A new climate action training programme for destinations has been launched by sustainable tourism non-profit, the Travel Foundation, in partnership with Expedia Group. Destination Climate Champions is the first climate action training course that is free to access for those working in DMOs and NTOs, thanks to generous sponsorship from Expedia Group.

The course aims to equip participants with climate literacy and empower them to lead positive change.

Participants gain essential knowledge on climate change and tourism, a blueprint for action, and access to a network of similar organisations around the world with whom they can share solutions, including through three facilitated peer-to-peer workshops.

The online course is self-paced and has eight modules, covering everything from creating a climate action plan to future proofing a marketing strategy.  Each module takes around one to two hours, with additional time needed for applied learning tasks.

The Travel Foundation also offers additional personalised coaching and training sessions as an optional add-on. By the end of the course, destinations should be ready to create their own climate action plan.

The course operates on a first-come-first-served basis.

It has been piloted this year with over forty DMOs, organised in four cohorts: Europe, the Pacific Northwest of the US and Canada, New Zealand, and the South Pacific. Feedback collected from pilot participants highlighted that the programme equips them with the knowledge and tools needed to develop or improve their organisational climate action plan, breaking down a big, complex topic into manageable, bite sized chunks.

Other benefits include increased confidence in their message when engaging stakeholders in action, ability to strengthen their business case for climate action and justify the need to invest in it, and learning from and building connections with other destinations that are facing similar challenges.

Aditi Mohapatra, vice president of global social impact and sustainability at Expedia Group, shared that 50 more DMOs have begun the course since December, demonstrating strong interest in this offering.

“Adapting to climate change requires a collective effort across the entire travel industry. At Expedia Group, we are committed to advancing our mission that travel is a force for good – this includes our work at the destination, partner, and traveller level. Through the Destinations Climate Champions programme, we are proud to equip DMOs with the resources they need to better support the complex topic of climate and promote responsible tourism.”

Jeremy Sampson, CEO of the Travel Foundation said: “The launch of our new Destination Climate Champions training programme comes at a pivotal moment for tourism, with an urgent need for transition to a climate-resilient, low carbon industry that safeguards livelihoods and the future of destinations. DMOs are in a unique position to lead this change by bringing the many tourism stakeholders together, identifying local needs and understanding the key risks to their tourism economy, place and people. This programme supports destination leaders to gain fundamental knowledge and skills related to climate action and helps tourism professionals from organisations of all shapes and sizes to understand how climate change affects their destination and what they need to do about it.”