Advancing Sustainable Tourism Education through School- and College-Based Tourism Clubs: Evidence from the National Sustainable Tourism Club (NSTC) Initiative in Nepal

Summary Sustainable tourism education is increasingly recognized as an important mechanism for developing responsible tourism practices and preparing future tourism professionals. In Nepal, however, structured tourism education programmes targeting school and college students have remained limited. To address this gap, Tourism Research and Training Institute (TRTI), in collaboration with the Sustainable Tourism for Livelihood Recovery Project (STLRP–UNDP), Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), and the Global Travel and Tourism Partnership (GTTP) Nepal launched the National Sustainable Tourism Club (NSTC) Initiative in 2022. The programme established tourism clubs in 137 secondary schools and 20 travel and tourism colleges across Nepal’s seven provinces. This case study evaluates the initiative’s design, implementation, educational outcomes, community impacts, challenges, and policy implications using a multi-site mixed-methods approach. Data were collected through programme records, institutional documents, field observations, and interviews with school principals, teacher coordinators, and student club captains. The findings indicate that the initiative has reached approximately 400,000 students and 1500 teachers and has provided opportunities for students to engage in tourism awareness, environmental conservation, cultural heritage, leadership, and tourism-related career learning. Experiential learning activities, including heritage conservation, community awareness campaigns, research competitions, and destination-based projects, enhanced students’ understanding of responsible tourism while fostering stronger community engagement. The study concludes that the NSTC Initiative represents an innovative, scalable, and transferable model for integrating sustainable tourism education into formal education systems. Continued institutional commitment, sustainable financing, and multistakeholder collaboration will be essential for ensuring its long-term sustainability and wider replication in other developing tourist destinations.