ISTI reviewed how governments can create responsive, data-driven policies for sustainable tourism via a full morning dialog with policy experts throughout the world in November 2020.  New public policy models were discussed on taxation, sustainable financing, and public private collaborations to respond to the pressure on destinations in the 21^st century.

The Building Back Better: Reconstructing Governmental Systems and Policies for Sustainability Roundtable on November 19, 2020, was hosted together with the International Sustainable Tourism Initiative, the Travel Foundation, and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

It was designed to allow experts in sustainable tourism governance to present a summary of their papers in advance on video (see bibliography below), discuss in detail how tourism can improve its governance, and how tourism can be more responsive to the issues related to both sustainability and the recovery of destinations hit hard by the spread of COVID 19. The final report here provides a summary of the outcomes.

Access The Report Here 

Live Roundtable Participants: 

• Manuel Alejandro Cardenete, Vice Minister Regional Tourism, Regeneration, Justice and Local Administration, Andalucia Spain
• Antonia Alomar, Director, Agency for Tourism Strategy of the Balearic Islands 
• Matt Berna, Managing Director, North America, Intrepid Group
• Gwendal Castellan, Manager, Sustainable Destination Development, Tourism Vancouver
• Margaux Constantin, Associate Principal, McKinsey & Company
• Megan Epler Wood, Founding Director, International Sustainable Tourism Initiative
• Tim Fairhurst, Secretary General, European Tourism Association (ETOA)
• Anna Fink, Economist, Asian Development Bank
• Sofia Fotiadou, Research Manager, Tourism and Environmental Health in a Changing Climate Project, International Sustainable Tourism Initiative (2017-2018)
• Shannon Guihan, Chief Sustainability Officer, The Travel Corporation 
• Frank Haas, Former Dean, Hospitality, Business & Legal Education, University of Hawaii, Kapiolani Community College; Former Vice President, Tourism Marketing, Hawaii Tourism Authority
• Peter Romer Hansen, CCO and Founding Partner, Group Nao
• Graham Harper, Director of Sustainability, PATA
• Andreas Hoffmann, Project Manager, Tourism, GIZ 
• Christopher Imbsen, Director of Destination Stewardship, WTTC
• Signe Jungersted, CEO and Founding Partner, Group Nao
• John M. Knox, President, Knox and Associations
• Ben Lynam, Head of Communications, the Travel Foundation
• Dr. Mark Milstein, Director, Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise, Cornell University
• Wendy Moore, Director of Programmes, Travel Foundation
• Bernadett Papp, Researcher, European Tourism Futures Institute
• Maria Reynisdóttir, Specialist, Department of Tourism & Innovation, Ministry of Industries and Innovation, Iceland 
• Jeremy Sampson, Director, Travel Foundation
• Steven Schipani, Senior Specialist, Asian Development Bank 
• Jack Spengler, Akira Yamaguchi Professor of Environmental Health and Human Habitation, and Director of the JPB Environmental Health Fellowship Program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
• Jane Stacey, Head of Tourism Unit, OECD
• Davide Strangis, Executive Director EU Programmes, Partnerships & Geographical Commissions, Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions 
• Jos Vranken, CEO, Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions
• Trevor Weltman, Chief of Staff, PATA
• Greg Wong, Country Director, Agoda

Bibliography of Papers Presented:

• Reimagining the $9 trillion tourism economy – what will it take? - Margaux Constantin, Associate Principal, McKinsey & Company

• Tourism tax impacts and regenerative tax structures: Peter Romer Hansen, CCO and Founding Partner, Group Nao and Signe Jungersted, CEO and Founding Partner, Group Nao

• Financing Sustainable Destination Recovery – Results of October 2020 Roundtable in Southeast Asia and the Pacific & Financing Sustainable Tourism Recovery in Response to the COVID-19 Downturn, October 7 PATA Roundtable, Results, Analysis and Future Work: Graham Harper, Director of Sustainability, PATA and Trevor Weltman, Chief of Staff, PATA

• Policy Priorities, OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2020 (Ch. 1 & 3) & Rebuilding tourism for the future: COVID-19 policy response and recovery: Jane Stacey, Head of Tourism Unit, OECD

• Advancing Public Private Collaboration for Destination Stewardship and Recovery (in press): Ben Lynam, Head of Communications, the Travel Foundation; Christopher Imbsen, Director of Destination Stewardship, WTTC; and Bernadett Papp, Researcher, European Tourism Futures Institute

• Tourism Destination Environmental Management Framework; A Policy Support Mechanisms for Meeting the Paris Agreement and SDG Goals (in press): Sofia Fotiadou, Research Manager, EplerWood International and Megan Epler Wood, Founding Director, International Sustainable Tourism Initiative; Managing Director, Sustainable Tourism Asset Management Program (STAMP), Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise; Principal, EplerWood International

• Skills and Capacity Development Needs for Building Back Better (in press): Dr. Mark Milstein, Director, Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise, Cornell University