UK: Travel Foundation rebrands as Travel Forward to drive urgent action in tourism worldwide

From Foundation to Forward – UK travel foundation is rebranding – Image: Travel Forward

The UK based non-profit Travel Foundation is rebranding as Travel Forward, to better reflect the organisation’s mission to mobilise collective action for the wellbeing of tourism destinations around the world.

The change comes as visitor economies face growing stress from unprecedented climate impacts, record numbers of arrivals and overnight stays, and widening inequality, creating greater risks for communities, businesses and local economies.

Travel Forward Charity Status

Travel Forward remains an independent global charity, building on more than two decades of research, advocacy, partnerships and on-the-ground experience to bring partners together around practical solutions that support destination communities and places. At the same time, its focus has evolved to address the root causes of risk in tourism, including climate impacts, unmanaged growth and unequal distribution of benefits.

“This is not a change in who we are,” said Jeremy Sampson, CEO of Travel Forward. “We’ve built the foundations through more than 20 years of work with destinations and businesses. But for our industry to travel forward, we need to move beyond incremental change and respond with greater ambition. The pressures facing communities and places are growing, and we’re here to help the sector respond with greater urgency, collaboration and purpose.”

“The name Travel Forward reflects our role in helping the sector move from intention to coordinated action,” said Megan Morikawa, Chair of Trustees. “We are here to support those ready to act and to create opportunities to change tourism’s impact on destinations for the better. But this is a shared effort. We need partners to get involved, help mobilise support, fundraise where they can, and be part of something bigger.”

Call for Travel Industry Partners

Travel Forward is calling on its industry partners to get involved by:

• Joining Travel Forward Connect, its new membership community for travel businesses and destinations ready to collaborate on practical solutions and share learning.
• Backing campaigns and pilot projects that can help shift tourism onto a new pathway, from sponsoring the forthcoming Destination Climate RiskScan report to supporting Nature Risk pilots and Climate Week events in London and New York focused on unlocking finance for tourism’s transition.
• Drawing on Travel Forward’s training, insight and advisory support, from climate action planning and risk and resilience training to market trend analysis and tourism impact assessments.

UK based Travel Forward staff work remotely and the new brand signals an invitation to support action as climate risks, visitor pressures and inequalities grow – Image: Travel Forward

About Us

Travel Forward is an independent global non-profit working with tourism destinations, businesses and partners worldwide to confront climate risk, address inequality in tourism and strengthen destination resilience.

Building on more than 20 years as the Travel Foundation, Travel Forward brings organisations together to develop practical solutions that ensure tourism works for the wellbeing of communities and places.

Travel Forward will continue to operate as a registered charity in the UK under its existing legal entity, the Travel Foundation, while rolling out its new name and identity across communications and programmes. For more information about its work and the latest opportunities to get involved, visit travel-forward.org

NAN/TF 30 April 26

You may also be interested in: