Atlantic Sustainable Tourism Observatory hosted by ATU joins INSTO Network

Friday, December 22, 2023

The Atlantic Technological University (ATU) in Ireland recently celebrated its inclusion in the United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s (UNWTO) International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO) through its Atlantic Sustainable Tourism Observatory. This significant development was announced at the UNWTO’s 2023 INSTO Global Meeting, hosted at its Madrid headquarters.

INSTO is an international collective focused on evaluating tourism’s economic, environmental, and societal impacts at specific destinations. This initiative is part of UNWTO’s broader strategy to promote sustainable, resilient growth in the tourism industry by implementing thorough measurement and monitoring methodologies.

Ireland’s first observatory under INSTO, the Atlantic Sustainable Tourism Observatory, will work in close association with various tourism hotspots along the Atlantic coast, including Ireland’s islands and inland regions. The observatory’s entry into INSTO follows two years of rigorous work spearheaded by ATU’s Dr. James Hanrahan and doctoral candidate Fiona McKenna.

Dr. Hanrahan shared the observatory’s long-term goals, highlighting its ambition to become a pivotal source for accurate, transparent, and consistently updated data, contributing significantly to sustainable tourism development in Ireland from scientific, policy, and socio-cultural perspectives.

Fiona McKenna underscored the importance of data collection in this process, pointing out how gathering and analyzing data against specific indicators has prepared these destinations for a sustainable future.

UNWTO, in its acknowledgment of the four new members, including ATU’s observatory, commended their commitment to sustainable tourism, evidenced by their participatory methods, commitment to data-driven decision making, and emphasis on transparency – all critical criteria for joining INSTO.

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