Sustainable Tourism and Destination Stewardship
Destination stewardship is critically important to ensure California’s tourism economy remains an economic engine for all Californians. As tourism recovers from the pandemic slowdown and people begin to travel in greater numbers again, the tourism industry’s long-term viability depends on its ability to protect, preserve, and promote the traveler experience.
Before the pandemic, Visit California began development of California’s first statewide Destination Stewardship and Sustainable Travel plan. The framework was updated and circulated at Outlook Forum in 2022. It provides a roadmap to ensure the ongoing vibrancy of California’s travel and tourism industry. It includes a robust situation analysis, vision, strategies, implementation guidance and resources to support the goals of the plan.
Looking for resources to help implement sustainable practices and responsible travel? Check out both the Responsible Travel Toolkit and the Sustainable Resource Center. Read more about the post-pandemic push for destination stewardship on the Travel Matters website. “The Sustainable Way” series added to the site provides tips for tourism industry segments to adopt sustainable principles and presents best practices from around the state.
In addition, Visit California partnered with the Travel Foundation to create a “How-To” guide to help destinations rebuild in a responsible, data-driven way with more resiliency against future disruptions.
Visit California is currently conducting a comprehensive program to develop strategic tourism plans in each of California’s 12 regions. These plans will help tourism stakeholders, residents and civic partners prepare for the future in their destinations, particularly in regards to sustainability.
