Sustainable Tourism Consultants

Climate and biodiversity emergencies and sustainable tourism

UK domestic tourism delivers real, measurable benefits. It helps diversify rural economies, supports health and wellbeing, and drives wider regeneration in areas that need it most.

The natural world is one of the UK’s most powerful tourism assets, often a bigger draw than built heritage, local culture, visitor attractions or hospitality infrastructure.  Developing sustainable tourism means balancing competing needs.  Tourists, local economies, host communities and environmental protection have different needs, and tension with host communities, including growing concern over “over-tourism”  is now a regular feature of the national sustainable tourism conversation.

As sustainable tourism consultants, our work sits right at that intersection: helping destinations, communities and tourism operators develop visitor economies without damaging the places, natural environments or communities that draw people in to visit.

Key drivers shaping sustainable tourism strategy in the UK

Several forces are reshaping the opportunity for destination management organisations, communities and operators in the tourism sector across the UK:

• Consumer behaviour: Some (not all) travellers choose destinations, accommodation and operators based on environmental credentials and will pay a premium for it
• Legislation: The UK Government’s net-zero target for 2050 (2045 in Scotland) is a real target
• Technology and investment:  Renewable energy, charging points and battery storage improvements are starting to reshape transport and on-site energy generation for tourism businesses
• The economics of air travel: Rising costs are likely to push more holidaymakers toward the domestic market over the long term.  Geopolitical events are also shaping where we travel
• A shift toward “local”: Consumers are choosing breaks closer to home, especially for shorter trips

Opportunities from the climate and biodiversity emergencies

These pressures aren’t only challenges, they’re opening up genuine opportunities for forward-looking DMOs and tourism businesses that respond early. A few examples from the sector:

• Loganair, Scotland’s airline, is working with Cranfield University to convert a Britten-Norman Islander to electric power, trialled on the short Orkney route between Westray and Papa Westray — an early but telling signal of where aviation is heading
• The National Trust has committed to reaching carbon net zero by 2030
• Fogo Island Inn in Newfoundland, Canada, is frequently cited internationally as a model for combining strong community, environmental and economic outcomes

Working with local communities: the third pillar of sustainable tourism

Sustainable tourism is sometimes framed purely as an environmental question.  It isn’t. Real sustainability rests on three pillars: environmental, economic and social/community and neglecting any one of them tends to undermine the other two.

Community isn’t a box to tick at the end of a plan.  In our experience, the projects that hold up over time are the ones where local people are involved from the outset, not consulted after the key decisions have already been made.

That means:

• Early, genuine engagement with residents, parish and town councils, community groups and local businesses, rather than a single consultation event
• Building local benefit into the plan itself from local supply chains and job creation to ensuring visitor spend actually held in the host community
• Managing visitor pressure sensitively, particularly in areas already showing signs of strain
• Two-way communication throughout delivery, not just at the planning stage; communities are far more supportive of tourism growth when they can see their concerns have shaped the outcome

How we can help

Whether you need an area-wide Sustainable Destination Management Plan or a site-level Sustainable Visitor Management Plan (with supporting business case), we help destinations, site operators and interested stakeholders respond to environmental and community pressures without losing sight of commercial viability.

We work alongside a wider network of specialists, ecologists, architects, landscape architects and transport planners to ensure plans are deliverable, not just aspirational. Read more about our consultancy services or browse examples of our recent projects

Clients

We have worked with a range of clients where sustainable development is at the heart of the project.

• Broads Authority
• Derbyshire County Council
• Forestry England
• Kent County Council
• Lancashire Wildlife Trust
• Natural England
• Natural Resources Wales
• Nevis Landscape Partnership
• Northumberland Wildlife Trust
• Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority
• Shropshire Wildlife Trust
• South Downs National Park Authority
• Sussex Wildlife Trust

See more about who we are on our About Us page.

Contact

If you need help developing a sustainable tourism strategy or a sustainable visitor management plan, contact Richard Linington on 07866 742628 or email richard@pslplan.co.uk.