EplerWood International works with major institutions committed to researching and designing timely and effective response mechanisms to destination management challenges worldwide.
EWI offers tools, such as holistic accounting to address economic highs and lows, enable steady recovery, protect tourism assets, and manage long-term, sustainable growth within destinations.
Our partners work with us to raise the bar in the global community to protect the earth’s most valued assets and to determine the best forms of investment in protecting business and destination value.
EplerWood International’s affiliations have been honed to lead the development of solutions that address the most pressing issues in our field:
- Climate action planning using per tourist carbon impacts at destination level
- Developing and structuring economic stimulus and impact investment platforms for destinations and small businesses working in a sustainable supply chain during COVID 19 recovery
- Tracking and planning for the rapid changes in travel demographics and source markets
- Identifying impacts of the digital economy on tourism supply chains
- Developing tools to address the challenges of a growing number of overtourism hotspots
Major Affiliations
The Travel Foundation (2017 – 2020)
We tackle the huge environmental and social challenges that global tourism brings. Tourism can bring much needed economic opportunities for local communities and funds for conservation. But, when not well managed, it can create long term problems for local residents and environmental damage. We aim to reduce the negative impacts of tourism and harness opportunities for local livelihoods and conservation. To achieve this, we support tourism stakeholders to create systemic change in the way that tourism is managed. This includes working with tourism businesses, destination authorities and community groups. LEARN MORE
Pacific Asia Travel Association (November 2022 – December 2023)
Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for profit association that is an internationally acclaimed membership organisation acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. In November 2022, the PATA appointed Megan Epler Wood as its Special Advisor on sustainable tourism development for destinations, businesses, and civil society to help build a more resilient and sustainable Asia Pacific travel ecosystem. LEARN MORE
Harvard International Sustainable Tourism Initiative (2014 – 2018)The International Sustainable Tourism Initiative (ISTI) was the first research unit at Harvard University focused on sustainable tourism. ISTI’s research program, designed by Megan Epler Wood based on her 25 years of experience in the field, was launched under the leadership of Dr. Jack Spengler in 2014 and was active in tourism climate research at the Harvard School of Public Health from 2014-2018. ISTI’s formal research program was presented at COP 22 in 2016 in Marrakech, Morocco, for the first United Nations session on tourism and climate change at a COP event. This garnered a grant from the German Government under GIZ in 2017-2018. Through ISTI’s work, Harvard researchers and students continue to explore current themes, including, Social/Environmental Enterprise Development, Tourism & Climate Change, Geodesign & Regional Planning, and Tourism Governance until Spring 2022. Megan Epler Wood LEARN MORE
Cornell Sustainable Tourism Asset Management Program (2017 – Present)
New business models are needed to recognize the costs and impact of tourism on critical assets. STAMP is a program launched by the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business which seeks to support the development of applied research, curriculum resources, and outreach activities that will increase collective knowledge and understanding of how to more effectively manage tourism destination assets over time in the face of endemic poverty, ecosystem degradation, and climate change. LEARN MORE
