Destination Stewardship Starts With you

Sustainable tourism, one that establishes a suitable balance between the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, plays an important role in conserving biodiversity.

It attempts to minimize its impact on the environment and local culture so that it will be available for future generations while contributing to generating income, employment, and the conservation of local ecosystems.

How the New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau is Fostering Sustainable Practices

Sustainable tourism provides crucial economic incentives for habitat protection. Revenues from visitor spending are often channeled back into nature conservation or capacity-building programs for local communities to manage protected areas. Furthermore, tourism can be a key vehicle in raising awareness and fostering positive behavior change for biodiversity conservation among the millions of people traveling the globe every year.

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Leave No Trace

Leave No Trace is a simple set of outdoor ethics that helps everyone enjoy nature while protecting it for the next visit, and the next generation. Built around seven easy-to-remember principles, it offers practical guidance for everything from planning ahead and staying on durable surfaces to packing out trash, respecting wildlife, and being considerate of other visitors. The New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau encourages residents, guests, and local businesses to adopt these habits throughout our beaches, parks, waterways, and trails.

One Planet Living®

The One Planet Living® encompasses 10 easy-to-grasp principles along with detailed goals and guidance. "Together, these provide a clear, practical route map to create a sustainability action plan for any organization that can engage hearts as well as minds," according to the One Planet Living® website. The New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau is the first in Florida to join the One Planet Living® online eco-system to address sustainability efforts as a destination management organization. Businesses can join the efforts and start making a difference in the environmental impact of Florida and the world.

Marine Discovery Center Programs

The Marine Discovery Center advances conservation and education that help make the New Smyrna Beach Area a more sustainable destination. Through its Shuck & Share program, MDC recycles thousands of pounds of oyster shells from local restaurants back into the Indian River Lagoon to support habitat restoration.

MDC and community partners have also removed over 13,000 square feet of pavement and planted more than 1,000 native trees, shrubs, and grasses to create living shoreline habitat that helps protect the Lagoon from development and runoff.

MDC

Marine DiscoveryCenter Programs

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Play The Sustainability Game  
Keep It Like New

The New Smyrna Beach mobile app makes it easy (and fun) to explore responsibly through our Sustainability Game. Simply check in at participating locations using GPS, and you will earn “Sandollars” each time you visit.

With 21 locations currently participating, it is a simple way to discover more of the area while supporting partners who care about protecting our beaches and waterways. Once you have saved up your Sandollars, stop by the New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau office to redeem them for merchandise and a fun keepsake from your trip.

Download App & Play The Game →

Learn, Protect & Discover

Blueways

Our Beaches

Greenways

The NSB Area

The Sustainability Journey to 2030

Journey to 2030 is a pioneering effort by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and partners to examine the current state of play and the actions taken by these major tourism stakeholders – governments, the private sector, and development cooperation agencies – to enhance the contribution of tourism to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

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Being a Responsible Traveler

Travel and tourism should be planned and practiced as a means of individual and collective fulfillment. Everyone has a role to play in creating responsible travel and tourism. Governments, businesses, and communities must do all they can, but as a guest, you can support this in many ways to make a difference.

Follow the UNWTO Guide