{"id":12217,"date":"2026-02-02T16:52:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T14:52:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mascontour.info\/?p=12217"},"modified":"2026-02-03T18:15:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T16:15:00","slug":"mascontour-turns-20-%f0%9f%8e%89","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mascontour.info\/en\/mascontour-turns-20-%f0%9f%8e%89\/","title":{"rendered":"mascontour turns 20! \ud83c\udf89"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Twenty years ago, we founded <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mascontour.info\/en\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.mascontour.info\/en\/\">mascontour<\/a><\/strong> with a clear conviction: sustainability only matters when it is <strong>implemented<\/strong> \u2013 in destinations, businesses, policies, and daily decisions. Since then, we\u2019ve had the privilege to work with partners across the world on strategies, standards, capacities, and concrete measures that make tourism <strong>more resilient and more sustainable<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First and foremost: <strong>thank you<\/strong> to all clients, partners, peers, and friends for your trust, your openness, and your commitment. We\u2019re proud of what we\u2019ve achieved together and even more excited about what\u2019s ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>20 years \u2013 what we\u2019ve learned (and how mascontour evolved because of it)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>From \u201cbest practice\u201d to \u201cwhat works here\u201d:<\/strong> We learned early that copying solutions doesn\u2019t create change. Our work shifted towards <strong>context-specific implementation<\/strong> \u2013 built around local governance realities, market dynamics, culture, and capacity, so partners can actually deliver.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>From strategy documents to delivery systems:<\/strong> Sustainability matured and expectations rose. We therefore specialised in turning ambition into <strong>delivery-ready roadmaps<\/strong>: practical measures, clear responsibilities, timelines, and the routines that keep implementation moving long after a project ends.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>From sustainability to resilience as a development capability:<\/strong> Resilience is bigger than risk and bigger than sustainability. It\u2019s about the <strong>ability to act, adapt, and improve under pressure<\/strong>. That\u2019s why we developed our <strong>expanded resilience model<\/strong>: a practical lens and structure that helps destinations and businesses build <strong>capabilities<\/strong> (not just plans) across the areas that decide whether tourism can perform and recover in a changing world.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>People move systems (internally and externally):<\/strong> We learned that the best concept fails without the right people around the table \u2013 and the right team behind it. We invest heavily in <strong>trusted relationships, facilitation, and long-term cooperation<\/strong>, and we bring a strong internal culture of collaboration and ownership because change needs commitment, not just expertise.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>From one-off training to continuous capacity development:<\/strong> We learned that capacity isn\u2019t built in a workshop, it\u2019s built through practice, repetition, reflection, and support in real work situations. That\u2019s why we created <a href=\"https:\/\/confettihub.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>confetti<\/strong><\/a><strong>, mascontour\u2019s own online upskilling platform<\/strong>: to meet people where they are, turn complexity into practical bite-sized actions, and provide learning formats that fit <strong>limited time, high workload, and diverse roles<\/strong>. Instead of \u201ctraining events\u201d, we focus on <strong>continuous enablement<\/strong>, helping teams internalise new habits, make better day-to-day decisions, and keep implementation moving between milestones.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enablement beats compliance:<\/strong> We\u2019ve seen that progress comes when organisations feel capable, not when they feel controlled. Our focus is therefore on <strong>building implementation competence<\/strong> \u2013 helping partners convert complexity into clear, actionable next steps, strengthen leadership and internal coordination, and create the confidence to act.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What need to happen now to future-proof tourism<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>A hopeful, widely shared vision that people can feel:<\/strong> We need to move from \u201csustainability as a technical agenda\u201d to a <strong>positive future story<\/strong> that resonates beyond our bubble. Tourism that strengthens places to live, creates pride and opportunity, protects what people value, and offers experiences rooted in quality and respect. If people can picture the benefit, they will defend the direction \u2013 especially in headwind times.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Meet people where they are and prove value in everyday life:<\/strong> With growing scepticism toward sustainability and democracy, the sector must speak to <strong>real concerns and real gains<\/strong> \u2013 jobs, affordability, safety, local identity, public services, cleaner environments, and better visitor management. That requires different language, better listening, and coalition-building with the people who shape opinion locally, not just those already convinced.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Make before measure (and don\u2019t reduce sustainability to checklists):<\/strong> Standards, criteria, indicators and reporting are useful but only <strong>after action has started<\/strong>. The priority is implementation competence: turning complexity into <strong>doable steps<\/strong>, practical routines, and visible improvements. If nothing is done, there is nothing meaningful to measure and \u201ctechnical perfection\u201d can become an excuse for inaction.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Protect what has been achieved while continuing to move forward:<\/strong> In a period of political polarisation and funding pressure, progress is not guaranteed. We need to actively <strong>safeguard existing capacities, partnerships, institutions, and on-the-ground improvements<\/strong> because they can be dismantled faster than they were built. Resilience includes the ability to hold the line: keeping cooperation alive, maintaining trust, and defending what works.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reframe tourism development cooperation and the unique value of tourism as an action field:<\/strong> Tourism cooperation should focus on <strong>shared stability and human development outcomes<\/strong>: decent livelihoods, local value creation, better governance, skills and entrepreneurship, social cohesion, and the capacity of communities and institutions to manage change and shocks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Tourism is a powerful action field<\/strong> for this because it is local by nature, SME-driven, employment-intensive (including for women and youth), and it creates incentives to safeguard places, culture, and public spaces while connecting people across borders through exchange and understanding. That is also in donors\u2019 interest: strengthening resilience reduces fragility and crisis costs, supports reliable economic prospects, builds trusted partnerships, and creates safer environments for long-term cooperation and investment. It\u2019s not primarily about export promotion or securing resources; it\u2019s about enabling countries and people to build <strong>resilient, well-managed visitor economies<\/strong> that work for residents and visitors alike and that hold up under pressure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The next years will test the sector but they also offer a chance to define what tourism can truly contribute: <strong>stronger places, better livelihoods, and more resilient visitor economies<\/strong>. We\u2019re grateful for the trust so far and we\u2019re looking forward to working with partners who want to move from ideas to implementation. Let\u2019s keep what works, improve what doesn\u2019t, and build what\u2019s needed next. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hope to see many of you at <strong>ITB Berlin 2026<\/strong> \u2013 we\u2019ve got some things in motion! \ud83d\ude42 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Twenty years ago, we founded mascontour with a clear conviction: sustainability only matters when it is implemented \u2013 in destinations, businesses, policies, and daily decisions. Since then, we\u2019ve had the privilege to work with partners across the world on strategies, standards, capacities, and concrete measures that make tourism more resilient and more sustainable. First and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":12222,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-unkategorisiert"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mascontour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mascontour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mascontour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mascontour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mascontour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12217"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.mascontour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12236,"href":"https:\/\/www.mascontour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12217\/revisions\/12236"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mascontour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mascontour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mascontour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mascontour.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}