I’m a writer, strategist and long-time advocate for climate action in tourism. My work is grounded in a simple idea: that how we travel — and how we organise the systems behind it — can either accelerate climate breakdown or help us reimagine our relationships with place, people, and the future.

For the past five years, I’ve worked closely with destinations, international organisations, and frontline practitioners to help accelerate tourism’s response to the climate crisis. I focus on climate action planning, systems change, and the deeper cultural shifts needed for a just transition — not just reducing emissions, but rethinking the stories we tell and the structures we rely on.

I’m especially interested in holding the tension between what’s possible now and what’s needed next. My approach blends strategic clarity with emotional intelligence, and a belief that complexity isn’t a problem to be solved, but a condition to work within — with care, courage, and humility.

Current Work

I advise and collaborate with a range of tourism organisations developing climate action strategies rooted in justice, integrity, and practical momentum.

• I co-authored the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, launched at COP26, and continue to work with UN Tourism on its implementation. I’ve reviewed every published Climate Action Plan submitted under the Declaration to date, helping shape its 2023 and 2024 Implementation Reports.

• I work closely with the Travel Foundation and partner destinations across Europe and the Caribbean to co-create regional and national climate action plans.

• I’m currently advising the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and the EU’s Interreg Euro-MED Sustainable Tourism Mission, supporting collaborative regional responses to climate change.

• I’m a member of Travalyst’s Independent Advisory Group, supporting efforts to bring credible, consistent sustainability information into mainstream tourism systems.
  

Publications

Recent publications include:

• An Introduction to Climate Justice and Tourism: A Guide for Travel Businesses (2024)

• The Blueprint for Tourism Climate Action Plans: A Guide for Regional Authorities and DMOs (2025)

• Climate Action Planning Toolkit for Mediterranean Regional Authorities and DMOs (2024)

• Sustainable Tourism Communication Guide for Visit England (2024, awaiting publication)
  

I’ve also written two books on sustainable tourism:

• Transforming Travel – Realising the Potential of Sustainable Tourism (2019)

• Clean Breaks – 500 New Ways to See the World (2009, co-written with Richard Hammond), the first mainstream guidebook dedicated to sustainable travel.

Speaking & Teaching

I regularly speak at conferences, webinars and workshops on climate action, systems change, and the future of tourism. From 2021–2024 I taught sustainable tourism at Excelia University in La Rochelle, and have guest lectured at Surrey University and other institutions.

Earlier Work

In 2020, I co-founded Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency, a grassroots initiative that helped lay the groundwork for the Glasgow Declaration. The travel trade publication Skift described us as “leading the charge” on climate in tourism, and in 2021 the initiative won Regenerative Travel’s Initiative of the Year.

I’ve worked across journalism, communication and sustainability for over two decades. I was Editor of The Ecologist from 2001–2007, wrote a long-running blog on responsible tourism for World Travel Market (2013–2020), and co-founded Travindy, the first travel industry news site focused on sustainability.