Stephen Ekstrom

Stephen Ekstrom, Learn Tourism

Steph­en Ekstrom

Steph­en ‘Steve’ Ekstrom is CEO of Learn Tour­ism, a non-profit organ­isa­tion help­ing des­tin­a­tions strengthen their com­munit­ies through travel & tour­ism edu­ca­tion, pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment, and tour­ism ambas­sad­or pro­grammes. He leads part­ner­ships and con­tent strategy for the organ­isa­tion while trav­el­ling North Amer­ica full-time in what he read­ily admits is a pretty fancy bus.

Local knowledge now: Coastal, marine tourism cannot wait for universities to catch up

September 9, 2026

Local knowledge now: Coastal, marine tourism cannot wait for universities to catch up. A Gemini-generated image.

Should envir­on­ment­al stew­ard­ship be treated as an elect­ive add-on, or is it an essen­tial part of tour­ism and hospitality? 

Steve Ekstrom argues that coastal des­tin­a­tions can­not afford to wait years for aca­demia to catch up. He reck­ons the future of coastal and mar­ine travel & tour­ism depends on imme­di­ately equip­ping front­line work­ers with the loc­al know­ledge to explain, inter­pret, and pro­tect their home waters.

Read More Local knowledge now: Coastal, marine tourism cannot wait for universities to catch up
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