International tourism is headed back to pre-pandemic levels, with double the number of people travelling so far in 2023 than in the same period last year. This is a huge industry: between 1980 and 2019, global travel arrivals rose from 177 million to nearly 1.5 billion per year. But unsurprisingly, tourism is a big contributor to the global plastic pollution crisis. Eight out of ten tourists visit coastal areas, adding to the 8 million tons of plastic that enter the ocean every year. Many hotels are also filled with single-use plastic shampoos, toothbrushes, and combs. While cruise ships dump large amounts of microplastic-laden wastewater into the sea. A joint 2021 report from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the World Travel and Tourism Council highlighted the need for coordinated actions, policies, and infrastructures to drive the industry toward circularity. Never has this been more urgent. Every year, humanity produces around 430 million tons, two-thirds of which are short-lived products which soon become waste. Ninety-nine percent of plastic is the product of chemicals derived from dirty, non-renewable sources. Most of it never really disappears. Instead, it becomes smaller, with particles being swallowed by fish or farm animals and eventually consumed by humans in their food and tap water. Nonetheless, plastic continues to grow in popularity, with production increasing more than 22 times in the last 50 year. In a “business as usual” scenario, plastic could emit 19 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. The link between plastic and tourism is no coincidence. Single-use plastic products are an efficient and inexpensive way to comply with health, safety, and hygiene standards while also ensuring worry-free holiday experiences to guests.