Vision

Tourism is more than just the economy. As a visitor, you will bristle with creativity in some places and find profound inspiration in others. The passion that residents show, ensure that some places are full of inspiration and therefore remain with you. Entrepreneurs do not exist separate from the community but are part of it.

Leo Van Broeck, Flemish Bouwmeester (architect) since 2016, has gotten under the skin of many people with his ambitious plans for the creation of more nature and his drive towards living smaller and closer. “Every local decision must be seen in a perspective of responsible handling of the planet. You can’t act locally without thinking globally”, he says.

Are you a vegetarian who doesn’t eat meat due to environmental/climate issues? A return trip from Brussels to New York is as damaging as eating one thousand Big Macs. Have you had a water-saving shower-head for two years? One return flight to London, and the CO2 you’ve saved has been emitted again. Or have you installed environmentally-friendly LED bulbs in your home? The CO2 benefits that you...

Worldwide, there is a great deal of movement within the travel and hospitality sector. The digital revolution, the sharing economy and the huge growth in the number of travellers has led to significant changes in the sector. “But the operating system is not keeping up”, says British tourism expert Anna Pollock. Growth is accelerating at a huge pace but this is having a major impact on the earth...

Dutch professor Jan Rotmans is an expert on the subject of transition management and sustainability who is much sought-after, both at home and abroad. As a ‘progressor’, he also endeavours to translate theoretical transitional science into concrete actions and advice for entrepreneurs, governments and organisations.

In 2017, 1.3 billion international arrivals were counted worldwide. By 2030, the UNWTO forecasts that this volume will grow to 1.8 billion international arrivals. Add domestic tourism and daily excursions to that figure, and the overall total is far higher than that. In Flanders, we had 7 million international arrivals in 2017. If we maintain just a modest annual growth of 2.4%, this number will...

Tourism can change the world for the better, according to Peter De Wilde. If we complete our story, and focus more on the context and social setting in which tourism takes place and look more closely at the interactions between travellers, place and inhabitants. The structures and processes that are needed to ensure those interactions generate net benefit for all parties have not yet been defined.

Travelling does something to us. Holidays, travelling, tourism … the mere thought stimulates the imagination. We long for these moments and often reminisce about them thereafter. Some experiences leave a greater impact in our lives than others. What or who plays a role herein?

Peter De Wilde on 'Travel to Tomorrow'.

Transport-related emissions from tourism are expected to account for 5.3% of all man-made CO2 emissions by 2030, up from 5% in 2016, a landmark new report from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the International Transport Forum (ITF) shows.