Impact Travel Alliance (ITA) will use the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to bring three global issues to the forefront of discussions within the travel industry in 2018.
The first issue, SDG #11: sustainable cities and communities, will be addressed in a globe-spanning event series on Feb. 27 in Kathmandu, Chicago, Toronto, Tucson, Austin, Marrakech and New York City. These ITA Hubs (local chapters) took on the responsibility of addressing SDG #11 in a localized way, bringing travel industry professionals and travelers together to focus on innovation in each city.
For example, in Toronto, the Hub is launching an Instagram challenge to highlight projects underway to make Toronto a leader in sustainability. In Marrakech, the ITA team is working with local NGOs to develop plans to rebrand the nearby city of Zagora. And in New York City, the Hub will highlight hidden gems that are innovative examples of sustainability in the city. Each event raises awareness around what is already being done and pushes the conversations around sustainability further.
A second multi-Hub event series on May 8 will focus on SDG #1: no poverty, and the third will be held on Aug. 7. Continuing the series in May and August will allow other ITA Hubs to plan educational events centered on SDG issues for their communities.
“ITA’s mission is to improve our world through business and leisure travel,” Impact Travel Alliance Executive Director Kelley Louise said. “We believe that innovations and changes in the travel industry can be instrumental in reaching these goals by 2030 and we’re here to push our industry forward.”
Impact Travel Alliance is the world’s largest community for impact-focused travel professionals. Through education and advocacy around sustainable tourism, the organization aims to transform the travel industry into a force for good, and to help solve issues like poverty and inequality throughand active global community with 30 Hubs (local chapters) in cities around the world.
