USTOA will hold the 2026 USTOA Sustainability is Responsibility (SIR) Summit in Anchorage, Alaska from May 17-20, 2026. In partnership with Visit Anchorage, USTOA invites its Active and Associate Members to the summit to foster collaborations, participate in cross-sector learning, and continue to set the path for a more responsible future for the travel industry.
The summitwill bring member representatives from across the travel industry value chain together for interactive dialogue, educational content, and case study learnings. Our first SIR Summit in 2022 focused on the "why" part of creating a sustainability business case, the 2023 SIR summit, in collaboration with Tourism Cares, focused on the "how", and the 2024 and 2025 SIR Summits focused on you, our members. The 2026 SIR summit will continue on that path as it seeks to address sustainability goals in our industry and establish tangible best practices to help our industry move forward with solutions to our collective challenges. To learn more about past USTOA SIR summits, please take a moment to review theSIR 1.0 Summit Executive Report, theSIR 3.0 Summit Executive Report, and the SIR 4.0 Summit Executive Report.
As the state of our world evolves, so does the focus of our SIR Community. Our members' passion for responsible travel drives them to advance their own sustainability strategies in a way that tackles current needs of our industry. You will see these needs addressed throughout the SIR summit as a fresh set of sustainability focus areas
The overall theme of the USTOA 2026 SIR Summit is "Tourism, Communities & Business: Creating Shared Value & Addressing Challenges".Key learning objectives of the summit will be (subject to change):
Industry challenges such as aviation, carbon, overtourism, and climate risk will be addressed by value chain organizations in working groups that will collaborate leading up to the summit. If you are interested in joining one of these working groups, please reach out to Molly Laycob - gsi@ustoa.com
How a successful model of community based tourism can be repeated in other destinations and the challenges that come with it.
How expanding responsibly is possible with a sustainable value chain.
Preliminary Summit Program Sunday, May 17th, 2026 -Evening welcome reception at 6:00pm
Monday, May 18th, 2026 -Learning session at the hotel -Off-site experience with learning session -Dinner off-site
Tuesday, May 19th, 2026 -Learning session at the hotel -Off-site experience with learning session -Dinner off-site
Wednesday, May 20th, 2026 -Off-site experience with learning session -The summit will conclude at 4:00pm
Expressions of interest in attending are open to both USTOA Active and Associate Members with a focus on those who play a role in responsible travel initiatives at their companies. This event is designed to bring together a cross-functional representation of the travel industry with the intention of assembling a diverse, comprehensive group to create meaningful outputs not just for those participating, but also the industry at large. More information on the program can be found below.
The deadline to register is April 3, 2026.
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