Destination risk profiling

Tour operators, resort developers and investors routinely take geopolitical, security, health and safety and other factors into account when making long-term decisions about tourism development in destinations. But often little or no weight is given to sustainability and the long-term impact of tourism operations on the destination.  For example, this could include whether the local water supply will meet the future needs of tourists and residents, or how increased waste or energy demands will be managed.  We developed a tool to identify potential environmental and socio-economic risks in a destination and partnered with TUI to trial it in two destinations.

What we did

• We devised a new risk assessment framework, which sets out a process for identifying, analyzing and weighting sustainability risks, enabling developers to understand and mitigate these risks.
• We then partnered with the TUI Group to trial the risk-assessment framework in Sardinia and Saint Lucia, with assistance from the respective governments.
• We are now using an adapted version of the methodology to measure the impacts of different types of tourism in Tenerife, in a collaboration with the Tenerife Tourism Council.