The summit will 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 the SIR 1.0 Summit Executive Report, the SIR 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.

• 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

Monday, May 18th, 2026
-Breakfast on your own
-Learning session at the hotel
-Off-site experience with learning session at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
-Dinner at Bison Hall at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

Tuesday, May 19th, 2026
-Breakfast on your own
-Learning session at the hotel
-Lunch at the hotel
-Off-site experience with learning session at Alaska Native Heritage Center
-Dinner at Serrano’s in downtown Anchorage, Alaska

Wednesday, May 20th, 2026
-Breakfast on your own
-Off-site experience with learning session in Whittier, Alaska with Lazy Otters Boat Tours
-The summit will conclude at 8:00pm

Thursday, May 21st, 2026
-Optional excursion to Seward, Alaska and Kenai Fjords National Park for those interested - additional fees apply. We will depart the Anchorage train station at 6:45am and will return at 10:15pm. You can easily make your way to the airport shortly after this, if wanted. Alaska Railroad will be offering a 50% discount on the train ticket. This price will also include the 6 Hour Kenai Fjords National Park tour with Major Marine. Price per person: $368.
-Please let Molly know by Friday, March 27 if you are interested in joining! 

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.

Official destionation partner::