it­ors, and second-home buyers.

This tour­ism-driv­en growth has obvi­ous eco­nom­ic bene­fits, and loc­al organ­isa­tions are act­ively try­ing to har­ness eco­nom­ic resources such as lodging-tax rev­en­ues and vis­it­or fees to man­age the social, eco­nom­ic, and envir­on­ment­al pressures.

The city and region also cre­at­ively brand them­selves as a respons­ible, nature-aware, year-round des­tin­a­tion attract­ing con­scien­tious trav­el­lers. How­ever, as vis­it­or num­bers and inward migra­tion con­tin­ue to grow, Cent­ral Ore­gon risks slid­ing deep­er into the amen­itytrap.

  • Hous­ing afford­ab­il­ity is already chal­lenged and could worsen, dis­pla­cing loc­al work­ers and long­time res­id­ents as tour­ism and second-home demand inflate real-estate prices.
  • Infra­struc­ture — roads, water, sew­er, pub­lic health, emer­gency ser­vices — is stressed by vis­it­or surges and rap­id pop­u­la­tion inflow, often fun­ded dis­pro­por­tion­ately by loc­als while vis­it­ors gen­er­ate much of the wear andcost.
  • Cli­mate change risks — wild­fire, drought, flood — are sig­ni­fic­ant; a major nat­ur­al dis­aster could affect the tour­ism eco­nomy and strain the loc­al fisc­albase.

For tour­ism in this region to be sus­tain­able over the next five years and bey­ond, stake­hold­ers must recog­nise the amen­ity trap warn­ing: nat­ur­al beauty and life­style appeal are strong assets, but they invite growth that can under­mine com­munity char­ac­ter, afford­ab­il­ity, and infrastructure.

My sense is the region is doing its best to lever­age its amen­it­ies and oppor­tun­it­ies while avoid­ing the trap of being ‘loved to death’, but time willtell.

Back tomenu^

Barcelona: No room? Or norooms?

Saverio Francesco Bertolucci, Business Development Specialist,VDB Luxury Properties, Spain

The biggest threats to Bar­celona are rep­res­en­ted by poten­tial polit­ic­al tur­moil and laws that favour hotel lobby groups.

Des­pite the ongo­ing multi-bil­lion-dol­lar expan­sion plans at its inter­na­tion­al air­port, Bar­celon­a’s poli­cy­makers have decided to restrict room capa­city instead of expand­ing it.

Only a few hol­i­day rent­al build­ings and a bunch of private own­ers who hold the last licences for hol­i­day apart­ments still stand against the huge hotel lobby com­prised of the biggest cor­por­a­tions, which are the only ones to bene­fit from the latest laws approved by the Gen­er­al­it­at (the Coun­cil of the Municipality).

In a pre­vi­ous “Good Tour­ism” Insight, I described how these dis­crim­in­at­ory laws are caus­ing nev­er-end­ing prob­lems. I can con­firm that Bar­celona con­tin­ues to have the worst hous­ing res­ults inSpain.

In this very alarm­ing and unstable situ­ation, pub­lic hous­ing invest­ments should be the basis of future devel­op­ment plans, fol­low­ing the example of Vienna. How­ever, an increase in pub­lic hous­ing implies even more highly reg­u­lated hous­ing prices.

There­fore, to mit­ig­ate a crisis that is on the verge of explod­ing, poli­cy­makers should bal­ance estates and invest­ments accord­ing to the dif­fer­ent social classes that are present in town, and offer a more dif­fer­en­ti­ated product able to accom­mod­ate all, i.e. 30% pub­lic hous­ing and 70% private prop­er­ties, plus hotels, ser­viced apart­ment build­ings, co-liv­ings (res­id­en­tial com­munity mod­els), and the few hol­i­day rent­al apart­ments that remain.

Back tomenu^

The intention economy: A ‘lucrative yet troubling new marketplace’?

Greg Richards (Tilburg University) & Wendy Morrill (WYSE Travel Confederation), The Netherlands

In the past, research­ers focused on con­sumer desires and motiv­a­tions as the drivers of tour­ism demand. With the growth of AI, and machines able to pre­dict our wants, some see the emer­gence of the ‘inten­tion economy’.

This is, accord­ing to Chaud­hary & Penn (2024), a “luc­rat­ive yet troub­ling new mar­ket­place” in which we could see “AI assist­ants that fore­cast and influ­ence our decision-mak­ing at an early stage and sell these devel­op­ing ‘inten­tions’ in real-time to com­pan­ies that can meet the need – even before we have made up ourminds.”

In oth­er words, AI will know what we want before we do. Our motiv­a­tions will be increas­ingly influ­enced by algorithms, open to manip­u­la­tion by com­pan­ies who will be able to shape our travel inten­tions to fit their com­mer­cial interests.

The travel industry has always been able to shape travel pat­terns with desir­able images, cre­at­ive storytelling, and attract­ive prices, but AI takes influ­ence to a newlevel.

Wendy Mor­rill

Will people find ways to escape the inten­tion eco­nomy trap? Could it be used for more bene­vol­ent purposes?

If the inten­tion eco­nomy could be har­nessed to influ­ence inten­tions towards sus­tain­able travel, per­haps there ishope.

Anoth­er pos­it­ive trend, how­ever, is that people are becom­ing weary of online con­tent in general.

A return to phys­ic­al travel agen­cies was evid­ent from research on travel book­ings made by young con­sumers, reveal­ing an upward trend since 2017. This fol­lows a sharp decline between 2002 and 2012 which tracks with the rise of OTAs and social media.

The return to travel agen­cies has been echoed by ABN AMRO research from the Neth­er­lands. The per­cent­age of trav­el­lers aged 18 – 34 book­ing at a phys­ic­al travel agency rose from 4% to 11% between April 2024 and July 2025. And some 38% of US Mil­len­ni­als and Gen Z booked via a travel agent in2023.

Back tomenu^

Skills shortages threaten hospitality sector

John Morris Williams, Group General Manager,Sanakeo Boutique Hotel&Flora by Sanakeo, Laos

Look­ing ahead to 2030, my view is that the biggest threat is a short­age of skilled or semi-skilled hos­pit­al­ity personnel.

With more and more hotels and estab­lish­ments being built and not enough hos­pit­al­ity schools, the industry is not doing its share to pro­mote the hard but good life it can bring to those who embrace it.

Four- and five-star hotels and resorts will slide down in their ser­vice deliv­ery and human cap­it­al, unless a world­wide reviv­al is created.

Back tomenu^

‘Why not put our faith in the next generations to do a better job?’

Geoffrey Lipman, Creative Disruption Architect,The SUNxProgram, Malta

All the data shows we are fail­ing on the tar­gets laid out in the Par­is Agree­ment, the Sus­tain­able Devel­op­ment Goals (SDGs), and the Biod­iversity Con­ven­tion, so why not put our faith in the next gen­er­a­tions to do a bet­ter job? Our kids and grandkids will be the decision makers when the Par­is tar­get dates arehere.

Through Dodo4Kids we want them to start their jour­ney toward Cli­mate Friendly Travel and a thriv­ing plan­et now, so that the dodo becomes a beacon of hope not just a sad reflec­tion on thepast.

Dodo is a quirky char­ac­ter re-incarn­ated from DNA in Malta. Dodo travels around the world meet­ing loc­al chil­dren and enjoy­ing the pleas­ures of being a tour­ist, all the while explor­ing how to be clean and green through online books, car­toons, andgames.

Dodo4Kids e‑books for Malta, Maur­i­ti­us, Uganda, Bali, and Ukraine are avail­able now avail­able on Amazon.

SUNx Malta is a val­ued “Good Tour­ism” Partner.

Back tomenu^

‘An imbalance in tourism studies’ = An opportunity to collaborate

S Fatemeh Mostafavi Shirazi, visiting scholar, Iran

Des­pite the rap­id expan­sion of over­tour­ism research, a strik­ing asym­metry per­sists: schol­ars over­whelm­ingly exam­ine res­id­ents’ per­cep­tions, while far few­er invest­ig­ate tour­ists’ aware­ness of how loc­als feel. This is an imbal­ance in tour­ism studies.

Research has long framed over­tour­ism as a phe­nomen­on in which res­id­ents bear the heav­iest social, cul­tur­al, and envir­on­ment­al bur­dens. Con­sequently, their exper­i­ences are high­lighted and treated as the most legit­im­ate and urgent.

While this focus is jus­ti­fied and valu­able, it also unin­ten­tion­ally dis­reg­ards the per­cep­tions of tour­ists, who play a cent­ral role in cre­at­ing the very pres­sures res­id­ents experience.

Empir­ic­al chal­lenges fur­ther con­trib­ute to this gap. Tour­ists are tran­si­ent, time-lim­ited par­ti­cipants in the des­tin­a­tion, and typ­ic­ally res­ist­ant to reflect­ive ques­tion­ing dur­ing leis­ure travel.

Moreover, many vis­it­ors approach des­tin­a­tions through a con­sumer-ori­ented lens, per­ceiv­ing them as spaces designed for pleas­ure rather than as lived envir­on­ments with social ten­sions. This lens reduces their sens­it­iv­ity to loc­al dis­tress unless host dis­sat­is­fac­tion becomes overtly vis­ible. As a res­ult, tour­ists often report high sat­is­fac­tion and low aware­ness of social con­flict, even in des­tin­a­tions where loc­al frus­tra­tion is well documented.

There is also an insti­tu­tion­al dimen­sion: des­tin­a­tion man­age­ment organ­isa­tions and loc­al author­it­ies fre­quently pri­or­it­ise vis­it­or exper­i­ence as an eco­nom­ic imper­at­ive, cre­at­ing nar­rat­ives that down­play res­id­ent dis­con­tent. This rein­forces a research envir­on­ment in which tour­ists’ mis­un­der­stand­ings, blind spots, or detach­ment remain insuf­fi­ciently examined.

Yet under­stand­ing how tour­ists per­ceive — or fail to per­ceive — loc­al feel­ings is cru­cial for sus­tain­able des­tin­a­tion gov­ernance. Align­ing tour­ist aware­ness with res­id­ent real­it­ies can dir­ectly influ­ence vis­it­or beha­vi­or, sup­port com­munity well-being, and inform more bal­anced policy interventions.

I am very inter­ested in sur­vey­ing this top­ic and would wel­come col­lab­or­a­tion with any aca­dem­ic who shares this research interest.

Back tomenu^

Can AI offset tourism’s rising costs?

David Jarratt, Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management,University of Lancashire, UK

Over the next five years, the most imme­di­ate threat to tour­ism glob­ally is rising costs. In many places, infla­tion has pushed up prices across accom­mod­a­tion, food, trans­port and energy; this affects busi­nesses and trav­el­lers, not to men­tion loc­al residents.

A 2024 report by CaixaBank Research shows that tour­ism ser­vice prices in Spain in 2023 were 17.5 per cent high­er than in 2019, with the price of accom­mod­a­tion up by 26.2 per cent over the same period.

This pat­tern reflects a wider squeeze on oper­at­ing costs and house­hold budgets. When travel becomes more expens­ive to provide and to pur­chase, demand becomes fra­gile and mar­gins tighten.

Cli­mate dis­rup­tion adds fur­ther pres­sure through high­er insur­ance costs and great­er uncer­tainty about sea­son­al pat­terns. Con­sequently, afford­ab­il­ity is one of the most sig­ni­fic­ant con­straints facing the sec­tor as awhole.

A sig­ni­fic­ant oppor­tun­ity over the same peri­od, how­ever, is the pro­duct­ive use of arti­fi­cial intel­li­gence (AI).

A 2025 European Travel Com­mis­sion report notes that early stud­ies of gen­er­at­ive AI in ‘know­ledge work’ show pro­ductiv­ity gains of over 60 per cent for writ­ing tasks and over 50 per cent for cod­ing, often along­side qual­ity improve­ments. For a sec­tor shaped by tight staff­ing levels and vari­able demand, tools that improve work­flow, sup­port staff and sim­pli­fy plan­ning can offer realvalue.

Over a longer time frame, we are also likely to see more auto­ma­tion and robot­ics in vis­ible roles, such as lug­gage hand­lers or waiters, espe­cially where labour mar­kets are tight. AI can also sup­port per­son­al­isa­tion, strengthen pre-vis­it com­mu­nic­a­tion and help des­tin­a­tions man­age vis­it­or flows more effectively.

Costs cre­ate risk, while AI and auto­ma­tion offer a route to effi­ciency and bet­ter use of lim­ited resources.

Back tomenu^

Indonesia’s 620,000-tonne plastic threat

Anna Clerici, Co-founder, No-Trash Triangle Initiative, Indonesia

These num­bers are no longer warn­ings; they’re a call to action:

In North Sulawesi, in the heart of the Cor­al Tri­angle, these fig­ures aren’t abstract. Much of the plastic that ends up in the ocean flows through and to waters tour­ists call “para­dise”.

The loc­al eco­nomy is at risk. Region­al plan­ning shows tour­ism will need 15,000 skilled work­ers soon. Live­li­hoods depend on healthy reefs.

If degrad­a­tion con­tin­ues, icon­ic des­tin­a­tions like Bunaken may no longer offer the exper­i­ence that brings vis­it­ors back. Resorts and dive centres have a front-row seat. They can help make the sys­tem work now, while the big­ger machine slowly catches up.

Let’s be hon­est: we’re still wait­ing for gov­ern­ments to fully step in, enforce bans, and treat waste man­age­ment as a pri­or­ity. We’re still wait­ing for pro­du­cers to finally feel responsible.

But tour­ism doesn’t have to wait. Tour­ism can co-fund loc­al waste sys­tems. It can cre­ate a mod­el where prop­er col­lec­tion — mean­ing fair salar­ies, safety, and dig­nity — is pos­sible even in remote islands where costs are high­er than in cit­ies. Because prop­er waste man­age­ment is expens­ive, and good inten­tions don’t cov­er payroll.

The No-Trash Tri­angle Ini­ti­at­ive proves loc­al stake­hold­ers can sup­port recov­ery. Best of all? It works. Rivers get clean­er, com­munit­ies get stronger, and reefs get a fight­ing chance.

Tour­ism can’t fix everything. But it can bridge the gap between what should hap­pen in five years and what must hap­pennow.

Back tomenu^

How much is too much? Managing opportunity and threat in rural tourism

Shamiso Nyajeka, Dean of the School of Hospitality,PSE-Pour un Sourire d’enfant, Cambodia

The line between oppor­tun­ity and threat can be quite blurry. Some­times they look almost the same, and it’s hard to tell good news from some­thing to worry about. My exper­i­ences liv­ing in rur­al Cam­bod­ia and Zim­b­ab­we — in the serene areas of Kiri­r­om and Nyanga — have made thisclear.

In recent years, interest in rur­al spaces has grown. Tour­ists, author­it­ies, investors, and an afflu­ent elite are look­ing to build or buy. Put that togeth­er, and you get a mix that car­ries real oppor­tun­it­ies … and realrisks.

There are real oppor­tun­it­ies. Rur­al com­munit­ies can bene­fit mean­ing­fully. In Nyanga, Zim­b­ab­we, where cli­mate change affects farm­ing, tour­ism sup­ports incomes. In Kiri­r­om, Cam­bod­ia, new resorts bring bet­ter roads, jobs, and services.

But the threats are equally real. Growth can slowly chip away at the essence that makes these places spe­cial. It starts with a lodge here, a few homes there, a road pushed slightly fur­ther into green space. Small steps seem harm­less, but they change the land­scape overtime.

Every­one is try­ing to do some­thing pos­it­ive; improve live­li­hoods, sup­port com­munit­ies, and make sound invest­ments. But we need clear lim­its, thought­ful plan­ning, and hon­est con­ver­sa­tions about “how much is toomuch”.

For me, the biggest oppor­tun­ity and the biggest threat lie in the same place: how we choose to man­age growth.

If we get it right, com­munit­ies thrive and nature remains pro­tec­ted. If we get it wrong, we risk lov­ing these des­tin­a­tions todeath.

Back tomenu^

England’s local pubs: Use them or losethem

Ashika Kalubadanage,Course Director,Canterbury Christ Church University, England

Glob­ally, tour­ism is increas­ingly mov­ing toward authen­t­ic, sus­tain­able, and exper­i­ence-driv­en travel. Mod­ern tour­ists seek cul­tur­al immer­sion, eco-friendly accom­mod­a­tion, and unique loc­al exper­i­ences, such as culin­ary tour­ism, craft work­shops, or tra­di­tion­alarts.

This shift presents a major oppor­tun­ity for the UK tour­ism industry over the next five years to lever­age its rich cul­tur­al heritage.

A par­tic­u­larly dis­tinct­ive ele­ment of Brit­ish cul­ture is the tra­di­tion­al pub­lic house (pub), which has long served as a com­munity hub.

How­ever, the pub industry is at a crit­ic­al point. Eco­nom­ic pres­sures, life­style changes, and urb­an­isa­tion have led to the clos­ure of many pubs across England.

In my small town, four pubs have already closed, high­light­ing the risk to this icon­ic insti­tu­tion. Hav­ing worked in this industry, I under­stand the deep cul­tur­al and social value pubs provide.

The solu­tion lies in link­ing pub cul­ture with sus­tain­able, exper­i­en­tial tourism.

By pro­mot­ing pubs as authen­t­ic des­tin­a­tions, Eng­land can attract high-value vis­it­ors while pre­serving loc­al her­it­age. It allows tour­ists to engage with com­munit­ies, exper­i­ence tra­di­tion­al food and drink, and par­ti­cip­ate in loc­al storytelling.

This approach not only enriches the vis­it­or exper­i­ence but also sup­ports vil­lage pubs, sus­tain­ing loc­al eco­nom­ies and social cohesion.

In this con­text, tourism’s biggest oppor­tun­ity is clearly the pro­mo­tion of authen­t­ic, place-based exper­i­ences. Sus­tain­able ini­ti­at­ives focused on pubs can help the UK sec­tor adapt to evolving trav­el­ler expectations.

Con­versely, fail­ing to seize this oppor­tun­ity could exacer­bate the threat of cul­tur­al loss and eco­nom­ic decline in rur­alareas.

Back tomenu^

Higher education in the UK: Neglect, erosion, and academic snobbery

Sudipta K Sarkar, Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management,Anglia Ruskin University, England

As an edu­cat­or in tour­ism, hos­pit­al­ity, and events (THE) high­er edu­ca­tion for over two dec­ades, I believe the sec­tor in the UK is facing a slow decline.

Busi­ness schools, where many THE courses are now parked, are play­ing a major role in this erosion. Yes, busi­ness schools are killing the THE dis­cip­line in the UK, and the reas­ons are manifold.

Sev­er­al ded­ic­ated THE schools have now been closed or merged without val­id jus­ti­fic­a­tion. Essen­tial train­ing facil­it­ies — espe­cially hos­pit­al­ity labs that once shaped impact­ful learn­ing — have disappeared.

Worse still, in some cases, THE mod­ules are now taught by staff with neither form­al qual­i­fic­a­tions nor mean­ing­ful industry experience.

Busi­ness schools also show little interest in devel­op­ing innov­a­tion labs in areas like tour­ism data ana­lyt­ics, exper­i­ence design, hos­pit­al­ity tech­no­logy, or rev­en­ue man­age­ment, which are cru­cial for pro­du­cing skilled THE know­ledge workers.

Cul­tur­al atti­tudes com­pound these struc­tur­al issues.

In Anglo­phone con­texts, the con­cep­tu­al­isa­tion of hos­pit­al­ity is not as developed as in France or Switzer­land. This is reflec­ted in the tend­ency to treat THE as a mere sub­set of mar­ket­ing rather than a dis­cip­line in its ownright.

Yet many US uni­ver­sit­ies, includ­ing elite insti­tu­tions, have developed strong THE fac­ulties. In con­trast, the UK has largely con­fined THE to post-1992 uni­ver­sit­ies, reveal­ing per­sist­ent aca­dem­ic snobbery.

Per­haps most troub­ling is the lack of push­back from THE aca­dem­ics with­in UK insti­tu­tions. Many seem to have hap­pily accep­ted the dom­in­ance of Busi­ness schools without mean­ing­ful resistance.

Regret­tably, a turn­around seems unlikely in the next fiveyears.

The industry is grow­ing annu­ally by 6% and is pro­jec­ted to add GBP 4.4 bil­lion (~USD 5.8 bil­lion) a year to the Brit­ish eco­nomy by 2030. Giv­en these fig­ures, busi­ness schools’ step­moth­erly treat­ment of the sec­tor deserves call­ingout.

Back tomenu^

Opportunities for women’s empowerment in rural Vietnam

Pham Phi Anh, Deputy Head of Project Development — Fundraising Unit, Anh Duong Center, Vietnam

Tour­ism can do more than cre­ate memor­ies; it can shiftpower.

In rur­al Viet­nam, com­munity-led tour­ism is help­ing women move from being seen as “bene­fi­ciar­ies” to being respec­ted as the essen­tial con­trib­ut­ors that theyare.

Across the Mekong Delta, women hold com­munit­ies togeth­er through farm­ing, han­di­crafts, cook­ing, and pre­serving culture.

Yet these roles often go unnoticed, espe­cially when tour­ism arrives with a char­ity mind­set. When vis­it­ors come to “help the poor”, women’s skills remain invisible.

When tour­ism is built on dig­nity and respect, everything changes.

In our com­munity-based pro­grammes, women lead nat­ur­ally as hosts, artis­ans, and cul­tur­al inter­pret­ers. Vis­it­ors who join a quilt­ing group or a live­li­hood tour are not giv­ing char­ity, they are pay­ing for skill, tal­ent, and authen­t­ic cul­tur­alvalue.

Start­ing in 2026, each vis­it­or we host will con­trib­ute USD 65 per per­son per day dir­ectly to women-led live­li­hood pro­jects. This cre­ates stable incomes that sup­port school­ing, house­hold decision-mak­ing, and long-term resilience.

Tour­ism can­not solve every chal­lenge. But when women can man­age their own earn­ings and, through their decisions, shape loc­al devel­op­ment, each tour­ism arrival becomes part of their own jour­ney toward empowerment.

Back tomenu^

Opportunities rise in Asia while threats linger globally

David Beirman, Adjunct Fellow, University of Technology Sydney, Australia

The biggest oppor­tun­ity for the glob­al tour­ism industry over the next five years is the shift­ing of its centre of grav­ity from Europe and North Amer­ica toAsia.

Dr Dav­id Beirman

Tour­ism to and with­in Asia has grown expo­nen­tially since the COVID-19 pan­dem­ic slump largely ended in 2023. This resur­gence is driv­en by increased wealth in most Asi­an coun­tries coupled with effect­ive, innov­at­ive mar­ket­ing at both region­al and glob­al levels. All sec­tors stand to bene­fit when they invest in Asi­an tourism.

Region­ally, oppor­tun­it­ies emerge from mar­ket­ing ini­ti­at­ives such as the Asso­ci­ation of South­east Asi­an Nations (ASEAN) Tour­is­m’s incent­ives for trav­el­lers to vis­it mul­tiple South­east Asi­an des­tin­a­tions. These have made it easi­er and cheap­er to com­bine coun­tries. Mar­keters are now high­light­ing des­tin­a­tions pre­vi­ously neg­lected by inter­na­tion­al visitors.

Dis­per­sion of vis­it­a­tion and exper­i­ences is the nat­ur­al sus­tain­able anti­dote to over­tour­ism, which has plagued many attrac­tions. This dis­per­sion includes increas­ing points of trav­el­ler entry by air, sea, and land, and spread­ing attrac­tions, accom­mod­a­tion, and event infra­struc­ture through­out Asi­an countries.

How­ever, the biggest threat remains the resur­fa­cing of a glob­al crisis. As seen dur­ing the pan­dem­ic (2020 – 2023), gov­ern­ment reg­u­la­tions can grind tour­ism to a halt. Bey­ond health threats, wars, civil unrest, eco­nom­ic down­turns, wide­spread ter­ror­ism, polit­ic­al instabil­ity, and nat­ur­al dis­asters all have the poten­tial to severely dis­rupt tour­ism globally.

Back tomenu^

K Michael Haywood, publisher,‘Destinations-in-Action’, Canada

Des­tin­a­tion man­age­ment organ­isa­tions (DMOs) have set their sights on achiev­ing ‘com­munity shared value’ (CSV) through tourism.

Why pose it as both an oppor­tun­ity and a threat?

Wel­come to the world of des­tin­a­tions seek­ing to please every­body: vis­it­ors, loc­al gov­ern­ments, key stake­hold­ers, vis­it­or-serving organ­isa­tions, and citizens.

Can’t bedone?

Please, read the doc­u­ment endorsed by Des­tin­a­tions Inter­na­tion­al. It pur­ports to be a ‘val­ues-based roadmap for des­tin­a­tion organ­isa­tions to embrace com­munity align­ment’; an admir­able undertaking.

But not if com­mu­nic­a­tions about CSV are self-serving.

It is bound to arouse sus­pi­cion if cit­izens believe they are not deriv­ing value from tour­ism, or know it is being taken away. They see cor­por­ate greed, mis­spent mar­ket­ing expendit­ures, plum­met­ing ser­vice stand­ards, infla­tion, and crowding. They feel dis­pos­ses­sion and wit­ness spir­itu­al and cul­tur­al rot (e.g. ‘Lost Vegas’) along­side the mis­placed poet­ics of space and placemaking.

Ever since the concept of shared value was pop­ular­ised, it has been sub­jec­ted to con­sid­er­able cri­tique, not­ably for usurp­ing cor­por­ate social respons­ib­il­ity (CSR). Shared value can­not be sep­ar­ated from val­ues and beha­viours that dif­fer­en­ti­ate right from wrong; what is prefer­able versus what must be avoided.

Rein­teg­rat­ing busi­ness into soci­ety to regain pub­lic trust requires solu­tions to a range of diversity, equity, and inclu­sion (DEI) and envir­on­ment­al, social, and gov­ernance (ESG) chal­lenges. It requires com­mit­ments to improve the com­mon good, com­munity life, and the over­all well-being of cit­izens. And it needs ideas that stim­u­late ima­gin­a­tion and innovation.

Par­ti­cip­at­ory involve­ment in the affairs of DMOs is laud­at­ory. How­ever, in too many ‘com­munit­ies-as-des­tin­a­tions’, the social con­tract has been allowed tofray.

But all need not belost.

Based on the uni­ver­sal value of ‘leave no one behind’, our com­munit­ies are far more likely to flour­ish when everyone’s hope and ration­al optim­ism are rein­vig­or­ated. As a pro­gress­ive concept, CSV requires a reima­gined roadmap.

Back tomenu^

Experiential travel, sustainability fatigue, overtourism, and HR challenges

Jeff Wilks, Psychologist, Consultant, Professor, Australia

Tour­ism is boom­ing, that’s a giv­en. Not only have pas­sen­ger num­bers recovered — and in many cases sur­passed pre-COV­ID levels — but there is also a new surge of people will­ing to travel widely for unique and per­son­al experiences.

Dr JeffWilks

Exper­i­en­tial travel presents the biggest oppor­tun­ity for the industry over the next five years, provided we can man­age tour­ist flows and deal with a couple of obvi­ousrisks.

So what are tour­ists look­ing for, now and over the next fiveyears?

Travel trend pre­dict­ors, like Mas­ter­card, Booking.com, and Kear­ney Con­sult­ing, high­light the import­ance of value for money, get­ting close to nature, and con­nect­ing with loc­al res­id­ents and their cul­tures. Tour­ists want authen­t­ic exper­i­ences and qual­ity ser­vice. Soft adven­ture, fam­ily-friendly, and well­ness are themes high on thelist.

While there is con­tinu­ing interest and sup­port for sus­tain­ab­il­ity, a num­ber of industry reports note a grow­ing sus­tain­ab­il­ity fatigue.

To address this risk, it is sug­ges­ted des­tin­a­tions ensure that more sus­tain­able options are not only read­ily avail­able, but also easy to trust and under­stand. Cur­rently, cost and con­veni­ence trump sus­tain­ab­il­ity choices.

The second risk is over­tour­ism.

Des­tin­a­tions can be too suc­cess­ful, with crowding and con­ges­tion lead­ing to dimin­ished vis­it­or exper­i­ences and neg­at­ive impacts on nature, cul­ture, and loc­al communities.

Des­tin­a­tions can address this by pro­mot­ing less­er-known or altern­at­ive loc­a­tions, encour­aging low-sea­son travel, and vis­it­ing attrac­tions at off-peak hours. A recent Expe­dia sur­vey found 63% of con­sumers say they are likely to vis­it a ‘detour des­tin­a­tion’ on their next trip. Detour des­tin­a­tions are less well-known and less crowded than tour­ist hotspots.

Finally, deliv­er­ing authen­t­ic exper­i­ences with qual­ity ser­vice requires skilled and know­ledge­able staff. Trav­el­lers say they will pay a premi­um for qual­ity ser­vice, yet sev­er­al recent industry reports, includ­ing by UN Tour­ism, high­light ongo­ing staff­ing chal­lenges.

Back tomenu^


What do youthink?

In a com­ment below share your own thoughtsaboutthreats and oppor­tun­it­ies over the next five years.

SIGN INorREGISTERfirst. (After sign­ing in you will need to refresh this page to see the com­ments section.)

Orwrite a“GT” Insightor“GT” Insight Biteof your own.The “Good Tour­ism” Blogwel­comes diversity of opin­ion and per­spect­ive about travel & tour­ism, because travel & tour­ism is everyone’s business.

This is an open invit­a­tion to travel & tour­ism stake­hold­ers from any back­ground to share their thoughts in plain Eng­lish with a glob­al industry audience.

“GT” doesn’t judge. “GT” pub­lishes.“GT” is where free thought travels.

If you think the tour­ism media land­scape is bet­ter with “GT” in it, then please…

Back tomenu^


Previous “GT” Insight Bites

  • Do fun and polit­ics mix? Can we ‘leave our cares behind’ when we go on holiday?
  • Over­tour­ism and over­im­mig­ra­tion are thesame?
  • What is ‘authen­ti­city’ in travel & tourism?
  • Under­tour­ism: Who’s suf­fer­ing, andwhy?
  • Tour­ism, war, andpeace
  • Sig­nalling or sub­stance in tour­ism: What’s yourtake?
  • Vis­it­or value, val­ues, volume: What’s good where youare?
  • Out­bound doesn’t care about sus­tain­ab­il­ity | Well-being must include meaning
  • Is a travel & tour­ism career still attract­ive? Import­ant things to under­stand in2025
  • Wish­wash­ing tourism
  • Butler’s conun­drum: Air travel and ‘sus­tain­able’ tourism
  • What is tourism’s biggest oppor­tun­ity and/or threat where you are in2025?
  • “GT” Insight Bites: Nostalgia
  • “GT” Insight Bites: Geo­pol­it­ics and tourism
  • Tour­ism stake­hold­ers: Who has an out­sized voice? Who has no voice? Whocares?
  • Would you abol­ish taxes ontips?
  • Three crit­ics walk into abar…
  • How are emer­ging tech­no­lo­gies trans­form­ing the travel & tour­ism industry?
  • What does it mean to be crit­ic­al of tourism?
  • What con­sti­tutes ‘pro­gress’ for travel & tour­ism in2024?
  • Con­sid­er­ing a career in tour­ism? Import­ant things you should know in2024
  • What did tour­ism learn from the COVID-19 pandemic?
  • In 2024, what are the best oppor­tun­it­ies for tour­ism over the next fiveyears?
  • Tourism’s biggest chal­lenges & threats over the next five years to2028
  • On empower­ment, pro­mo­tion, and the power of expression
  • On enrich­ment, repat­ri­ation, the double-edged blade, andwar
  • On tour­ism tech­no­logy, pro­gress, and loc­al benefit-sharing
  • Hey, travel & tour­ism, are you ‘neo­co­lo­ni­al­ist’?
  • Who’s the new boss? Asia Pacific tour­ism industry asso­ci­ation seeks leader
  • ‘The hos­pit­al­ity industry offers a great career.’ Really?
  • Cruise ships: Bless­ing or blight?
  • Tour­ist vs trav­el­ler: What’s the difference?
  • The heads of fin­ance, oper­a­tions, and PR walk into their boss’s office…
  • Yes, Tour­ism Minister
  • What are tourism’s biggest chal­lenges & threats over the next fiveyears?
  • ‘Tour­ism is built on the back­bone of white suprem­acy’. What do youthink?
  • Really, what’s the dif­fer­ence? ‘Sus­tain­able tour­ism’ vs ‘regen­er­at­ive tourism’
  • Want a career in tour­ism? Import­ant things you should know
  • Diverse per­spect­ives on travel & tour­ism and a fairer world
  • Diverse per­spect­ives on eco­nom­ic degrowth and tourism
  • Diverse per­spect­ives on vis­it­or dispersion

Featured image (top ofpost)

Tourism’s biggest threats, oppor­tun­it­ies: five years to 2030. A Gem­ini-gen­er­ated image. “GT” added thewords.

Back tomenu^

Follow on Google News Follow on Flipboard
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Previous ArticleMaruti warns small cars face wipeout if emission norms turn ‘unscientific’
Next Article Rupee falls 8 paise to close at 89.53 against U.S. dollar
editorial
  • Website

Related Posts

Just a moment…

February 25, 2026

From reef rubble to recovery: How Livingseas Asia is leading tourism in Bali

December 7, 2025

Re-awakening: How can vibrant tales connect us all through folklore tourism?

November 30, 2025

Do fun and politics mix? Can we ‘leave our cares behind’ when we go on holiday?

November 5, 2025

Cardamom Tented Camp among the world’s most responsible tourism projects: ICRT

November 4, 2025

Can the tide of ocean plastic be stopped? The No-Trash Triangle Initiative thinks so

November 1, 2025
Add A Comment
Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Economy News

Amid student’s mental health struggles, Madras High Court tells college to return certificates, backs Rs 10 lakh bond

By editorialMarch 13, 2026

4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Mar 12, 2026 02:34 PM IST Madras High Court news: The…

Dell agrees with Sam Altman on Pentagon, says: Any company doing business with the government can’t tell … – The Times of India

March 13, 2026

Need balance between privacy and public interest: SC | India News – The Times of India

March 13, 2026
Top Trending

Amid student’s mental health struggles, Madras High Court tells college to return certificates, backs Rs 10 lakh bond

By editorialMarch 13, 2026

4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Mar 12, 2026 02:34 PM IST Madras High…

Dell agrees with Sam Altman on Pentagon, says: Any company doing business with the government can’t tell … – The Times of India

By editorialMarch 13, 2026

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell may be…

Need balance between privacy and public interest: SC | India News – The Times of India

By editorialMarch 13, 2026

‘Can’t Have Sweeping Provision To Access Individual’s Info’ NEW DELHI: Supreme Court…

Subscribe to News

Get the latest sports news from NewsSite about world, sports and politics.

Facebook X (Twitter) Pinterest Vimeo WhatsApp TikTok Instagram

News

  • Education
  • Health
  • National News
  • Relationship & Wellness
  • World News
  • Politics

Company

  • Information
  • Advertising
  • Classified Ads
  • Contact Info
  • Do Not Sell Data
  • GDPR Policy
  • Media Kits

Services

  • Subscriptions
  • Customer Support
  • Bulk Packages
  • Newsletters
  • Sponsored News
  • Work With Us

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

© Copyright Global News Bulletin.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Accessibility
  • Website Developed by Digital Strikers

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.