Center for Responsible Travel

Tahoe destination stewardship planning project: in 2022, a crest-led team advisors began work to support the development of a destination stewardship plan for the lake tahoe and truckee region. With participation from a coalition of 16 multi-sector stakeholders from across the tahoe basin, we set out to lay the foundation for a destination stewardship plan and governance structure to serve the tahoe region's sustainability efforts for the foreseeable future. Our role in this transformative project was to facilitate comprehensive data collection and stakeholder engagement, building a decision-making foundation deeply rooted in local insights and real-time data. In 2022, this engagement included and results shared to support local partners included 1) a new economic impact model tailored for the tahoe basin, 2) an optimal value framework to identify the greatest benefits for the community, 3) a comprehensive situation analysis providing a snapshot of the region's current tourism state, 4) a funding feasibility study to identify potential sustainable tourism initiative support, 5) a stakeholder map detailing the region's key players and their interaction dynamics. Furthering this effort, we conducted 31 in-depth interviews, unearthing nuanced insights into the community's aspirations and concerns related to tourism. This was bolstered by extensive resident and visitor surveys, which received a significant response rate of 1,100 and 2,300 respectively. This wealth of data provided invaluable insights into community sentiment and visitor behavior.

Michigan: in 2022, crest help build the capacity for the big bay stewardship council (bbsc), an organization made up of multi-sector representatives in big bay, Michigan. To support the fledgling organization's efforts in this small community, crest held a series of free community workshops, training sessions, and nonprofit fundraising seminars. Crest worked with the bbsc to provide support writing grants, carrying out placemaking projects, and building a strategic plan to scale in 2023. Moreover, the organization received crest support to revamp its membership program and partner with local community businesses. Our partnership with the lundin foundation was instrumental in making these workshops a success, underpinning the commitment we bring to bolstering the capacity and fostering sustainability for our community partners. With their support, we were also able to assist in the submission of a grant proposal for the bbsc, an essential step in securing the council's financial future and ensuring the continuity of their vital work.

Torres del paine legacy fund program: throughout 2022, the torres del paine legacy fund, a signature initiative of crest, undertook notable strides in conserving chilean patagonia's biodiversity and enhancing the sustainable tourism infrastructure in torres del paine national park. Volunteer teams contributed to a large-scale restoration effort, monitoring over 1,200 freshly planted lenga seedlings and dismantling several hundred meters of defunct fencing within the park. In an exciting milestone for the legacy fund, we secured a 2-year project grant from the u.s. Fish & wildlife service to preserve the endangered huemul (south andean deer) and mitigate the human-wildlife conflict within torres del paine national park. Working hand-in-hand with chile's national forestry corporation (conaf) and numerous project collaborators, the legacy fund is poised to embark on a three-fold project to conserve the huemul chile's national animal. The aim is to alleviate domestic animal threats in huemul habitats within the park, secure commitment to best conservation practices among tourism practitioners, and improve trail infrastructure and interpretation along the base of the towers trail. In 2022, the legacy fund, in collaboration with conservation vip and earthbound projects, also initiated trail maintenance and realignment efforts on patagonia's most traversed hiking trail the public portion of the base of the towers trail. Working in the park's high backcountry, the team, including ten dedicated chilean volunteers, built 30 meters of rock steps on an exposed moraine. This critical work enhances visitor safety, enriches the hiking experience, and most importantly, creates a controlled barrier between visitors and the surrounding huemul habitat.

Fiscal sponsorship program: crest fiscally sponsors care for the cape and islands, a grassroots organization working to engage visitors and residents to preserve and protect the natural environment, and cultural and historical treasures of cape cod, martha's vineyard and nantucket islands. Care for the cape & islands marked its ten-year anniversary in 2022 with "ten months of care". Each month, the group highlighted one of care's programs or an activity that engaged the community in environmental stewardship. The spring summit "destination stewardship: it's everybody's business" featured gregory miller, crest executive director, brian carlstrom, superintendent, cape cod national seashore, and julie regan, director tahoe regional planning agency, as well as a panel of cape and islands business "success stories". The fall summit, "driving change on the cape and islands: take care summit tackles litter" engaged representatives of elected officials, municipalities, and local businesses addressing litter issues and ways to help with solutions. Takeaways included tips on communicating effectively with the department of transportation and local officials, how to propose a ban on frequently littered items, and how to report litter when you see it. A new water filling station funded in part by care was also installed at the eastham visitors Center in september.

Other program services:world tourism day forum: on september 27th, we hosted our 6th annual world tourism day forum and our theme was "destination stewardship".two esteemed keynote speakers, jonathan tourtellot and lebawit lily girma, kicked off a day of dialogue that emphasized the necessity of integrating communities into the heart of tourism management. In our first panel, we explored diverse us destination stewardship models from the vibrant island communities of Hawaii to the picturesque landscapes of Oregon, the rustic beauty of Michigan, and the sun-soaked shores of Florida. The panel underscored the power of collaboration, community education, and the importance of adapting tourism strategies to meet local needs. In our second discussion, we delved into the significance of emphasizing community stories in destination marketing and tourism product development. This narrative-centric approach fosters authenticity and cultivates a deeper sense of place, fostering a closer bond between visitors and the destination. Participants included folks from 69 different countries and was free to all attendees. Future of tourism coalition, inaugural summit: the future of tourism coalition, of which crest is a founding member, remained steadfast in its pursuit to shape tourism's future in 2022. The coalition's most prominent achievement was the inaugural future of tourism summit, held in athens, greece on september 29th. Under the banner "the climate for collaboration," the summit underscored the urgency of climate action within the glasgow declaration's framework. Ngos, businesses, and destination organizations gathered to discuss the essentiality of joint efforts for future mitigation and resilience against the threat of climate change.trends & statistics report: the case for Responsible Travel: trends & statistics report for 2021/2022, was published by crest and provides a holistic view of the tourism industry's initial crisis response, transitioning from the original shock to the recovery and resilience phase. In addition to highlighting general consumer, business, and destination trends, our ninth edition spotlighted tangible actions taken by practitioners, destination managers, and travelers to shape a more resilient future.other programs:- book release: the spanish version of our ebook, covid-19 and climate change: a double- edged sword for tourism in cuba & beyond, was released in march. Cuba's tourism industry, historically influenced by foreign dependence, us policy, external shocks, and limited market diversification, has recently faced a significant threat to its success and societal health: the covid-19 pandemic and climate crisis. This ebook explores the impacts of and linkages among covid-19, climate change, and the cuban tourism sector.- destination stewardship Center: in 2022, crest joined the destination stewardship Center (dsc) and the global sustainable tourism council (gstc) as a co-contributor and supporting editor of the destination stewardship report. With a vision to foster knowledge-sharing in the tourism industry, each quarter, we curated global destination case studies, spotlighting best practices for practitioners. Director of operations & programs, kelsey frenkiel, and director of marketing & communications, alix collins, contributed insightful pieces about crest's work in big bay, Michigan, and impactful recount of our 2022 world tourism day forum, respectively.- mou with national park service : the national park service and the crest signed a general agreement, finalized a general agreement that establishes a foundation for the organizations to work together to advance the understanding and implementation of the concepts and best practices of sustainable and Responsible tourism and destination management, particularly in the context of parks and public lands and waters.- academic affiliates: crest continued to expand and strengthen our academic affiliates program by introducing four new academic affiliates to the network. In may and november, crest held a virtual academic affiliates meeting to discuss crest's strategic goals for the year and new team members. Participants ideated ways that crest could work with academics on initiatives in its new strategic plan. Affiliates also partnered with crest on research, events, and projects.- indigenous tourism collaborative: throughout 2022, crest worked diligently with a network of 50 indigenous leaders and industry champions to create a hemispheric collaborative. The newly launched indigenous tourism collaborative of the americas will provide a platform for community leaders, policymakers and business owners to share their experiences, to learn from one another, to take collective action, and to better understand how to promote change through tourism without compromising cultural values.- future of tourism coalition: the future of tourism coalition (fotc) is a coalition of six non-governmental organizations that came together in 2020 to stand united in an appeal for change and to create an inclusive, multisector global movement that puts destination needs at the Center of tourism for a sustainable future. In 2021 the coalition developed long-term goals, produced a webinar series on sustainable tourism practices, launched a community resource platform, and became a launch partner of the glasgow declaration.