7 Capability Shifts for Public Sector Leaders Driving Sustainable Tourism
Across the world, national and regional tourism authorities are being called to lead in new and more ambitious ways. Sustainable and regenerative tourism is no longer a specialist concern. It is becoming the central organising principle for how tourism evolves - economically, environmentally, and socially.
This means the work of public sector tourism professionals is shifting fast. Today’s leaders are expected to deliver economic outcomes, drive climate and sustainability goals, engage communities, collaborate across sectors, and future-proof the visitor economy - all while navigating systems that are increasingly complex, fragmented, and fast-moving.
It’s a big ask.
Patterns of Pressure
We’ve worked with tourism teams in Ireland, the UK and Europe, from national development bodies to local councils and community networks. We notice patterns:
- Unprecedented expectations with shrinking or uncertain resources
- Constantly shifting policy and legislative landscapes
- Complex systems that demand cross-sector, radical collaboration
- A rising call for values-driven, regenerative leadership
Leadership teams now find themselves tasked with leading in sustainability and regeneration, not because they rose through the ranks on the strength of those qualities, but because the context has shifted beneath their feet. They’re being called to operate from a new centre of gravity, often far from the skillset that secured their leadership role in the first place.
They’re expected to be climate-literate, community-focused, data-smart, digitally enabled, and deeply collaborative. And still deliver on destination management and economic development.
No wonder capability is top of mind. There’s a realisation now that sustainability and regeneration is not just about technical know-how, but rather about the inner capacity to lead in complexity, to be a steward and navigator as much as a director.
Similar Learning Needs
From what we’re seeing, many tourism authorities, whether national, regional, or local, are encountering similar learning needs:
- Senior leaders are looking for tools, language, and frameworks to lead sustainability transitions with clarity and confidence.
- Industry-facing teams want to feel equipped to have meaningful conversations with tourism providers that support collaboration, not just compliance.
- Operational staff are seeking practical ways to embed sustainability into what they already do, from procurement and programme design to project planning and event delivery.
These reflect a shared recognition that sustainable and regenerative tourism is just as much about organisational capability as it is about destination strategy.
What Might Help: Practical Ways to Build Capability
If similar challenges are showing up in your team, here are some guiding principles that can make a real difference.
- Start with Clarity of Purpose. Sustainability and regeneration are multidimensional. A clearly articulated “why” helps align roles, decisions, and energy. It offers stability amid complexity and supports consistent, values-led action.
- Tailor Capability-Building to Actual Roles. Generic training won’t stick because senior leaders, programme teams, and frontline staff each require different kinds of support.. Learning needs to reflect the real contexts and responsibilities of those receiving it.
- Build a Shared Language for Change. Terms like “regenerative”, “sustainable”, and “climate action” can mean different things to different people. Define what they mean for your organisation to avoid misalignment and slowed momentum.
- Embed Learning Over Time. Organisations that invest in structured learning journeys that are sequenced and stacked are better positioned to sustain change. Transformation takes time.
- Connect Learning to Work in Hand. Capability-building works best when grounded in the real policies, projects, and challenges teams are facing now.
- Centre Collaboration and Conversation. Knowledge and expertise go some way to addressing complex challenges. However, more than that is needed. Create space for reflection, listening, and learning together. Facilitated conversations often surface the most meaningful shifts.
- Support Internal Champions. Capability lives in people and transfers between people. Equipping internal champions to lead from within creates ripple effects that no external training can replicate.
The shift toward sustainable, regenerative tourism is both a technical and a policy challenge. It’s also a shift into a new type of leadership journey.
