The World Travel Market (WTM), the leading global event for the travel industry has rolled out a new platform to encourage debates and discussions about issues that need to be addressed within the travel and tourism sector with the aim of sharing solutions.
The Platform for Change, launched within the WTM Global Hub will exhibit tried and tested solutions to the many challenges posed by making tourism sustainable. Many solutions have been identified and tested through the Responsible Tourism Awards and panels held at WTM London since 2004.
Led by WTM’s Advisor on Responsible Tourism Prof. Harold Goodwin, the content on Platform for Change will consist of a series of blogs, a series of solutions webpages, one-to-one interviews, social posts and webinars.
Commenting on the launch of the platform, Prof. Goodwin said, “the aim is to provoke discussion about the issues which need to be addressed and the solutions which have been tried and tested. As President Biden has pointed out, this is the critical decade for action. Companies need to do things differently.”
According to Prof. Goodwin, the practices that need to be addressed include sustainable aviation, making certification schemes more meaningful, adapting to the ‘new normal’ of COVID-19 and how we shouldn’t use pandemic as an excuse to delay action on greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity.
Prof. Harold Goodwin Advisor-Responsible Tourism WTM
“At WTM London in 2020, we asked, “Can we make tourism better?” and we concluded that we could. There is no one solution, and priorities vary from destination to destination. We need a sector response and partnerships between tourists, businesses, communities and their governments if we are going to make tourism better. We plan to work with businesses, local authorities, conservation organizations and communities to prepare a Platform for Change to be discussed at WTM London in November 2021.”
This year, WTM London physical event will take place at ExCeL London from November 1 to 3, and will be followed by WTM Virtual, November 8 to 9.
WTM London, Exhibition Director, Mr. Simon Press said, “The Platform for Change is an area where people can come together with ideas to confront different challenges and situations with one common goal, to make tourism of the future work for everyone involved.”
