Rethinking Global Tourism: How Local Value, Smart Data and Circularity Can Drive Development

UNDP and UN Tourism say sustainable tourism must shift from chasing visitor numbers to retaining local value, empowering communities, protecting ecosystems and strengthening destination resilience. Governments, development partners and businesses should invest in inclusive markets, circular value chains, shared infrastructure and responsibly governed AI and data systems.

Tourism's next phase of growth may depend less on attracting ever-larger numbers of visitors and more on how effectively destinations retain tourism income, support local businesses and communities, protect ecosystems and use technology to make better decisions. A 2026 analysis by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Tourism argues that tourism policy must therefore move beyond conventional targets such as arrivals, hotel occupancy and infrastructure expansion.

The report, Sustainable Tourism R&D: Scalable Intelligence for Systemic Transformation, draws on evidence from 40 UNDP Accelerator Labs, including 19 specialised country experiments, 30 destination cases linked to UN Tourism's Best Tourism Villages initiative, and broader evidence on changes affecting the tourism sector. It identifies four closely connected priorities: destination stewardship, inclusive tourism markets, circular value chains, and better use of data and artificial intelligence.

From More Tourists to More Local Value

For governments, one of the report's strongest messages is that increasing visitor numbers does not automatically deliver sustainable development. Tourism may generate jobs and business activity while simultaneously creating environmental pressure, economic leakage and unequal distribution of benefits.

Policymakers therefore need to measure how much value tourism leaves behind. Indicators such as local value retention, MSME participation, resident well-being, inclusion and environmental carrying capacity can complement traditional measures such as arrivals and overnight stays.

In Madaba, Jordan, researchers assessed 55 tourism experiences using surveys, interviews and direct observation. The information helped businesses, residents and authorities jointly identify infrastructure, service and product-development priorities. In Las Terrenas in the Dominican Republic, a destination-readiness assessment covering digital infrastructure, economic conditions, quality of life and community integration produced readiness scores of 4.1 out of five among residents and 3.9 among digital nomads.

For policymakers, the lesson is practical: tourism strategies should become living management frameworks in which evidence continuously influences regulations, budgets and investment decisions.

Communities Must Become Economic Partners, Not Just Beneficiaries

The report finds that tourism becomes a stronger development engine when communities participate in markets, ownership and decision-making rather than simply receiving training or low-paid employment.

In Ecuador, tourism incorporating Indigenous crafts and ancestral knowledge created opportunities for around 500 people. In Chile's Chiloé region, women farmers are helping preserve 112 native potato varieties while converting agricultural heritage into tourism experiences. A traditional communal event attracts more than 5,000 visitors each February.

These examples have important implications for governments and development partners. Training programmes alone cannot deliver lasting inclusion if small businesses and communities remain disconnected from buyers, finance and markets. Policies should therefore help local farmers, artisans and microenterprises secure contracts with hotels, tour operators and other tourism businesses.

For private companies, stronger local supply chains can lower dependence on external suppliers, create distinctive visitor experiences and strengthen relationships with host communities. However, companies may increasingly be expected to demonstrate how much tourism revenue remains within local economies.

Circular Tourism Can Turn Environmental Pressure Into Jobs

The report also presents circular tourism as an economic opportunity rather than simply an environmental responsibility. Better management of waste, food, water, energy and materials can lower costs, generate businesses and strengthen destination resilience.

Bangladesh's Saint Martin's Island demonstrates the scale of the challenge. Peak-season tourist arrivals exceed 10,000 visitors per day, placing pressure on groundwater, waste systems and biodiversity. Interventions introduced more than 250 waste bins, while a waste compactor reduced the cost of transporting plastic to the mainland by around 80%.

Between 2022 and 2025, 37 tonnes of plastic were collected and recycled. More than 100 turtle nests were protected, over 2,400 hatchlings were released during the 2024-25 season and more than 30,000 seedlings were planted. The programme also generated year-round income opportunities for more than 80 women and trained over 1,000 young people.

In the Philippines, work in Boracay explored stronger connections between farmers, hotels and restaurants to reduce dependence on externally supplied food and retain more tourism spending locally.

For development finance institutions and donors, this creates opportunities to support shared waste systems, regenerative agriculture, local food networks and circular infrastructure instead of financing isolated environmental projects.

AI Offers Opportunity, but Governance Will Decide Who Benefits

Digital technology represents another major opportunity. Experiences from Barbados, India, Kenya, Tanzania and Turkey show how digital tools can improve ecosystem monitoring, cultural tourism, MSME market access and destination management.

Barbados used 91 underwater videos in work involving AI and virtual marine tourism. India combined e-commerce with skills and financial support for traditional artisans. Kenya explored AI-supported Indigenous cultural storytelling, while Zanzibar tested AI-supported tourism intelligence.

But technology can also deepen inequality. Smaller tourism businesses may lack digital skills, finance and visibility, while AI creates risks involving privacy, bias, misinformation, intellectual property and cultural appropriation. Governments therefore need clear rules governing tourism data, consent, access, ownership and benefit-sharing.

The report recommends destination intelligence systems, shared digital infrastructure, circular service hubs, inclusive procurement, community ownership mechanisms and stronger digital capabilities. International development partners can play a crucial role by linking successful local experiments to national policies and financing, rather than funding disconnected pilots.

The larger message is that tourism competitiveness needs a new definition. Governments should ask not only how many visitors arrive, but how much income remains locally, how many MSMEs gain market access, whether communities have decision-making power and whether natural and cultural assets remain protected. For governments, investors and development partners, making those outcomes measurable could turn tourism from a volume-driven industry into a more resilient engine of local development.