Academics Can Change The World, If They Stop Talking Only to Their Peers

I recently read a headline that caught my eye: “Academics can change the world, if they stop talking only to their peers.” This is certainly just as true within tourism as elsewhere, which means a lot of good thinking, critical analysis and important ideas simply don’t get the exposure they need. In a time of multiple crises: of climate emergency, of inequity and imbalance in destinations, and of recovery from a socially and economically devastating pandemic, we need to find ways to better harness the power of academia like never before.?

I see a growing recognition among my peers that fundamental change is needed to the tourism model so that destinations—and the businesses that rely on them—can thrive in the 21st Century. But to do things differently, we need new innovative approaches that are demonstrably better than what’s on offer with the status quo. The good news is there is no shortage of fresh ideas, coming from both academia and the next generation of entrepreneurs and disruptors. But the not-so-good news is that these rarely become visible, practical, applied-in-the real-world solutions that address our collective desire for better tourism.?

Of course, this is not only the responsibility of academics and innovators. It is also up to the rest of us to shine a light on new ideas, stimulating debate around them, finding practical applications, and building the business case for investors. We all need to bring our different strengths to this endeavour in a way that adds value and makes a difference.?

At the first ever Future of Tourism Coalition Summit in Athens this past October, I was fortunate enough to spend time with Professor Xavier Font (editor of this edition of Journal of Sustainable Tourism ), discussing the big battles that tourism faces on the road ahead. The conference focused on understanding the different roles and strengths, or “superpowers”, if you will, that various players can bring to bear to fight these battles and what can happen when those superpowers merge into one great big supergroup like the Avengers—that’s when you get what the Coalition members like to call “radical collaboration”.

At The Travel Foundation , we have a complementary mantra: “destinations are everyone’s business.” Collaboration across and beyond our sector will be key to positive change and part of that must include working closely with academia to bring promising new ideas to light, to help the industry learn and adapt to a new paradigm and to ensure tourism is delivering on its potential to drive positive outcomes.?

We have recently engaged with researchers and universities on several new pieces of work, including a partnership with Cornell Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise which resulted in a new course on sustainable destination management. We’ve also worked with the 英国萨里大学 on Equity, Diversity and Inclusiveness in travel and tourism businesses, launched a partnership with 美国纽约大学 focused on increasing investment in priority issues like climate action, and created a Living Lab with Leeds Beckett University to identify what practical support is needed to enable destinations to commit to and implement Climate Action Plans in the framework of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism.?

Over the last year The Travel Foundation partnered with the European Tourism Futures Institute and Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands to explore what the global travel and tourism sector must implement in order to achieve the Glasgow Declaration’s stated goals—contributing significantly to the global effort to halve emissions by 2030 and reach net zero before 2050. Our recently published industry report, Envisioning Tourism in 2030, considers the future shape of tourism and the opportunities and challenges ahead for policymakers, destinations, accommodations and tour operators.?

The findings will set the stage for the Travel Foundation’s future too. I see our role, and perhaps our superpower too, as advocating for innovation and bringing organisations together to show how tourism can transition. Academia will only become more important as we continue with this endeavour. And so it is encouraging to see so much good thinking and so many important ideas in this Journal of Sustainable Tourism, spanning a wide variety of key issues across gender and race, interrogating ideas for community empowerment and spatial justice, as well as bringing us a wealth of perspectives, from migrant workers to mountain guides. It is time now for your superpowers to shine, as you share your story as widely as possible and build new collaborations for action. It’s time to grab your shield, put your cape on and get ready to fly.