Gibraltar and ANIMONDIAL Launch Nature Positive Tourism Pilot

October 26, 2026 - 06:23

Gibraltar has taken a step toward balancing visitor growth with environmental protection by launching a Nature Positive Tourism pilot in partnership with ANIMONDIAL. The initiative is designed to help the destination expand its tourism sector while safeguarding local biodiversity and improving animal welfare standards.

The pilot will focus on practical measures that tourism businesses and authorities can adopt to reduce their impact on the natural environment. This includes assessing how tourism activities affect wildlife and habitats, setting clear guidelines for operators, and encouraging practices that support conservation rather than deplete it. Animal welfare sits at the center of the program, with attention given to activities that involve animals and the conditions under which they take place.

For Gibraltar, the project comes at a time when tourism is recovering and growing, raising questions about how to manage increased visitor numbers without compromising the natural assets that draw people in. The partnership with ANIMONDIAL, which specializes in animal welfare and biodiversity guidance for the travel sector, is intended to provide a structured framework rather than ad hoc measures.

Organizers describe the pilot as a starting point. Data and lessons gathered during the project will inform longer term strategies, with the aim of making nature positive practices a standard part of how tourism operates in Gibraltar. The approach reflects a wider shift in the industry, where destinations are increasingly expected to show that tourism delivers benefits for the environment, not just the economy.