Wednesday, June 25, 2025
In a bold endeavor for increasing tourism resilience across Europe and the world, UN Tourism introduces the “Safe Destinations Challenge,” a groundbreaking initiative for improving crisis preparation, response, and recuperation across tourist destinations. The challenge, primarily targeted within Europe, is part of the overall Safety of Destinations (SAFE-D) initiative for Tourism Crisis Preparedness, Response, and Recovery. With Europe welcoming a stunning 747 million international tourists across the year 2024, the initiative envisions the tourism sector as a source for safety, sustainability, and resilience across increasing global challenges.
The Safe Destinations Challenge comes at a time when the tourism sector faces increasing vulnerabilities, including climate-related hazards, natural disasters, health crises, and cyber threats. Over the past five decades, Europe has been severely impacted by over 1,700 climate-related, fire, weather, and water hazards, which have resulted in significant economic damage and loss of life. As global crises continue to intensify, the need for enhanced preparedness and effective crisis management in tourism destinations has never been more pressing.
Focus Areas of the Safe Destinations Challenge
The Safe Destinations Challenge calls for innovative solutions across three key categories aimed at strengthening the resilience of tourism destinations in Europe:
Resilience to Natural, Climate, and Health-Related Hazards in Tourism Destinations
This category focuses on projects that can anticipate, mitigate, and respond to natural and climate-related hazards, such as floods, wildfires, and pandemics. Solutions in this category should protect both local communities and international visitors by improving crisis management systems, disaster response frameworks, and long-term recovery strategies.
Safety, Security, and Cyber Threats for Tourists and Destinations
In this digital age, physical safety is complemented by the need for cyber resilience. This category focuses on solutions that enhance both physical and digital safety for tourists, including advanced cybersecurity systems, smart infrastructure, and emergency response tools to combat rising threats to personal and data security in tourism destinations.
Crisis Communication
Effective communication strategies are critical to navigating crises successfully. This category aims to develop crisis communication tools and strategies that strengthen interactions between destinations, tourists, and the media before, during, and after emergencies. These strategies should ensure the timely dissemination of information to protect visitors and manage reputation risks for destinations.
The Urgent Need for Resilience
According to Natalia Bayona, Executive Director of UN Tourism, the need for tourism resilience is critical. “Tourism is more than an industry, it’s a network of human stories,” she said. “With 1 in 10 jobs globally linked to this sector, how we respond to and prepare for risks will shape our future. In 2020 alone, the tourism sector lost approximately USD 1.3 trillion in export revenues due to unpreparedness for crises.” Bayona emphasized that this challenge is not only about safeguarding destinations but also about ensuring that tourism remains a sustainable and vital contributor to the global economy.
As the climate crisis accelerates and geopolitical tensions continue to threaten global stability, tourism faces heightened risks. From wildfires to floods, pandemics, and cyberattacks, the growing frequency and severity of crises demand urgent action. The Safe Destinations Challenge seeks to gather innovative ideas and solutions from startups, SMEs, academic institutions, local authorities, and tourism organizations to build stronger, safer, and more resilient destinations.
Collaboration with Startups, SMEs, and Experts
The Safe Destinations Challenge is open to a wide range of participants, including startups, scaleups, micro and small businesses, local authorities, academic institutions, and tourism organizations. These entities are invited to submit projects and tools that can enhance crisis preparedness, response, and recovery for tourism destinations. The initiative is a call for collaboration across sectors, bringing together innovators and experts to share ideas, experiences, and technologies that can better equip destinations to handle the challenges of the future.
The challenge’s open innovation model provides a platform for diverse contributors to bring forward new approaches that can have a lasting impact on the resilience of global tourism. “Our goal is to empower destinations to be better prepared for emergencies, secure the safety of visitors, and protect the integrity of local communities,” said Bayona.
The SAFE-D Initiative and Its Global Impact
The Safe Destinations Challenge is part of the broader Safety of Destinations (SAFE-D) initiative, led by UN Tourism. This global effort aims to build resilience across all destinations by strengthening crisis governance, preparedness, and response frameworks. Launched in early 2025, the SAFE-D Europe initiative addresses the specific challenges faced by European destinations in an era marked by climate change, health crises, and cyber threats.
Czechia, one of the key proponents of this initiative, has been instrumental in launching the SAFE-D Europe Initiative. The increasing frequency of natural disasters and health crises in the region has prompted a focused effort to enhance the capacity of European destinations to manage and recover from such events effectively.
How to Participate and Application Deadlines
The Safe Destinations Challenge invites applications from entities working on solutions that can preserve the physical, cultural, and economic integrity of tourism destinations. Interested parties can submit their proposals through the official UN Tourism platform. The application period will close on 31 October 2025, and winners will have the opportunity to receive support for further development of their projects.
This call for innovation represents a crucial step in the tourism sector’s ongoing evolution toward greater resilience and sustainability. By addressing the core challenges facing tourism destinations worldwide, the Safe Destinations Challenge paves the way for a more secure and thriving global tourism industry.
Conclusion: A Call for Action in Tourism Resilience
The Safe Destinations Challenge reflects the realization of the need for the development of more resilient, safer, and more sustainable tourism destinations while the global risks continue climbing. Given the fact that the tourism sector greatly contributes to the global economy, it’s therefore essential for destinations to have the tools, knowledge, and the system for the effective management of crises. With application deadlines soon approaching, the UN Tourism challenges all stakeholders to be a part of the future global tourism resilience.
(Sources: UNWTO, UN Tourism Official Website, SAFE-D Initiative)
