We believe the future of the visitor economy must be shaped by local people. When residents and communities are empowered to lead, tourism becomes more inclusive, more sustainable and a powerful driver of social good.

In July 2025, Good Organisation hosted the UK’s first national conference focused on community-led tourism.

This landmark event brought together residents, social enterprises, community heritage initiatives and other stakeholders from across the country to explore how grassroots voices can lead the way in reimagining tourism, placing community needs, values and aspirations at its core.

The conference directly led to the formation of a national network of community-led tourism organisations. Since then, we’ve been collaborating with partners from SCOTO (Scottish Community-Led Tourism) and the Foundational Economy in Wales to amplify community perspectives on tourism and advocate for meaningful policy change across a range of connected areas.

At a local level, we’ve also supported the development of an independent coalition of residents called York Resident’s Know… (YRK), a citizens -led advocacy group committed to promoting a balanced approach to tourism within the city.

The groups autonomy enables it to offer up a critical overview of the tourism sector, while empowering local people through participative democracy, community research and collaborative policy engagement.