Intro to go out on social media;
Maybe, tourism isn’t just about destinations, but about dialouge? And maybe, travel isn’t just movement, but transformation?
Through the Erasmus+ Paths to Peace project, we set out to explore an important question:
Can tourism become a deliberate tool for peacebuilding?
The result is our Global Peace Perspectives Roadmap- a research-driven, youth-centered guide to how tourism, intercultural dialogue and youth leadership intersect to build more inclusive and peaceful societies.
Blog post:
Tourism is one of the world’s largest industries. It shapes economies, influences narratives and connects people across borders. But in conflict-affected or socially divided regions, tourism can play a far deeper role. It can either reinforce divisions or help bridge them. Through the Erasmus+ Paths to Peace (P2P) project, the Swedish Tourism Innovation Center (STIC), together with our partners, explored an important question: can tourism become a deliberate tool for peacebuilding?
The result of this exploration is the Global Peace Perspectives Roadmap (2025), a research-driven and youth-centred guide examining how tourism, intercultural dialogue, and youth leadership intersect to foster more inclusive and peaceful societies. Developed through research across Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden and Ukraine, the Roadmap combines youth survey findings, stakeholder interviews and real-world case studies to provide practical and actionable recommendations.
One of the clearest insights from the research is that young people believe in tourism’s potential to promote peace. A strong majority of youth respondents see tourism as a vehicle for intercultural understanding and reconciliation. Yet, most of them have never been meaningfully involved in tourism-based peacebuilding initiatives. Interest is high, but participation opportunities are limited. The Roadmap also identifies key skills gaps. Young people need stronger capacities in conflict-sensitive planning, ethical tourism design, facilitation and dialogue methods, and community engagement. Without these skills, good intentions risk falling short.
At STIC, we believe tourism is not neutral. It shapes identity, distributes opportunity and maybe even influences whose stories are told. If poorly designed, tourism can reinforce inequality, commercialise trauma or exclude marginalised communities. If designed intentionally, however, it can create shared economic opportunities, open spaces for dialogue, strengthen local ownership while fostering mutual understanding. Peace does not happen automatically through tourism. It must be consciously designed.
The Global Peace Perspectives Roadmap encourages a shift in perspective. Traditionally, tourism is measured in visitor numbers, revenue and growth rates. But what if we also measured dialogue created, trust rebuilt, narratives transformed and communities strengthened? The Roadmap calls for tourism to move beyond purely economic metrics and towards social intentionality. It highlights examples where youth-led initiatives, community-based tourism models and intercultural exchanges have contributed to long-term relationship-building and social cohesion.
Importantly, the Roadmap is not an academic document intended to sit on a shelf. It directly informs the next stages of the Paths to Peace project. Its findings shape the WP3 workshops on conflict-sensitive tourism, guide the mentorship of over 50 Peace Building Advocates, and support the development of ten youth-led peacebuilding proposals to be presented at the project’s international hackathon. In this way, research is translated into practice and insight becomes action.
Tourism alone cannot resolve conflict. But when young people are empowered with the right tools, tourism can contribute meaningfully to reconciliation and social cohesion. The Global Peace Perspectives Roadmap is therefore not just a report but a call to action. It challenges policymakers, tourism professionals, educators and youth leaders to rethink how tourism is designed and to ensure that it contributes to peace rather than division.
At STIC, we see this as part of a broader transformation of the tourism sector. Tourism must evolve from being economically driven to being socially intentional. By placing youth at the centre of innovation and equipping them to lead, we can help shape a future where travel becomes an act of understanding, responsibility, and positive change.
The question is no longer whether tourism can contribute to peace. The real question is how we design it to do so.