5 Examples of Sustainable Tourism Around the World (2026)

What Is Sustainable Tourism?

Sustainable tourism is tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social, and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities. That definition comes from UN Tourism (the United Nations World Tourism Organization). Sustainable tourism rests on three balanced dimensions — protecting environmental resources, respecting the cultural authenticity of host communities, and ensuring viable long-term economic benefits that are fairly distributed. The distinction matters because tourism is one of the world's largest industries: the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) reports the sector contributed USD 10.9 trillion, around 10% of global GDP, and one in ten jobs in 2024. Tourism that degrades the landscapes, ecosystems, and cultures travellers come to experience eventually destroys its own resource base, which is why sustainability has shifted from a niche concern to a core management discipline across the industry.

What Are the 5 Examples of Sustainable Tourism Around the World?

Five widely documented examples of sustainable tourism show how the concept works in practice at national, destination, and property scale. Each example pairs environmental protection with cultural respect and measurable economic benefit for local people, which is what separates genuine sustainable tourism from marketing labels. The five examples of sustainable tourism examined in this guide are:

1. Bhutan — a national "high-value, low-impact" policy funded by a daily Sustainable Development Fee.
2. Costa Rica — an ecotourism economy built on protected forests, payments for ecosystem services, and near-total renewable electricity.
3. Slovenia — a nationwide certification programme, the Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism, aligned with GSTC criteria.
4. Six Senses Fiji — a luxury resort running on 100% solar power with on-site water and waste systems.
5. Mdumbi, South Africa — community-based tourism with shared local ownership and cultural exchange.

1. Bhutan: High-Value, Low-Impact Tourism

Bhutan is the clearest national example of sustainable tourism because the country deliberately limits visitor numbers to protect its environment and culture. Bhutan applies a "high-value, low-impact" policy anchored by a Sustainable Development Fee (SDF), set at USD 100 per adult per night for most international visitors, a rate fixed through 31 August 2027 after the government halved it from USD 200 in September 2023. Revenue from the Sustainable Development Fee is reinvested directly into free public healthcare, education, infrastructure, and the conservation of Bhutan's cultural and natural heritage. Bhutan pairs the fee with a constitutional commitment to keep at least 60% of its territory under forest cover, and the country remains one of the few carbon-negative nations on earth. The Bhutan model demonstrates that constraining demand, rather than maximising arrivals, can sustain both ecological integrity and a viable tourism economy.

2. Costa Rica: An Economy Built on Ecotourism

Costa Rica is an example of sustainable tourism at national scale because the country turned conservation into the foundation of its tourism economy. After decades of deforestation, Costa Rica reversed the trend through its Payment for Environmental Services (PSA) programme, which compensates landowners for protecting and restoring forest; forest cover has since recovered to roughly 60% of national territory. Costa Rica generates over 98% of its electricity from renewable sources — primarily hydropower, geothermal, and wind — giving its tourism sector an unusually low operational carbon footprint. Protected national parks and reserves now anchor a thriving ecotourism market, and a large share of the millions who visit annually come specifically for the country's biodiversity. Costa Rica shows how environmental policy, energy strategy, and tourism can reinforce one another, making the natural assets that attract visitors more valuable to protect than to exploit.

3. Slovenia: A Nationwide Green Certification Scheme

Slovenia is an example of sustainable tourism because the country built a structured, measurable certification system covering its entire destination network. The Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism (GSST), launched by the Slovenian Tourism Board in 2014, awards "Slovenia Green" labels — Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum — to destinations, accommodations, and tour operators that meet defined sustainability criteria. The Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism is built on the globally recognised Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) criteria and the European Tourism Indicators System (ETIS), giving it third-party credibility rather than self-declared claims. The programme has grown to more than 200 members, including 59 certified destinations, and the capital Ljubljana achieved the highest Platinum assessment score in the scheme. Slovenia demonstrates that sustainability can be governed at the level of a whole country through transparent standards, certification, and continuous measurement rather than isolated projects.

4. Six Senses Fiji: A Solar-Powered Luxury Resort

Six Senses Fiji is an example of sustainable tourism at the property level, proving that luxury hospitality and low environmental impact can coexist. Located on Malolo Island, the resort runs on 100% solar power and was the first microgrid in Fiji to use Tesla battery storage, operating one of the largest off-grid solar installations in the Southern Hemisphere. Six Senses Fiji manages water on site through rainwater harvesting and a reverse-osmosis water refinery that produces drinking water and eliminates single-use plastic bottles, alongside worm-based septic treatment for wastewater. The resort sources from local suppliers and artisans, channelling tourism revenue into the surrounding Fijian economy. Six Senses Fiji shows that high-end resorts — often criticised for resource-intensive operations on fragile islands — can decarbonise energy, close water and waste loops, and support local livelihoods without diminishing the guest experience.

5. Mdumbi, South Africa: Community-Based Tourism

Mdumbi in South Africa's Eastern Cape is an example of sustainable tourism that puts ownership and benefit directly in the hands of the host community. Mdumbi Backpackers operates on a community-based tourism model in which a significant share of the business is owned collectively by local amaXhosa employees and a community association, so tourism revenue stays in the region rather than leaking to distant operators. Mdumbi integrates cultural exchange — local guides, traditional cuisine, and village experiences — with environmental care along an unspoilt stretch of the Wild Coast. The associated TransCape non-profit channels tourism income into local health, education, and development projects. Mdumbi demonstrates the socioeconomic and cultural pillars of sustainable tourism in practice: when communities co-own tourism enterprises, the model strengthens local livelihoods, preserves cultural heritage, and gives residents a direct stake in protecting the natural environment that attracts visitors.

What Are the GSTC Criteria for Sustainable Tourism?

The five examples above are credible because they map onto recognised standards rather than marketing. The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) organises sustainable tourism around four pillars that any destination or business can be assessed against:

• Sustainable management — effective governance, planning, and monitoring systems that embed sustainability in operations.
• Socioeconomic impacts — fair economic benefits for local communities and workers, and protection of livelihoods.
• Cultural impacts — safeguarding cultural heritage, traditions, sites, and the authenticity of host communities.
• Environmental impacts — conserving biodiversity and ecosystems while reducing resource use, waste, and pollution.

How Do the 5 Examples Compare?

The five examples of sustainable tourism operate at different scales — country, destination, and property — and each leads on a different combination of the GSTC pillars. Comparing them side by side shows how the same principle, balancing environment, culture, and local economy, applies from a national policy down to a single resort. The table below summarises the location, model, and a verified data point for each example.

Why Does Sustainable Tourism Matter in 2026?

Sustainable tourism matters in 2026 because the industry is both enormous and environmentally significant, and the two facts are now impossible to separate. UN Tourism reports international tourist arrivals reached 1.4 billion in 2024, a near-full 99% recovery to pre-pandemic levels, while the WTTC values the sector at USD 10.9 trillion. At the same time, peer-reviewed research published in Nature Communications in 2024 found that tourism accounts for 8.8% of global greenhouse-gas emissions and is growing faster than the wider economy, with aviation and ground transport the largest contributors. Rising visitor numbers also drive overtourism, water stress, and pressure on cultural sites in popular destinations. The examples in this guide show that growth and responsibility are not opposites: through demand management, renewable energy, certification, and community ownership, destinations can capture tourism's economic value while protecting the assets that make them worth visiting.

How Do You Build a Career in Sustainable Tourism?

Building a career in sustainable tourism means combining hospitality and destination expertise with the management, finance, and reporting skills that turn sustainability principles into measurable operations. Demand is broad and growing: hotels, resorts, tour operators, and destination organisations increasingly need professionals who can implement GSTC-aligned standards, decarbonise operations, manage water and waste, and measure social impact on host communities. A structured graduate or undergraduate education focused on sustainable hospitality and tourism provides the integrated foundation — strategy, operations, finance, and sustainability reporting — that short courses rarely deliver. SUMAS — the Sustainability Management School based in Switzerland and taught entirely in English by industry practitioners — offers programmes built around sustainability as a professional discipline, including the MBA in Sustainable Hospitality Management, the Master (MAM) in Sustainable Hospitality Management, and the BBA in Sustainable Hospitality Management, available on campus and online. Each programme grounds the examples in this guide in measurable practice, preparing graduates to lead responsible tourism across destinations, resorts, and communities.