Jeremy Sampson

CEO, The Travel Foundation

Jeremy Sampson is the CEO of the Travel Foundation, a leading NGO in the travel and tourism sector. Under Jeremy’s leadership, the Travel Foundation is working with travel companies and destinations to better understand the impacts of tourism and maximise its benefits for local people and the environment. He has also been instrumental in spearheading the launch of the Future of Tourism Coalition, and was named its Chair in October 2020.

With experience in the tourism, conservation, and sustainability arenas, Jeremy has lived on three continents, and worked extensively in more than 30 countries with the public sector, SMEs, multinationals, and civil society. He spent five years as VP of Communications and Partnerships at Sustainable Travel International and another two years as President of international tour operator, GreenSpot Travel. He served as an Adjunct Professor at the George Washington University International Institute of Tourism Studies, was elected to serve on the Executive Committee of the WCPA Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group (TAPAS), and currently serves on the Destination Stewardship Working Group of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.

Immediately prior to joining The Travel Foundation, Jeremy worked at the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation in Malaga, where he helped to design and manage large-scale transnational EU-funded initiatives, such as DestiMED project, and helped to launch the MEET Network, a regional ecotourism network and destination management association for protected areas across the Med. He remains involved with MEET as an Ambassador.