That selfie you took on an idyllic white sand beach, in a sprawling city park, or atop a mountain range at sunset? It’s more than just a photo of you. It reflects nature’s magnetic pull on people across the world and its role in fueling global tourism.
Tourism is a vital driver of economic growth, serving as a powerful engine for job creation and poverty reduction. Globally, the sector contributes over 10 percent of gross domestic product and supports 370 million jobs, more than half of which are filled by women and young people. This makes tourism one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industries.
Tourism’s economic benefits are connected to environmental quality. Visitors often avoid polluted beaches, toxic air, and lifeless coral. Healthy ecosystems and biodiversity, on the other hand, can attract tourists and are also key to sustainable livelihoods on a livable planet.
By drawing on the value of landscapes and seascapes, wildlife, and natural heritage, nature-based tourism offers an enormous opportunity to align local economic development with conservation goals and a cleaner environment that benefits both local people and visitors. Ultimately, nature-based tourism is a triple win: It protects biodiversity, creates meaningful jobs, and generates strong economic returns.
This is not a niche industry. Nature-based tourism drives around 8 billion visits each year to protected areas, covering 17 percent of the world’s land and 8 percent of its marine areas. These visits deliver substantial economic benefits, with local household income multipliers of approximately $2 to $5 for every tourist dollar spent.
In many countries, nature-based tourism makes up a significant share of overall employment. In 2018, for instance, it accounted for 8 percent of total employment in Uganda and estimates show it could provide 10 percent of total jobs in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Even the smallest investments can have an outsized impact. For example, $352,000 of financing in Madagascar’s Nosy Tanikely Marine National Park generated $23.2 million in economic benefits for surrounding communities.
Many of these jobs are high quality and centered around rural workers, helping countries diversify rural incomes, meaningfully engage local communities, and create stronger incentives for conservation and environmental risk management. Developing countries are increasingly capitalizing on this trend by investing in their natural assets, strengthening institutions, and building a skilled workforce.
To help accelerate these opportunities, the World Bank Group is supporting countries to take an integrated approach that connects conservation, communities, and capital. For example, in the Lao PDR, Amphai Mookchantai, the young owner of the Phosy Thalang hotel, received support to upgrade her facilities and expand her team and guide services into the adjacent Nakai Nam Theun National Park. This allowed her to double her business. Through such investments, local entrepreneurs and businesses can grow and enhance conservation-friendly tourism products.
Still, much more remains to be done. While the potential of nature-based tourism is immense, many countries face significant barriers, particularly when it comes to creating enabling policy foundations, attracting private investment, and managing natural capital and other assets.
Another key part of investing in nature involves investing in people. Market-led vocational training and education programs are essential to build a skilled workforce that can meet the growing demand for high-quality, nature-based tourism experiences.
Early engagement with the private sector is also critical, complemented by thoughtful regulatory reform. This approach ensures public investments align with market demand, while providing businesses with the stable and transparent rules they need to invest with confidence and manage operations sustainably.
Pollution and environmental degradation are also severely undermining tourism opportunities. As countries develop their tourism sectors, they are increasingly aware that natural capital cannot be taken for granted. Effective policies and practices to mitigate environmental risks play an essential role in this journey.
While nature-based tourism is just one part of a country’s broader tourism strategy, it must be developed hand in hand with other sectors, including cultural and heritage tourism. Together, these interconnected elements can create a more balanced and sustainable industry, one that entrepreneurs like Amphai are already helping to build.
Amphai’s story is one that can be replicated. To fully unlock the potential of nature-based tourism, policy makers, private sector leaders, communities, and development partners must come together to form strong partnerships that expand opportunities, scale impact, and ensure that nature is a driver of smart, inclusive development.
Source : World Bank
