News and questions (without answers) from the week ending February 1, 2026

In a week in which there were calls for “united action” to man­age tour­ism growth, two stor­ies high­light the dis­par­ate meas­ures des­tin­a­tions are tak­ing to handle vis­it­or numbers.

This presents a poten­tial dicho­tomy for 2026: one half of the world appears to be pay­ing people to arrive, while the oth­er is explor­ing ways to encour­age them to stay away.

News and questions (without answers) from the week ending January 25, 2026

The head­line of the week is a famil­i­ar one: “Thou­sands of tour­ists stranded”. 

As unex­pec­ted extreme weath­er grounds flights and halts itin­er­ar­ies, the fra­gil­ity of the glob­al travel net­work is exposed yet again. 

But while the industry focuses on ‘resi­li­ence’ through infra­struc­ture spend­ing — such as the mil­lions pledged for North Queens­land — a quieter fund­ing crisis is unfolding.

News and questions (without answers) from the week ending January 18, 2026

The nar­rat­ive of “green travel” has often relied on the prom­ise of addi­tion: more effi­cient planes, more sus­tain­able fuels, more trees planted. But this week, the con­ver­sa­tion shif­ted to sub­trac­tion; the remov­al of busi­ness class.

But as space tour­ism gears up, are we head­ing for a future in which the masses are squeezed into eco­nomy to save the plan­et, while the ultra-elite plan to leave it?