2025: Unprecedented Growth of Certified Sustainable Tourism

Birte Pelayo, CEO Green Globe Certification

Throughout 2025, travel & tourism continues to expand globally. Data from UN Tourism and world-tourism.org show 300 million international travellers in Q1, up 5% year on year and 3% above 2019. From January to September, arrivals reached 1.1 billion, a 5% increase over 2024 and slightly exceeding pre-pandemic volumes.

At the same time, the majority of travellers, 53% according to Booking.com, remain committed to sustainable travel practices, and even more revealing, 69% of survey respondents now aim to “leave places better than they found them.”

At Green Globe Certification we are on the front line of tremendous change in the travel & tourism industry. 2025 has seen the fastest growth in Green Globe Certification membership in our history. The work of our Green Globe team, our network of independent auditors, and most importantly the management and staff of Green Globe certified businesses who contribute daily to a better planet, are engaging this rise in tourism volume and directing it to better outcomes for traditional and emerging destinations, and their environments and communities.

In 2026 Green Globe Certification will qualify as an accredited certification body in the European Union. This process, completed in partnership with the Tourism Sustainability Certification Alliance, will put Green Globe at the forefront of combating greenwashing in our industry, by guaranteeing credibility, transparency, and compliance with recognized standards. 

We believe the expansion of travel & tourism is beneficial to people and planet, but only if it can prove that its impact is in true alignment with sustainable development goals. Throughout the coming year, Green Globe Certification’s EU accreditation, along with our members’ compliance with our evolving sustainability criteria and indicators, will work to ensure that the industry can clearly demonstrate net benefits alongside a pathway of continued improvement; and in the process lead to new actions and initiatives that negate environmental impact and contribute to greater prosperity.

At Green Globe we are both grateful for, and excited by the increasing participation in certification of sustainable tourism. To our Green Globe community of auditors and supporters, and to Green Globe certified businesses and organisations who are the foundation of our success, we wish you a safe and happy holiday season and the very best for 2026.