Good news in tourism October 25 – 31, 2020
Because “you are what you are” …
Published every Sunday, “Good news in tourism” is the perfect pick-me-up for the start of a new week in travel & tourism … everyone’s business.
This week’s good travel & tourism news menu:
(Click / touch an item to go straight to it.)
It’s “Good Tourism”. And go!
“Good Tourism” news
Acclaimed environmentalist and sustainable development professional Dr Nirmal Shah has no problem admitting that he has no solution to conservation’s budget crisis in Seychelles. (How about you?) In a fresh “Good Tourism” Insight published Tuesday, the Nature Seychelles chief offers a brief history of ecotourism in Africa’s most prosperous nation and lets us in on the quandary he’s facing.
“From overtourism to no tourism in Seychelles: What now for conservation?”
Global Eco looks to leaders
Ecotourism Australia is calling on the leaders of the ecotourism industry to come together to drive recovery and positive growth. All of the 32 keynote speakers at “GT” Event Partner the Global Eco Asia-Pacific Tourism Conference 2020 in Margaret River, Western Australia, are leaders; 75% are CEOs and more than half run ecotourism businesses.
It’s all about hearing from those “with skin in the game”, said co-convenor Tony Charters AM. “One of the greatest strengths of the conference is that it brings together the sectors that facilitate a prosperous and sustainable ecotourism industry; the operators, protected area managers, destination managers, and tourism research community.” Register.
The importance of good partnerships
Many commentators would like to see destinations recover from the COVID-19 depression focused on quality rather than quantity. That would be nice, of course, particularly if host communities want that. However, some or many extant tourism stakeholders will likely go out of business. Don’t let one of those be you.
Seek out good partnerships with those who make you their priority.
“GT” is a good partner. Please verify that with a “GT” Partner and then ask about partnership opportunities. There’s a “GT” partnership opportunity for everyone — big or small; public or private; commercial or not-for-profit — because travel & tourism is everyone’s business. All “GT” Partners not only get a “Good Partner” banner and listing but also the outstanding opportunity every week to contribute positive news & comments to these almost-famous weekly “Good news in tourism” posts.
From Earth to your place
Every week, “GT” picks up travel & tourism news tidbits — from mostly non-industry and non-mainstream sources — and lays them out for you in “Good news in tourism”. And while your correspondent usually splits them up into arbitrary topics, the news items are always a mixed bag in terms of their geographic significance; from Earth to continent to nation to province to city to village to … your place? Tourism is, after all, everyone’s business.
Croatia and Italy are partnering in the SLIDES (Smart strategies for sustainable tourism in LIvely cultural DEStinations) project to develop tools, strategies, and policies that will help destinations sustainably manage tourism along the Adriatic coast. Five cities are involved: Croatia’s Dubrovnik and Sibenik, and Italy’s Venice, Bari, and Ferrara.
Global Himalayan Expedition, a social business from India, leads treks to remote Himalayan villages to set up solar microgrids. Having been recognised with an award, they now want to do the same in other countries. [Callback: In a “GT” Insight from 2017, Vandana Vijay of Offbeat Tracks described the logistical challenges of doing such work in “Going off track to find the right path for Himalayan tourism”.]
Barbados’ minister of tourism Lisa Cummins claims that investors are lining up to pump money into infrastructure projects, including for “ecotourism” and “specialty facilities”. And, based on forward bookings, tourism officials reckon hotel occupancy levels will recover to around 40% by the end of the year.
Sri Lanka wants to launch a new travel app for visitors to the country post-COVID. The app is expected to include information about all tourist destinations in the country and emergency contacts. Sounds great. However, libertarians may balk at its objective to “obtain all the information of potential travellers before they arrive in the country”. This includes “PCR test results, information on itinerary [as well as] real-time data of their whereabouts and so on”.
A fleet of zero-carbon coastal cargo ships may shift the transport of goods from the UK’s “already congested road and rail networks” onto water by 2030. This is the vision of the Zero-carbon Coastal Highway, which has been developed by a team led by Maritime Research & Innovation UK (MarRI-UK).
A Guam Daily Post editorial reckons some of the island’s tourism jobs and businesses can be saved if the US territory focussed now on small volumes of high value “niche tourists”. (Mass tourism “could become a health care nightmare in this pandemic”.) “How quickly Guam can bounce back may rely on people in leadership positions in our government who are bold enough to go big with new and sound ideas.”
The Responsible Tourism Mission of Kerala state in India and NotOnMap are partnering on a project that addresses COVID-era challenges faced by the rural tourism sector and helps them prepare for the “new normal”. [Look out for a “GT” Insight about Project TraVival, coming soon.]
India’s Odisha state tourism department will organise a three-month “eco retreat”, December 1, 2020 to February 28, 2021, to attract tourists to Bhitarkanika National Park and the country’s second-largest mangrove forest. “Fifteen luxury tents will be set up”.
An Indigenous conservation group in Mexico’s Sonora state released a record number of olive ridley sea turtle hatchlings into the Sea of Cortez this year. It’s an upside to no tourism during a time that has “brought sickness and death to our people and complicated the economic situation”. [Callback: In her second “GT” Insight, A Lajwanti Naidu wrote about “How tourism in India can help protect olive ridley turtles”.]
Governor Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island, USA’s smallest state by area, has announced a USD 20 million relief package for the hotel, arts, and tourism industries.
Citizens of Richmond, Virginia, USA can now learn more about their place online. Richmond Region Tourism has launched a virtual version of its popular “I Am Tourism” workshops. More than 2,600 “Ambassadors” have gone through the program since it was launched in 2015.
The city of Laval is buying two large islands in the Mille-Iles River near Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The islands, Ile aux Vaches and Ile Sainte-Pierrehome, are home to endangered species. Laval wants to protect them. “Eco-activities” like hiking, cycling, and paddling on and around the islands will be allowed.
Renewable energy now powers the nearly 10-kilometre stretch of festive lights in Blackpool, England. The town council’s broader plan is to achieve net-zero and 100% clean energy by 2030.
Busselton Jetty chief Lisa Shreeve and marine biologist Sophie Teede will speak about best practices in ecotourism at the Global Eco Asia-Pacific Tourism Conference 2020 in Australia. A “GT” Event Partner, Global Eco will take place in Margaret River, Western Australia, December 1 – 3.
The Great Barrier Reef Biobank, dubbed a “Noah’s Ark” for coral, is expected to be a major tourism attraction for the small town of Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia. “It would really cement our position as the leading destination for access to the Great Barrier Reef,” Tourism Port Douglas Daintree boss Tara Bennett reckons.
Mahagnao village, which manages the Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park in Philippines’ Leyte province, has used the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to brainstorm, refresh, and improve its tourism products. Myrna Agustin, the “people’s organisation” leader, reckons there are lots of exciting opportunities in ecotourism, food & beverage, and souvenirs. She’s excited about the reopening of the destination.
Featured image (top of post): Jacaranda trees bloom on a suburban street in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Native to Latin America and the Caribbean, jacaranda have been introduced all over the world. By LittleMouse (CC0) via Pixabay.
Friends indeed
“Friends indeed” are worthy travel & tourism industry fundraisers and charitable causes. Please help if you can. Share the page with your social networks. And link to it from your website or email signature.
Keep up with “GT”
If you like “GT” and you don’t want to miss a thing, subscribe to “GT’s” free e‑news:
Donations, diversity, disclaimers
To help your correspondent keep his energy-efficient lights on, please consider a private one-off gift or ongoing donation. THANK YOU to those who have! 😍
You are a tourism stakeholder — yes, YOU! — so what’s your view? Do you disagree with anything you have read on “GT”? Join the conversation. Comment below or share your “Good Tourism” Insights. Diversity of thought is welcome on The “Good Tourism” Blog. And you will be supporting an independent publisher with your original content.
Disclaimer 1: It is “GT’s” policy to fully disclose partner/sponsor content. If an item is not disclosed as partner or sponsor-related then it will have caught “GT’s” attention by some other more organic means. Partner with “GT”. You know you want to.
Disclaimer 2: None of the stories linked from this week’s post have been fact-checked by “GT”. All terminology used here is as the linked sources used it according to the knowledge and assumptions they have about it. Please comment below if you know there has been buzzword-washing or blatant nonsense relayed here, but be nice about it. As for “GT” bringing it to your attention for you to set the record straight, you’re welcome! 🙂
