Time Well Spent
Two mantras, one dilemma, and what climate action in tourism really asks of us
Since my daughters were born, I carry with me a mantra I used to think was naive.
Cliché even.
Leave the world a little bit better for those who follow.
It is simple and impossible at the same time. At least for one person. But it is true for me nonetheless. And I believe not just for me, but for many. Because what else is there to do, really, but to try and pass on this beautiful yet troubled world a little better than we found it?
Sure, I won't create Utopia before they turn 18. But should I not at least try?
Recently I took up a second mantra. This time not triggered by the birth of my daughters, but by watching one of the best TV series of our time: The Bear. In it, chef Terry, played by the amazing Olivia Colman, describes her life mantra as simply this:
Time well spent.
That line struck me. Because once you say “leave the world a bit better,” the real question becomes: how?
And “time well spent” is the answer. My answer.
These two ideas shape my context. My goal and the way to pursue it: make sure that every second counts (another Bear reference). Yes, that means urgency, but it also means doing what works. For others, for sustainable tourism, for the world. Or just for me and mine.
It filters out the nonsense, without becoming obsessive.
London Climate Week
I'm writing this because recently, during London Climate Week, I joined events hosted by the Travel Foundation and Travalyst. And both stayed with me. Not because either of them holds the magic bullet for fully sustainable tourism. But because, in different ways, they align with what I just described. They are doing the work.
The Travel Foundation is doing this by operating between systems. For an organization their size, they have the biggest network I’ve ever seen. They listen to activists and academics, but instead of just parroting their language, they try to bridge the gap between them and the tourism sector at large. They connect people and use the knowledge of brilliant minds to empower others and enable actual change.
I believe Envision 2030 is their best example. It accepts the premise of tourism growth and shows how the sector can achieve that growth within planetary boundaries. Their work brings urgency and nuance. Understanding both the need and the now.
Their latest campaign does this again. It moves beyond the low-hanging fruit and dares to tackle hard topics: issues we might all agree with in principle, but find hard to act on in practice.
I love it. And I highly recommend taking a look.
Only a few hours later, I joined a panel at the Travalyst event in the Google office. Founded in 2019 by Prince Harry, Travalyst is a not-for-profit global coalition of some of the biggest names in travel and tech: from Google to Amadeus and from Booking.com to Mastercard. Their aim is to help these companies work together to accelerate change in travel, even when it might go against competitive instincts.
And while I often feel that the systems we’ve created hold these corporations back from truly accelerating toward sustainability, Travalyst seems to get them moving. Yes, these organizations are largely tied to quarterly logic, but Travalyst creates space for long-term thinking.
They catalyze. Empower. Accelerate.
That, too, is time well spent.
Zooming Out – The Broader Dilemma
Those sessions left me with more than inspiration. They stirred a deeper question I keep circling around: how do we transform an unsustainable tourism system in time?
Here's the hard truth: we likely won't reach climate neutrality in tourism by 2050. Travel continues to grow each year, and while many parts of the sector (accommodation, attractions, ground transport) can be decarbonized, flying and cruising remain deeply problematic. So does a large part of the food system.
Technological solutions? They're real. Cleaner planes, better fuels, they are coming. But not fast enough. Even with maximum investment, breakthroughs in aviation and cruise sustainability will lag behind the pace we need.
This leads to a split in belief systems.
I find myself torn between both: hoping innovation catches up, while knowing deep down that hope alone isn’t a strategy.
On one end: techno-optimism. The belief that technology will save us. That innovation will catch up just in time. It's comforting, but unrealistic. The data simply doesn’t support that timeline.
On the other: degrowth. A radical rethink: deliberately slowing economic growth to reduce harm and promote wellbeing. Philosophically compelling. Practically? Almost impossible to implement in today's political climate. It asks people to accept less, and people tend to resist loss more than they welcome gain.
This is, of course, a simplification. But it underpins so many of our daily discussions. And it’s the source of my ongoing tension. Because if change within the system is not fast enough, and changing the system is impossible, what is left for us to do?
Back to the mantra
And this is where I return to my mantras. I can scream at a wall, hoping it becomes a door. But it won’t. So what do I do?
I try to spend my time well. To find another way to leave this planet a little better. I love that the Travel Foundation and Travalyst seem to be doing the same. In their own ways, at their own scale. I hope to dig deeper into their methods in future posts, because that’s what acceleration demands: not just knowing where it happens, but learning how it happens. So we can replicate it.
And while I write this, I know it still might not be enough. Yes, we may be too late to reach climate-neutral tourism in time. Indeed, I think this is very likely.
But we are spending our time doing something. And doing it well. That matters.
This gives me hope.
Maybe that’s what I want my daughters to see. That even when the outcome is uncertain, the effort still means something.
Time well spent. That is all we can ask for. And that is all I can ask of myself.