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Chris Adams

Head of Research & Insights

Chris Adams in Japan
Chris Adams in Saudi Arabia
Chris Adams in Ecuador
Chris Adams at Mt. Taranaki in New Zealand
Chris Adams in Seville, Spain

"The best thing about working at Miles is working with nearly four hundred passionate, curious, fellow travelers in a sector that I love."

As head of research and insights, Chris is also our "head of curiosity" for understanding major trends, opportunities and challenges in travel and tourism. When not involved in research, education or other projects at Miles, Chris is an avid traveler — always off to far-flung destinations with his friends, daughters and other family.

Favorite Travel Memory

Those special moments while traveling when you round a corner or top a hill and see a special, completely different view of the world. Unique sights, sounds, smells and feel. You are in a completely new moment in a completely new place. I’ve been lucky enough to have many of these from AlUla to Zanzibar and the Amazon to Tokyo.

Articles by Chris

A photo of public transportation and people biking on a street.

Good for Business, Good for the Community. Good for Climate.

November 19, 2024
The 2024 Sustainability and Stewardship webinar, powered by the State of the American Traveler , highlighted how a partisan political environment and highly fragmented media are creating challenges in our...
Two people hiking on a mountain

Highlighting Your “Plus” Factor to Attract Outdoors and Nature Travelers

September 18, 2024
During the height of the pandemic in 2021, we researched outdoor and nature travel and first identified the phenomenon of Outdoor+ travelers. In this article, we summarize our updated 2024...
Electric vehicle on road

How Tourism Can Pave the Way for the Electric Vehicle Revolution

August 21, 2024
Tourism has a vital role to play in resolving the EV charging conundrum Ground transportation is going through its biggest transformation of the last 100+ years. The shift to electric...
A man standing in front of a waterfall on rocks

Travel with Care - A Global Resource for Responsible Traveler Education and Marketing

June 11, 2024
Travel with Care is the world’s leading resource on responsible travel messaging, education and marketing for destinations, governments and the broader tourism industry. This free platform, supported by Miles Partnership...
a woman recording hot air balloons with her phone

Global Insights on Vertical Video

June 06, 2024
Best practices from a global cohort of 15 destinations across YouTube Shorts and other major vertical video platforms. In 2023, Miles Partnership collaborated with Google to organize and support a...
digital city

Generative AI Resources

May 03, 2024
Generative AI continues to be the hottest technology story around the world. As our second annual webinar, " Harnessing the Power of AI " showed, this is also a profound...
trees with sun rays peaking through

Earth Day 2024: Climate Action in Your Destination

April 19, 2024
Many cities and destinations have climate action plans. Destination organizations and the tourism industry need to be active partners. When the first Earth Day was organized in 1970, human-caused climate...
birds eye view of a local festival

The Power and Potential of Signature Local Events

March 05, 2024
Events are a powerful and pivotal part of the tourism sector. They create compelling reasons to visit a destination, especially in the shoulder or off-season when the destination’s better-known experiences...
man standing on his bicycle looking into the sun surrounded by a green landscape

Three Ways to Action on Climate Change

December 14, 2023
Highlights from the Destination: Stewardship, A Guide to Action on Climate Change The end of 2023 sees a new record (again): the hottest year the world has experienced in recorded...
short term rental house

Global Best Practices in Short-Term Rentals

November 08, 2023
Destination organizations and the tourism industry should support sensible, balanced STR policies.
table of different dishes of food

Food Tourism Fundamentals: Seven Global Best Practices to Celebrate & Develop Your Destination's Cuisine

September 08, 2023
Food is a fundamental and foundational part of tourism. While visitors’ engagement in a destination’s arts and culture, outdoor activities or specific attractions may vary, every visitor wants to not...
generative ai blog hero woman with phone and colorful background

Generative AI Use Cases in Travel and Tourism

May 08, 2023
In the first blog of this blog series, we described the foundations of generative AI and some core principles in thinking about its use in travel and tourism. Now we’ll look at five broad areas where generative AI can be implemented in tourism and hospitality organizations.
woman with glasses looking at a 3D globe in blue

Foundations and Principles of Generative AI

April 28, 2023
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is the latest iteration of machine learning that is creating both real excitement and concern around the world. This is part one of a blog series on what generative AI means for tourism and hospitality.
up close image of earth

3 Essential Commitments for Sustainable Tourism - Earth Day 2023

April 21, 2023
April 22 is Earth Day, and it serves as a reminder that travel and tourism are at the front lines of protecting and restoring our natural world. The increasing frequency and severity of both extreme weather and red tide events show how vulnerable tourism is to natural disasters.
farmers market stand

Community Engagement Global Best Practices

January 23, 2023
Time for DMOcracy is the largest-ever global research and education project on community engagement in tourism.
Toronto skyline

It’s Time for DMOcracy

June 22, 2022
Time for DMOcracy is an international study to define global best practices in building successful, resilient, and enduring partnerships with local residents, community groups and businesses.
water and sunset in Bangladesh

Securing the Future of Bangladesh’s World Heritage Wonder

April 04, 2022
The Sundarbans region of Bangladesh is home to the world’s largest remaining Mangrove Forest, two World Heritage sites and the critically endangered, regal Bengal Tiger. Bangladesh is a country smaller...
drilling rigs in an oil field

Gas Prices, War & Risks for the Recovery of Travel

March 16, 2022
Early 2022 initially saw a brighter outlook for the recovery of travel and tourism as the Omicron variant rapidly advanced the pandemic, hopefully to a post-pandemic state. However, events of...
top half of the earth in the atmosphere

The Time to Act is Now: 26 for COP26

November 18, 2021
26 Practical Actions for Destinations to Address Climate Change Download part one of the white paper, "26 for COP26," here. “We are at a unique stage in our history. Never...
plain dark miles blue article hero

Toolkit for Sustainable Tourism Strategies

April 22, 2021
In honor of Earth Day, we’re publishing the strategy toolkit to share resources and recommendations in plotting the sustainable return of tourism in your destination.
chicago skyline

Funding the Future of Tourism in the U.S. and Canada

April 16, 2021
Many cities across the U.S. and Canada are grappling with an unprecedented drop in funding. With COVID-19’s dramatic impact on bed and lodging taxes, cities are looking to build more resilient, sustainable and robust funding sources post pandemic.
green valley with big clouds and mountains in the horizon

Funding the Future of Tourism in New Zealand

April 13, 2021
Like many parts of the world, Aotearoa (New Zealand) is looking to a better future for its tourism industry post pandemic. To build back better, to renew a tourism industry which is more sustainable, better managed and offers deeper and broader based benefits to the country.
waterfall surrounded by large rocks hero for funding for tomorrow

Insights from Funding for Tomorrow

February 22, 2021
Two major studies completed in late 2020 in North America and Europe looked at the options for addressing the current crisis and opportunities for change. The “Funding Futures” study (August 2020), looked at tourism and DMO funding across 115 North American cities and all 50 U.S. states and 10 Canadian provinces.
tall circular building on a skyline with water

Reimagining New Zealand Tourism: Eight Essential Ways to Build Back Better (Part 2)

November 18, 2020
New Zealand is reimagining what tourism can look like. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to not only build back tourism in New Zealand – but to ‘build...
city view over water with circular building

Reimagining New Zealand Tourism: Eight Essential Ways to Build Back Better (Part 1)

November 11, 2020
As in many parts of the world, New Zealand is reimagining what tourism can look like. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to not only build back tourism...
bridge in Halifax

Global Best Practices in Domestic Tourism

August 26, 2020
With the impact of COVID-19 closing borders, international tourism is largely on hold in many destinations. This has reinforced the importance of domestic tourism in many parts of the world, especially those where international inbound tourism was the primary focus of tourism marketing efforts.
blue background with topography design

Eight Essentials for Tourism's Restart & Recovery - Part 2

June 25, 2020
As the number of COVID-19 cases surge across large parts of the U.S., the importance of a comprehensive recovery plan for tourism and the economy has never been more timely.
blue background with topography design

Eight Essentials for Tourism's Restart & Recovery - Part 1

June 23, 2020
Travel and tourism in the U.S. and in many parts of the world is in crisis. Many travel and hospitality-related businesses are struggling to build a sustained recovery, still reeling from a collapse in travel and local business.
woman in red coat and bicycle looking over harbor of boats

8 Ways to Build a More Sustainable Future for Tourism - Part 2

April 22, 2020
The 50th anniversary of Earth Day highlights the opportunity and critical importance of change. There is an opportunity for destinations to emerge from the current COVID-19 crisis with changes to spur a renewed focus on sustainability and stewardship.
person biking through amsterdam

8 Ways to Build a More Sustainable Future for Tourism - Part 1

April 21, 2020
This two-part blog series provides eight steps DMOs can take to reevaluate their sustainability efforts in light of the current COVID-19 crisis.
airplane wing in yellow horizon

Net Zero to New Zealand

September 17, 2019
A version of this opinion piece first appeared in New Zealand’s Inside Tourism around Earth Day in April 2019. That article can be read online here . For Earth Day...
miles blue article hero street line art

OTAs: Their Rewards & Risks in Hospitality, Part 1

October 04, 2016
The growth of Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) over the last decade has posed both real opportunities and major risks for the hospitality industry. These positives and challenges are particularly pronounced...
miles dark blue street line art

Destination Websites That Drive Travel

May 12, 2016
Miles, Destination Analysts and DMA West Foundation undertake the largest-ever website conversion study for destinations Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) in 2016 are reaching more potential travelers than ever before. With...

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