Local action to drive sustainable tourism for the communities and nature
How can we ensure tourism not only thrives but also helps protect our planet? This was the question at the heart of a recent UrbanShift webinar on nature-positive tourism, which brought together global experts and local leaders from cities, conservation parks, and international organizations. Moderated by Ingrid Coetzee, Director: Biodiversity, Nature and Health, ICLEI Africa, the webinar highlighted practical steps being taken to align tourism with nature conservation, while also creating economic opportunities and building community awareness.
“Nature is essential to travel and tourism.”
With those words, Rebecca Whitehead, Sustainability Manager at the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), opened the session. She painted a clear picture: Eighty percent of the value in tourism is dependent on nature.
“Nature provides destinations with unique identities. It is often the core of their appeal,” she explained.
Yet biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation are among the top risks facing humanity. To address this, WTTC, along with UN Tourism and the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, launched the Nature Positive Tourism Partnership in 2022 at COP15. They aim to help the sector actively restore and protect nature, rather than relying solely on it.
The partnership now includes over 150 signatories: businesses, cities, and conservation organizations, committed to integrating biodiversity into tourism operations. Rebecca also highlighted the WTTC’s Nature Positive Tourism Toolbox, a free resource that offers a four-step approach to implementing sustainability across destinations, supply chains, and visitor behavior.
“A key role of tourism is to celebrate nature. We give nature an economic reason to be conserved, one that is non-extractive,” she said.
Tackling plastic pollution in coastal destinations
Svitlana Mikhalyeva, coordinator of the One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme at UNEP, shared insights into how the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative is helping cities and tourism businesses eliminate single-use plastics and introduce reusable solutions.
“Every year, the world produces 430 million metric tons of plastics,” she noted, with a large portion ending up in cities and on beaches.
Mikhalyeva shared a standout example from Bali, Indonesia. Despite having bans on plastic for years, enforcement remained weak. UNEP hosted a three-day workshop in December 2024, bringing together hotel associations, waste managers, local government, and tour operators. From that, real momentum grew.
“Since that workshop, the Bali Hotel Association has committed to bringing 150 hotels into the initiative,” she said. “We’re now training them one by one to self-audit and develop action plans.”
This result was thanks to strong local ownership and partnerships, not just top-down solutions.
Balancing wetland conservation and bird watchers in China
Guilin Wang, Director of the Ecological Education Department at Zhejiang Hangzhou Bay National Wetland Park, a GEF funded project, shared how their team protects core biodiversity zones, home to more than 300 species of birds, while still engaging visitors.
When the park first opened, it received approximately 7,000 visitors annually. Since then, that number has grown significantly. However, rather than allowing access to sensitive ecological protection zones (areas designated for the preservation of fish, birds, and other flora and fauna, and typically reserved for scientific research), the park has adopted innovative technology to offer virtual experiences of these protected areas. This approach enables visitors to appreciate the park’s rich biodiversity without disturbing its delicate ecosystems.
“We don’t let people into the core areas, but we let them experience them through videos, guided walks, and interpretation,” he explained.
Their next initiative? Seasonal bird-viewing festivals, starting in October, to promote awareness while generating income. They’re also engaging the community through schools, events, and volunteer groups to foster long-term stewardship.
How Bitung, Indonesia, is aligning policy with local needs
For David Tambunan, from the tourism agency of Bitung City, the path to sustainable tourism has been shaped by policy alignment between all stakeholders in the tourism sector (including the central government, the National Planning Agency, the Ministry of Tourism, and so on), and a strong community engagement as well.
“Over 60 percent of our city is conservation land,” he said. “This is a huge opportunity, but also a responsibility.”
With consistent support from national planning agencies and tourism ministries, Bitung has integrated sustainable tourism into local development plans. The city has launched programs to raise awareness in schools, empower local tourism groups in ten villages, and develop infrastructure like trails and floating piers. But there’s still a need for financial and technical support, especially in coastal restoration, homestay development, and training for local guides. This was further explored during the Geospatial Urban Planning Lab in Bitung in May 2025.
“We want to learn from other cities, too,” David noted. “Exchange and collaboration are essential.”
Trails as a possible tool for urban conservation
Dr. Thiago Beraldo Souza, co-chair of IUCN’s Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group, brought a unique angle, urban nature trails as connectors of ecosystems, communities, and visitors.
“Trails aren’t just recreational, they’re ecological corridors, economic assets, and social connectors,” he said.
He pointed to the case of Trilha Carioca in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a 180-kilometer trail that links national parks with favelas and neighborhoods. It creates both conservation value and economic opportunities.
“These trails improve mental health, boost local incomes, and help cities reconnect with nature,” he added.
Souza also emphasized the need for metrics and monitoring, like the number of kilometers of green trails, visitor behavior data, or the percentage of revenue reinvested into green infrastructure.
Start small, build partnerships, and act now
In her closing remarks, Rebecca Whitehead encouraged cities and tourism professionals to begin with small, practical steps, whether that’s eliminating single-use plastics, piloting seasonal ecotourism events, or offering translated materials for visitor behaviour. She acknowledged that while it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale of the challenge, “taking the first step matters most, and we’re not alone; there are resources, toolkits, and partners out there.”
She also highlighted how technology can support inclusivity, with tools like QR codes and audio guides helping to share key messages in multiple languages. Ultimately, she emphasized that real progress depends on collaboration between local governments, communities, and businesses, working side by side to build a tourism sector that protects, celebrates, and sustains the natural world.
“The cost of inaction is far greater than the cost to act,” she concluded.
You can rewatch the webinar in the following languages: English, Mandarin Chinese, and Bahasa Indonesia.
UrbanShift supports cities around the world to adopt integrated approaches to urban development, building an equitable, zero-carbon future where both people and the planet can thrive. If you have any questions or contributions, please reach out to urbanshift@iclei.org.
This blog was written by Saheel Ahmed, with contributions from Karishma Asarpota, and edited by Matteo Bizzotto, ICLEI World Secretariat.
