On World Food Day, UN Tourism, together with TUI Care Foundation and the Centre for Resilience and Sustainable Development (CRSD) at the University of Cambridge, announced a significant global initiative called Tourism Food for Good. The initiative seeks to co-create sustainable and circular food systems across the tourism sector through innovative collaboration between a wide range of stakeholders, including local communities, civil society, government policy-makers, academia, and business.
The goal of Tourism Food for Good is to address urgent issues such as food insecurity and food waste, while promoting policy change and developing solutions that minimise food loss, redistribute surpluses, and give greater value to by-products within the tourism value chain.
Zoritsa Urosevic, UN Tourism Executive Director, highlighted the unique opportunity that tourism holds to drive systemic change. The initiative aims to tackle the significant environmental and social challenges faced by the tourism sector, where an estimated 20 to 40 percent of food is wasted. Urosevic pointed out the urgent need for a circular food model that can reduce tourism's food-related carbon footprint and contribute to global food security.
The initiative also seeks to redesign how food is produced, sourced, served, and reused within the tourism industry. It acknowledges the complex interplay between food production, consumption, and waste management, aiming to create a model where tourism plays an active role in making food systems more sustainable. The initiative invites governments, businesses, and civil society to collaborate in transforming food into a driver for positive change.
As part of Tourism Food for Good, the development of a comprehensive "2040 Impact Roadmap for Sustainable Food Systems in Tourism" will identify key points of leverage for transformation within the tourism industry. The roadmap will focus on developing solutions that reduce food waste, support local agriculture, and enhance the overall sustainability of the sector.
The initiative builds on the work already established by UN Tourism's Global Roadmap for Food Waste Reduction in Tourism, created in partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) under the One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme. It is also supported by TUI Care Foundation's Field to Fork programme, which strengthens local supply chains by connecting farmers, hotels, and travellers to promote sustainable food practices.
Thomas Ellerbeck, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of TUI Care Foundation, stressed the importance of food in connecting people and places, noting that tourism's potential to promote local agriculture and reduce food waste is vast. He explained that the initiative seeks to implement intelligent, data-driven, and sustainable food management practices in tourism, aiming to minimise food waste while exploring real-world solutions on the ground.
The first pilot project of Tourism Food for Good will take place in Cabo Verde, where the results will be monitored and refined before being scaled up to other destinations. This approach ensures that the initiative is grounded in scientific research and local insights, thanks to the participation of CRSD Cambridge's Impact Roadmapping and Cambridge Policy Boot Camp (CPBC) methodologies. These frameworks combine systems thinking, collective intelligence, and participatory research to ensure that the transformation of food systems is both scientifically sound and locally relevant.
Nazia Habib, Founding Director of CRSD, explained that the initiative would focus on turning innovative action research into real-world impact. By teaming up with diverse voices, the programme aims to reshape tourism food systems, build circular economies, and unlock opportunities for resilience and sustainability in local communities. The ultimate goal is to create a future where tourism nourishes communities, regenerates ecosystems, and sparks lasting positive change.
The announcement of Tourism Food for Good took place during a high-level event organised within the framework of the Tourism for Development Fund, a platform led by TUI Care Foundation with support from UN Tourism. This fund seeks to mobilise strategic partnerships and investments to unlock tourism's potential as a driver of inclusive and sustainable development. Through this collaboration, the initiative aspires to galvanise a collective effort towards more sustainable food systems within the global tourism industry.
The launch of Tourism Food for Good marks a significant step towards integrating sustainability into the food systems of the global tourism industry. This initiative presents a unique opportunity to address food insecurity, reduce waste, and promote circular food systems that benefit both local communities and the environment. With the first pilot in Cabo Verde and the support of key partners, Tourism Food for Good is poised to create lasting change in how food is produced, consumed, and valued across the tourism value chain.
By nurturing partnerships among governments, businesses, and communities, this initiative could create a tourism industry that is a force for good, one that promotes food security, sustainability, and resilience for future generations.