Tourism Connects Billions, Now It Must Protect Billions As Well

In 2024, global countries welcomed an estimated 1.4 billion international tourists, a pre-pandemic number; the figure grew even further, by about 5%, in early 2025. According to UN Tourism, tourists generate approximately 10% of the global GDP and support more than 357 million jobs, which also corresponds to 1 in 10 jobs worldwide. Still, the sector’s footprint is substantial; tourism’s value chain has been linked to 8% of global carbon emissions. As today is the World Tourism Day, a UN-designated event that celebrates the industry’s most significant strengths in fostering human connection and economic growth, it is essential to also address the ecological costs associated with this sector.

TOURISM: A COMPLEX SECTOR

Tourism is a powerful engine of inclusion, sustaining SMEs, preserving culture, and promoting acceptance and diversity across borders. However, left unchecked, its growth brings congestion, waste, water stress, and emissions, with impacts concentrated in iconic places. Per news articles from the AP, this has led to various locations experimenting with means to curb the number of tourists. Venice’s day-tripper fee, for example, used to cost 5 Euros typically; now the fee stands at 10 Euros, but its impacts on reducing the tourism-related carbon footprint is still debated. On the other hand, the demand for aviation, the mode of transportation of choice for tourists, which accounts for 2.5% of the world’s carbon emissions, is still increasing, necessitating a solution that is scalable while not destroying demand. Taken together, this implies that more remains to be done to manage tourism better worldwide.

BUILDING TOURISM SOLUTIONS THAT PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY

Public policy can steer cleaner choices while keeping up with the demand. Regions can pair visitor caps, fees (as Venice is doing), and mandatory registration with investments in transit and waste/water systems to raise “carrying capacity.” A use case of this, per the World Economic Forum, is Rwanda, which channels high-value safari permits into park and community funding, linking livelihoods to protection. This approach helps local communities recover and reduces poaching incentives. For airlines, SAF, or Sustainable Aviation Fuel, should be the fuel of choice; suppliers (such as inflight caterers or cabin designers) must be sourced based on carbon footprint, and dispersal marketing can be implemented to thin out demand into off-peak seasons. Tourism’s superpower is connection, letting world citizens see and care for one another. The task now is to align that human dividend with planetary boundaries. The numbers show both the upside and the urgency: billions of travelers and hundreds of millions of jobs that come with a stubborn emissions bill. If smart rules are paired with responsible enterprises, today, World Tourism Day, can mark the redesigning of a sector that welcomes the world while treading lightly upon it.

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