Sustainability Leaders: Destinations to Watch
The Sustainability Leaders Yearbook 2024 brings together destinations, organisations, and changemakers advancing sustainable and regenerative tourism. Curated by Sustainability Leaders United (now part of TPBO), the Yearbook showcases practical approaches that align tourism development with community wellbeing, environmental stewardship, and long-term resilience.
Rather than promoting ideals in isolation, this edition focuses on implementation — highlighting how sustainability is embedded into governance, policy, partnerships, and everyday practice across diverse destinations worldwide.
Reference for Sustainable Tourism Leadership
The Sustainability Leaders Yearbook - special edition is designed as a platform for shared learning and inspiration. It recognises destinations that move beyond aspiration and demonstrate measurable progress in sustainable tourism development, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Through destination showcases, leadership perspectives, and expert contributions, the Yearbook offers insight into how sustainability can guide decision-making at local, regional, and national levels — across tourism, place management, and destination development.
Who is Featured
The special edition is anchored by a cover story on Flanders, highlighting the region’s long-term Travel to Tomorrow vision and its holistic approach to sustainable tourism, community wellbeing, and visitor management.
Alongside Flanders, the Yearbook features destination stories from Bhutan, Barbados, and Destination Mekong, among others — each illustrating different pathways toward regenerative tourism, climate responsibility, and inclusive development.
The selection reflects a broad geographic and thematic scope, spanning small island states, rural regions, cross-border collaborations, and established tourism destinations navigating transition.
Explore
This Sustainability Yearbook is a one-of-a-kind publication dedicated to inspiring, challenging our current practices, and inviting others to join us on the journey to sustainable tourism. It’s a chance to hit the refresh button.
Peter de Wilde
CEO VISITFLANDERSLet these stories be a source of inspiration, a call to action, and a testament to the power of collective endeavour. In these stories, we see the promise of a sustainable future where destinations thrive, businesses flourish, and communities prosper harmoniously with the planet.
Albert Salman
FOUNDER, GREEN DESTINATIONSIt's a pleasure to witness initiatives like the Sustainability Leaders Yearbook 2024, which highlights innovative approaches and fosters dialogue on the challenges ahead. As we enter this new era, we recognize the need for a fresh perspective and comprehensive changes to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Natalia Bayona
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UN TOURISMBehind the Edition
The Sustainability Leaders Yearbook 2024 was originally curated by Sustainability Leaders United (SLU), an initiative founded by Florian Kaefer, Publisher of The Place Brand Observer. Since then, Sustainability Leaders United has been integrated into TPBO, bringing its focus on sustainable and regenerative tourism into the wider TPBO platform — while sustainability-leaders.com continues to exist as a dedicated resource.
The Yearbook was developed in collaboration with destination leaders, practitioners, and an international expert community, with each story selected for its commitment to sustainability, collaboration, and long-term impact.
Curious about future publications or related initiatives?
Write to editor@placebrandobserver.com