| Capacity-building | Seeking community, industry, and other stakeholder insight for the implementation and application of sustainable tourism operative goals in a variety of local and global applications.
Progress:
A. Drs. Kelly Bricker, Yu-Fai Leung, and Shane Feyers convened a round-table style workshop at the 2022 National Environment and Recreation Research Conference in Annapolis, Maryland, USA. During this workshop, Over 15 participants offered insight and ideas to operationalize the theory and concepts of Resolution 130
B. Dr. Yu-Fai Leung attended 11th International Conference on Monitoring and Management of Visitors in Recreational and Protected Areas (MMV11) in Jūrmala, Latvia, 19-22 September 2022. He delivered a presentation on Resolution 130, entitled “A Resolution to Facilitate Tourism’s Role in Biodiversity Conservation and Community Resilience in the Post-pandemic World”. The presentation had over 25 attendees attended the session and provided feedback.
| On-going |
| Education/Communication/Raising awareness | Led by efforts of Drs Ante Mandić, Anna Spenceley, and Yu-Fai Leung, a Special Issue proposal for the Tourism Planning and Development journal was accepted, to focus on R130-related theme of sustainable and resilient nature-based tourism development in the post-pandemic era.
Progress:
Special Issue agreement was made with the journal, public call for papers was shared among TAPAS Group, WCPA, and numerous external outlets. A total of 24 abstracts were received by the deadline.
Next, the abstracts will be reviewed by the Special Issue co-editors and authors of the selected abstracts will be invited for submission of full manuscripts.
| On-going |
| Education/Communication/Raising awareness | Press release/public announcement sharing the news about Resolution 130 and the importance of sustainable tourism and social and biological sustainability within nature-based tourism.
Progress:
Yale University School for the Environment master students Olivia Schlaepfer and Cam arranged and conducted information-gathering interviews to understand implications of resolution, speaking with Chair of TAPAS Group, co-sponsors, sponsor, and others to get key information and quotes. Currently in communication with administrators of the IUCN Crossroads Blog to submit and publish article on this shared member platform. | On-going |
| Education/Communication/Raising awareness | Support organization and promotion for a joint-virtual symposium event hosted by WWF, Center for Responsible Travel, and Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group.
Progress:
Developed and distributed a flyer to a variety of audiences with the support for Yale School for the Environment master students Olivia Schlaepfer and Cam Do.
This symposium, co-sponsored by the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group (TAPAS Group), Center for Responsible Travel (CREST), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and the Arizona State University (ASU) School of Community Resources and Development, located in the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions, brought together global experts to address some of these challenges and provide examples of solution-oriented outcomes, in the wake of IUCN’s World Conservation Congress 2021. Recordings from the two events in the ‘Crisis Response and Recovery: Nature-Based Tourism, Biodiversity, and Livelihoods’ virtual event are now freely available online here, https://annaspenceley.wordpress.com/2021/11/23/event-recordings-crisis-response-and-recovery-nature-based-tourism-biodiversity-and-livelihoods/
| Completed |
| Education/Communication/Raising awareness | TAPAS Group Member and Vice Chair of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, Dr. Kelly Bricker is writing and releasing an ecotourism book for Apple Press, which will be “an iconic compilation of events and global case studies of what is happening in the ecotourism world”
Progress:
The book is in final stages of editing, and should go to the publisher by December 1, 2022. It is currently going through a review, with a publish date sometime next year (2023). | On-going |
| Policy influencing/advocacy | Animondial, in partnership with World Travel and Tourism Council and the UN Secretariat for Convention on Biological Diversity have released Nature Positive Travel & Tourism Report as well as a coinciding Vision for announcement and public-private agreement at COP15. This report will operationalize the goal to expand private sector partnerships, creating more involvement and opportunity for businesses to engage in social and ecological investments, restoration, and monitoring their impacts. The draft report was peer reviewed by members of the TAPAS Group, among others. IUCN Is requested as a signatory in order to support operative goals 1, which seek more IUCN support, acknowledgement, and programmatic alignment with sustainable tourism sector because of its potential for the restoration and protection of native habitats and wildlife.
Progress:
Request for endorsement has been delivered to Resolution Secretariat focal point as well as the Chair of WCPA Commission. Requesting support and instructions to obtain Director General agreement/endorsement. | On-going |
| Policy influencing/advocacy | Expanding on the survey effort of Action 1, investigating at an IUCN-wide scale the types and current status of projects, campaigns, and other initiatives affiliated with the sustainable tourism, ecotourism, and nature-based tourism industry inside and beyond protected areas. This inventory seeks to bring together these initiatives for better communication and greater synergistic outcomes and efforts.
Progress:
Identified that PANORAMA Solutions has created section for sustainable tourism cases. Focal points will reach out to PANORAMA team to establish partnership and by doing so, in conjunction with reporting survey, will support the growth and recognition of the effects of sustainable tourism into institutional structure, such as the IUCN Green List and the ICUN Nature 2030 Programme.
For IUCN Green List, discussed with the secretariat possibility to integrate one or two sustainable tourism indicators into the Green List revised criteria. This will require consultation with the TAPAS Group and ExCo to decide (and vote) on which indicators these should be. Recommended criteria (to align with operative goals of Resolution): one criteria for habitat and wildlife preservation and one criteria for benefit sharing/local community access to natural areas. Focal points will need to reach out to the Green List Committee to discuss and negotiate this integration with the support of Secretariat partners.
To inquire, request, and prepare for the addition of sustainable tourism (in name) into the Nature 2030 program, will meet with ExCo to review draft Nature 2030 plan and craft a goal for what to include and language for these points. Using results of survey data (Action 1), will appeal to Secretariat and Programme team impetus to include sustainable tourism into the program. Information will be used altogether through a meeting with all interested stakeholders to develop final language for the IUCN 2030 Programme. Member of TAPAS Group will need to join Programme meetings | On-going |
| Scientific/technical activities | Developed a bi-annual reporting tool to compile a database of tourism and recreation projects and actions about co-sponsors, TAPAS Group members and IUCN Members globally.
Progress:
Consulted leadership to determine reporting needs. Developed a draft survey tool for reporting. Shared tool for pilot-testing. Used pilot testing results and other feedback to revise survey instrument. Finalized and re-delivered survey to begin the first round of data collection (for 2022-2023).
Next, will continue to engage with sponsor and co-sponsors to obtain information about implementation measures and actions that align with the operative goals of the resolution.
Also plan to distribute internally and extensively to IUCN Membership and other working groups to discover, identify, and document all of the tourism projects happening throughout the Union.
Anticipate using the data from this survey for annual progress reports as well as facilitating exchange and collaborative learning opportunities across different R130 actions/projects/initiatives through different platforms/outlets (webinars, conference sessions, etc.).
| On-going |
