What is tourism’s biggest opportunity and/or threat where you are in 2025?

What is tour­is­m’s biggest oppor­tun­ity and/or threat where you are in 2025?

It’s a “Good Tour­ism” Insight Bites question.

Your cor­res­pond­ent put the ques­tion to the travel & tour­ism stake­hold­ers in the “GT” net­work, invit­ing responses of no more than 300 words. (You too can join the “GT” net­work. Register.)

Thanks to the nine good people — pro­fess­ors, pro­fes­sion­als, and prac­ti­tion­ers — who took the time to share their thoughts. Their answers appear in the order received. (You too can share your opin­ions and inspir­a­tions with “GT”.)

Europe source markets: ‘Get serious about air transportation’

Robin Boustead, Founder, Great Himalaya Trail, Nepal

As the spot­light of green­house gas (GHG) emis­sions pivots to tour­ism, through COP29 and the evolving envir­on­ment­al, social, and gov­ernance (ESG) sec­tor stand­ards for the European Uni­on (EU) Cor­por­ate Sus­tain­ab­il­ity Report­ing Dir­ect­ive (CSRD), I can’t help feel­ing that sus­tain­ab­il­ity is both the greatest threat and oppor­tun­ity the industry faces.

It’s time for tour­ism to get ser­i­ous about air trans­port­a­tion: Tax sub­sidies or exclu­sions must go; GHG emis­sions must be hard-priced in; and fares must rise. Basic­ally there must be par­ity — a level-play­ing field — with land-based trans­port. If that means the end of ‘cheap air­fares’ then so be it, we simply can­not con­tin­ue to jus­ti­fy exempt­ing one of the largest con­trib­ut­ors (by industry) of GHG emis­sions from doing its fair share to rem­edy a glob­al challenge.

But herein also lies oppor­tun­ity, most prob­ably with the assist­ance of AI, to rethink, re-jig, re-form, and trans­form our sec­tor in ways that until now were bey­ond reach, if only because we didn’t have the will. Now there are new tools present­ing clear path­ways towards sus­tain­able travel devel­op­ment that are simple to scale and have glob­al outreach. 

The EU is still the single largest and highest value source mar­ket for inter­na­tion­al vis­it­or arrivals, and the ‘rules’ EU tour­ism com­pan­ies must abide by are chan­ging. This will affect all des­tin­a­tions and change the way travel oper­at­ors, hos­pit­al­ity com­pan­ies, and trans­port­ers do things and account for their impacts. 

These changes can­not be nego­ti­ated by lip-ser­vice alone. Many online travel agents and large tour oper­at­ors have anti­cip­ated the inev­it­able and are fully pre­pared to meet the demands of value-chain integ­rity. Those who insist on main­tain­ing busi­ness-as-usu­al will be in for a shock. The world is chan­ging and it will change quickly.

Back to menu ^

Southeast Asia destinations: Opportunities for sustainable, regenerative tourism

Kevin Phun, Founder & Director, The Centre for Responsible Tourism Singapore

I see com­pel­ling oppor­tun­it­ies for new sus­tain­able and regen­er­at­ive tour­ism exper­i­ences in South­east Asi­an des­tin­a­tions for these three reasons:

1. There is an increas­ing appet­ite for pub­lic-private part­ner­ships in sus­tain­able tour­ism; a will­ing­ness for gov­ern­ments and busi­nesses to work togeth­er to explore solu­tions to tourism’s sus­tain­ab­il­ity issues. For example, the Malay­si­an Hotel Asso­ci­ation is work­ing with the private sec­tor to engage hotels on ESG con­cepts endorsed by the Min­istry of Tour­ism, Arts and Cul­ture. In Viet­nam, the tour­ism industry is real­ising that pub­lic-private part­ner­ships could be the “golden key” to unlock­ing sus­tain­ab­il­ity. 
2. There is more high-level con­ver­sa­tion about regen­er­at­ive tour­ism (wheth­er or not it is well under­stood). At the 11^th Asia-Pacific Eco­nom­ic Cooper­a­tion tour­ism min­is­ters meet­ing in 2022, the 21 mem­bers agreed that regen­er­at­ive tour­ism should be the goal for future tour­ism to and with­in APEC. Fur­ther­more, Thai­l­and will host Asia’s second Tour­ism Cares sum­mit in 2025 to raise aware­ness about regen­er­at­ive tour­ism. Viet­nam is also start­ing to talk about regen­er­at­ive tour­ism prac­tices.
3. South­east Asi­an des­tin­a­tions have taken bold steps to intro­duce new tour­ism exper­i­ences. In an era of over­tour­ism, it is indeed heart­en­ing to see the emer­gence of new tour­ism exper­i­ences that bring eco­nom­ic and non-eco­nom­ic oppor­tun­it­ies to stake­hold­ers who often oth­er­wise do not bene­fit much from tour­ism. An example is co-cre­ated food tour­ism products in region­al Thai­l­and. 

New sus­tain­able and regen­er­at­ive tour­ism exper­i­ences need not be focussed on pan­der­ing to the whims of vis­it­ors. But they abso­lutely should deliv­er new rev­en­ue streams to des­tin­a­tions, incomes for com­munit­ies, and resources for the pre­ser­va­tion or res­tor­a­tion of cul­ture and her­it­age and the intro­duc­tion or upgrade of crit­ic­al pub­lic services. 

[CRTS is a val­ued “Good Tour­ism” Partner.]

Back to menu ^

‘Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee’

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

Fol­low­ing the pan­dem­ic I was quick to reveal how tour­ism should be re-ima­gined and enabled. Now, as we enter 2025, the renew­al of oppor­tun­it­ies for tour­ism seems bleak. It’s not that Cana­dians are pess­im­ists, but that their tra­gic optim­ism is being challenged. 

Once friendly neigh­bors are saber-rat­tling. With the incom­ing US pres­id­ent demand­ing tight­er bor­der restric­tions, prom­ising a 25% tar­iff on Cana­dian exports to the US, diss­ing our elec­ted offi­cials, and ref­er­en­cing our coun­try as a “state” (pos­sibly his 51st state), it has become clear that the MAGA (Pro­ject 25) move­ment is about to shat­ter well-estab­lished norms of demo­cra­cies, alli­ances, and inter­con­nec­ted eco­nom­ies and sup­ply chains through­out the world. 

With a pos­sible pull out from NATO, and provid­ing a play­book for author­it­ari­an­ism, our world is on the brink of becom­ing less safe and less demo­crat­ic. Factor in the GOP’s dis­be­lief in cli­mate change; a “drill baby drill” policy to expand the demand for fossil fuels; a whole­sale remov­al of undoc­u­mented immig­rants; and a dis­mant­ling of insti­tu­tions, their norms, rules, and reg­u­la­tions, what do you expect will happen?

Through­out North Amer­ica, there will be labour short­ages, dis­rup­tions to industry sup­ply chains, a reviv­al of infla­tion, high­er costs for trans­port­a­tion, hous­ing, and food. In Canada, there will be a fur­ther devalu­ation of our dol­lar, a pull­back of invest­ment in new busi­nesses, con­tin­ued uncer­tainty, and a post­pone­ment or deni­al of the future we want.

Giv­en the Cana­dian dollar’s devalu­ation, Canada will remain attract­ive to inter­na­tion­al vis­it­ors, espe­cially from the United States … if they come. Domest­ic and out­bound tour­ism, how­ever, is unlikely to expand as travel costs are becom­ing exor­bit­ant for many. Invest­ment oppor­tun­it­ies in tour­ism, how­ever, might respond favorably. 

Over­all, Cana­dians cer­tainly aren’t look­ing for­ward to a tumul­tu­ous four years or more. 

Back to menu ^

Asia’s ‘persistent threat’ and ‘immense promise’

Willem Niemeijer, CEO, YAANA Ventures, Thailand

Two power­ful forces will shape the tour­ism industry in 2025: the oppor­tun­ity for vis­it­or dis­per­sion and the per­sist­ent threat of geopolitics.

Vis­it­or dis­per­sion holds immense prom­ise. Icon­ic des­tin­a­tions in Asia, such as Angkor Wat and Bali, con­tin­ue to cap­tiv­ate glob­al atten­tion, but over­tour­ism threatens both the envir­on­ment and cul­tur­al her­it­age in these loc­a­tions. By encour­aging trav­el­lers to explore bey­ond high-traffic areas, we can alle­vi­ate pres­sure on these sites while unlock­ing eco­nom­ic poten­tial in less­er-known regions. 

Coun­tries like Thai­l­and, Cam­bod­ia, and Indone­sia are brim­ming with hid­den gems: pristine islands, remote temples, vibrant com­munit­ies, and rich tra­di­tions wait­ing to be shared. Dis­per­sion enables a broad­er dis­tri­bu­tion of tour­ism rev­en­ue, empower­ing loc­al eco­nom­ies and offer­ing trav­el­lers deep­er, more authen­t­ic experiences. 

At YAANA Ven­tures, we are doub­ling down on this approach in 2025, cre­at­ing sus­tain­able travel and hos­pit­al­ity oppor­tun­it­ies that cel­eb­rate Asia’s diversity while cham­pi­on­ing envir­on­ment­al stewardship.

Geo­pol­it­ics, how­ever, looms as a sig­ni­fic­ant chal­lenge. Shift­ing power dynam­ics, rising pro­tec­tion­ism, and eco­nom­ic uncer­tain­ties are dis­rupt­ing glob­al travel flows. Con­flicts, sanc­tions, and strained dip­lo­mat­ic rela­tions can hinder access, deter trav­el­lers, and com­plic­ate the seam­less jour­neys that make tour­ism appeal­ing. These instabil­it­ies often lead to infla­tion and sup­ply chain dis­rup­tions, fur­ther strain­ing the industry.

The tour­ism industry must embrace resi­li­ence and innov­a­tion to over­come these chal­lenges and ensure that tour­ism remains a force for good: con­nect­ing cul­tures, pre­serving nature, and fos­ter­ing shared prosperity.

Back to menu ^

Trump and climate change

Richard Butler, Emeritus Professor, University of Strathclyde, Scotland

Don­ald Trump pos­sibly rep­res­ents both a threat and an oppor­tun­ity because of the unknown ele­ments he might intro­duce, and the prox­im­ity of Canada to the US. 

Oth­er­wise, threats from cli­mate change in already hot areas may give tem­per­ate regions an oppor­tun­ity to attract out­door enthu­si­asts, while cli­mate change-related restric­tions on travel may mean long haul des­tin­a­tions, and places usu­ally reached by a second flight from avi­ation hubs, may lose out.

Back to menu ^

Destinations must prioritise the needs of communities, environment

Edwin Magio, PhD Research Student, Leeds Beckett University, UK

Tour­ism today faces sig­ni­fic­ant threats and trends that can have vari­ous impacts on the industry. These chal­lenges include, but are not lim­ited to, cli­mate change, over­tour­ism, tech­no­lo­gic­al advance­ments, wild­life loss, safety and secur­ity, and inequal­ity and exclusion. 

While these issues cre­ate obstacles for the tour­ism sec­tor, they also offer oppor­tun­it­ies to redefine the future of tourism. 

Des­tin­a­tions are best placed to mit­ig­ate threats and take advant­age of oppor­tun­it­ies through the devel­op­ment of strategies, policies, laws, and reg­u­la­tions based on the goal of a sus­tain­able future for tourism.

It is essen­tial that these efforts pri­or­it­ise the rights and interests of loc­al com­munit­ies and their envir­on­ments, ensur­ing that both can thrive. This is not just a tem­por­ary solu­tion but a long-term com­mit­ment to cre­at­ing a more sus­tain­able tour­ism industry.

Loc­al com­munit­ies play a vital role in the sec­tor as they host tour­ists and oper­ate loc­al busi­nesses. There­fore, includ­ing their interests and pre­serving their nat­ur­al and cul­tur­al her­it­age is essen­tial for fos­ter­ing sus­tain­able and inclus­ive tourism.

The power to drive trans­form­a­tion lies with the des­tin­a­tions them­selves. Wheth­er tour­ism evolves to address these chal­lenges or remains stag­nant will depend on the actions taken at the des­tin­a­tion level.

There­fore, every des­tin­a­tion must pri­or­it­ise the needs of its com­munity and the envir­on­ment in tour­ism devel­op­ment, man­age­ment, and pro­mo­tion. Without this focus, the future of tour­ism in those des­tin­a­tions remains uncertain.

Back to menu ^

Climate change will push many ‘over the cliff’

Wolfgang Georg Arlt, CEO, COTRI (China Outbound Tourism Research Institute); Director, Meaningful Tourism Center, Nepal

I am on a plan­et called Earth, or Sol 3. Look­ing at a more nar­rowly defined loc­a­tion does not make much sense any­more in times of glob­al cli­mate change.

The heat­ing of the plan­et and the increase of unpre­dict­able ser­i­ous weath­er occur­rences like floods, storms, heat­waves, droughts et cet­era, threatens more and more tra­di­tion­al busi­ness mod­els for the tour­ism industry around the globe. 

Tour­ism will have to move indoors in many areas. 

The pro­spect of maybe facing 50°C heat at the beach, in the city centre, or on a hik­ing trail; or hav­ing no snow for ski­ing; or no or too much wind for sail­ing, et cet­era, will push many com­pan­ies and des­tin­a­tions over the cliff. 

That’s if they do not change fast enough. That’s if they do not use Mean­ing­ful Tour­ism as a tool to devel­op a new sus­tain­able form of tourism.

Back to menu ^

Threat and opportunity in Barcelona

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

The biggest threat to tour­ism in Bar­celona is poor capa­city man­age­ment. A lack of hos­pit­al­ity devel­op­ment pro­jects in the Catalan cap­it­al com­bined with laws abol­ish­ing hol­i­day apart­ment rent­als is caus­ing dire socio-eco­nom­ic effects. 

The biggest oppor­tun­ity for tour­ism in Bar­celona is and will always be its var­ied events that are well spread across the four sea­sons. Trade shows, con­fer­ences, fairs, con­certs, and loc­al fest­ivals con­trib­ute to the inter­na­tion­al­isa­tion of the town and its world­wide repu­ta­tion, attract­ing import­ant minds and thou­sands of curi­ous attendees.

Back to menu ^

Ecotourism, sustainability, and the threat of overtourism in southern Thailand

Chris Kittishinnakuppe, Head of Marketing & Sales, VHG Hospitality Asia, Thailand

Anurak Lodge’s most sig­ni­fic­ant oppor­tun­ity lies in its com­mit­ment to eco­tour­ism and sus­tain­ab­il­ity. As trav­el­lers become increas­ingly con­scious of their envir­on­ment­al impact, Anurak’s focus on respons­ible prac­tices can be a sig­ni­fic­ant draw. Key ini­ti­at­ives include:

• Com­munity-based tour­ism: Sup­port­ing loc­al initiatives.
• Con­ser­va­tion: Enga­ging in ongo­ing pro­jects like the Rain­forest Rising Tree Plant­ing ini­ti­at­ive and par­ti­cip­at­ing in wild­life pro­tec­tion and hab­it­at restoration.
• Eco-friendly prac­tices: Redu­cing waste, using renew­able energy, and min­im­ising the lodge’s car­bon footprint. 

By high­light­ing these efforts, Anurak Lodge can attract eco-con­scious trav­el­lers who seek authen­t­ic exper­i­ences and are eager to sup­port sus­tain­able destinations.

The biggest threat to Anurak Lodge in 2025 is the poten­tial for over­tour­ism and its asso­ci­ated envir­on­ment­al con­sequences. As Khao Sok Nation­al Park gains pop­ular­ity, the increased num­ber of vis­it­ors could strain resources and neg­at­ively affect the fra­gile eco­sys­tem. This may res­ult in:

• Envir­on­ment­al degrad­a­tion: Pol­lu­tion, defor­est­a­tion, and dis­turb­ances to wildlife.
• Crowding and con­ges­tion: Dimin­ish­ing the qual­ity of the vis­it­or experience.
• Dam­age to loc­al cul­ture: Over­crowding and com­mer­cial­isa­tion could erode the authen­ti­city of the destination.

To mit­ig­ate these risks, Anurak Lodge advoc­ates for respons­ible tour­ism prac­tices and col­lab­or­ates with loc­al author­it­ies to man­age vis­it­or num­bers and pro­tect the environment. 

By embra­cing its com­mit­ment to eco­tour­ism, and pro­act­ively address­ing the chal­lenges of over­tour­ism, Anurak Lodge can con­tin­ue to thrive in 2025 and bey­ond, offer­ing vis­it­ors a unique and sus­tain­able exper­i­ence while pre­serving the beauty of Khao Sok Nation­al Park.

[VHG-affil­i­ated Anurak Com­munity Lodge is a val­ued “Good Tour­ism” Partner.]

Back to menu ^

Responsible travel trends and the threat of overtourism in Cambodia

Chris Kittishinnakuppe, Head of Marketing & Sales, VHG Hospitality Asia, Thailand

Car­damom Ten­ted Camp’s com­mit­ment to eco-friendly prac­tices and con­ser­va­tion efforts aligns with the grow­ing trend of respons­ible travel, rep­res­ent­ing a great oppor­tun­ity in 2025 and bey­ond. This approach could attract eco-con­scious tour­ists seek­ing authen­t­ic exper­i­ences while con­trib­ut­ing to the pro­tec­tion of the Car­damom Mountains.

Over­tour­ism is the biggest threat. The rising pop­ular­ity of eco­tour­ism in Cam­bod­ia may lead to over­crowding and envir­on­ment­al degrad­a­tion. This could harm the unique exper­i­ence provided by Car­damom Ten­ted Camp and under­mine its con­ser­va­tion initiatives. 

To mit­ig­ate that threat we can focus on:

• Capa­city man­age­ment: Imple­ment a strict book­ing sys­tem to keep vis­it­or num­bers with­in a sus­tain­able car­ry­ing capacity.
• Com­munity engage­ment: Involve loc­al com­munit­ies in tour­ism devel­op­ment and con­ser­va­tion efforts to pro­mote own­er­ship and min­im­ise neg­at­ive impacts. 
• Envir­on­ment­al mon­it­or­ing: Con­tinu­ously assess the eco­lo­gic­al impact of tour­ism, and adjust oper­a­tions as necessary.

By lever­aging the oppor­tun­ity presen­ted by sus­tain­able tour­ism and pro­act­ively address­ing the threat of over­tour­ism, Car­damom Ten­ted Camp can con­tin­ue to offer vis­it­ors a unique and enrich­ing exper­i­ence while play­ing a vital role in con­serving this pre­cious ecosystem.

[VHG-affil­i­ated Car­damom Ten­ted Camp is a val­ued “Good Tour­ism” Partner.]

Back to menu ^

Opportunity and threat in the Golden Triangle 

Chris Kittishinnakuppe, Head of Marketing & Sales, VHG Hospitality Asia, Thailand

The most sig­ni­fic­ant oppor­tun­ity for Vis­ama Mae Chan in Thailand’s Chi­ang Rai province is its prox­im­ity to the Golden Tri­angle. It is a unique selling pro­pos­i­tion. The Golden Triangle’s rich his­tory, includ­ing of the opi­um trade, and its loc­a­tion at the con­ver­gence of three coun­tries (Thai­l­and, Myan­mar, and Laos), offers vis­it­ors a unique and intriguing experience. 

Vis­ama Mae Chan can cap­it­al­ise on this loc­a­tion by high­light­ing the Golden Tri­angle’s rich his­tory and cul­tur­al exper­i­ences, such as provid­ing tours to loc­al vil­lages and tra­di­tion­al han­di­craft work­shops, and cul­tur­al activities.

Over­tour­ism at pop­u­lar sites in the Golden Tri­angle could spill over into Vis­ama Mae Chan, neg­at­ively impact­ing the loc­al com­munity and envir­on­ment. To mit­ig­ate this threat, Vis­ama Mae Chan needs to:

• Devel­op a sus­tain­able tour­ism plan: This plan should focus on pre­serving the area’s nat­ur­al and cul­tur­al resources, man­aging vis­it­or num­bers, and ensur­ing that tour­ism bene­fits the loc­al community.
• Pro­mote respons­ible tour­ism: Ini­ti­at­ives could include edu­cat­ing tour­ists about cus­toms, tra­di­tions, and the envir­on­ment, and how to best sup­port loc­al businesses.
• Diver­si­fy tour­ism offer­ings: By provid­ing vari­ous activ­it­ies and exper­i­ences, Vis­ama Mae Chan can attract a broad­er range of vis­it­ors and dis­trib­ute the eco­nom­ic bene­fits of tour­ism more widely.

By care­fully man­aging tour­ism growth and advoc­at­ing for respons­ible prac­tices, Vis­ama Mae Chan can ensure that tour­ism remains a pos­it­ive force for loc­als and the environment.

[VHG-affil­i­ated Vis­ama Mae Chan is a val­ued “Good Tour­ism” Partner.]

Back to menu ^

What do you think? 

In a com­ment below share your own thoughts about the threats and oppor­tun­it­ies for tour­ism where you are. SIGN IN or REGISTER first. (After sign­ing in you will need to refresh this page to see the com­ments section.) 

Or write a “GT” Insight or “GT” Insight Bite of your own. The “Good Tour­ism” Blog wel­comes 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 … 

Featured image (top of post)

What is tour­is­m’s biggest threat where you are in 2025? Cobra image by P Schrein­er (CC0) via Pixabay. And what is tour­is­m’s biggest oppor­tun­ity where you are in 2025? Rain­bow image by Clk­er-Free-Vec­tor-Images (CC0) via Pixabay.

Previous “GT” Insight Bites

• “GT” Insight Bites: Nostalgia
• “GT” Insight Bites: Geo­pol­it­ics and tourism
• Tour­ism stake­hold­ers: Who has an out­sized voice? Who has no voice? Who cares?
• Would you abol­ish taxes on tips?
• Three crit­ics walk into a bar …
• How are emer­ging tech­no­lo­gies trans­form­ing the travel & tour­ism industry?
• What does it mean to be crit­ic­al of tourism?
• What con­sti­tutes ‘pro­gress’ for travel & tour­ism in 2024?
• Con­sid­er­ing a career in tour­ism? Import­ant things you should know in 2024
• What did tour­ism learn from the COVID-19 pandemic?
• In 2024, what are the best oppor­tun­it­ies for tour­ism over the next five years?
• Tourism’s biggest chal­lenges & threats over the next five years to 2028
• On empower­ment, pro­mo­tion, and the power of expression
• On enrich­ment, repat­ri­ation, the double-edged blade, and war
• 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 five years?
• ‘Tour­ism is built on the back­bone of white suprem­acy’. What do you think?
• 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

Top ^