The five most visited “Good Tourism” posts of 2020 (& all time)
I jot down this irrelevant preamble on December 31, 2020 … Most of the past 364 days have been terribly tough for many, of course, especially travel & tourism folk. Can’t say much more about it than every person and their pet has already said — “Good riddance 2020 … Hope 2021 is better … blah blah …” — except perhaps to remind us that there were marriages and births and graduations and other great life events taking place in 2020. Those people will look back on the year with at least some fondness and gratitude. For their sake at least, let’s not completely trash the year that was.
And, of course, some tourism & hospitality businesses in wealthy places are doing very well indeed, thank you very much, as locals spend their sizeable travel budgets much closer to home than they would otherwise.
There’s always a silver lining, a lesson to be learned, a positive to be drawn …
The five most visited “Good Tourism” posts published in 2020
Interestingly, two of the five (six) most visited “Good Tourism” posts of 2020 were published in February, before COVID lockdowns were a thing. Community was a strong theme in both of them. Only three of the five (six) were about COVID. And the most visited “GT” post published in 2020 wasn’t about COVID at all despite it being published since lockdowns were a thing.
- Regenerative tourism vs sustainable tourism: What’s the difference — August 4, 2020 — Susanne Becken and David Gillbanks explore some of the similarities and differences between the new buzz phrase “regenerative tourism” and the old buzz term “sustainable tourism”.
- Why tourism degrowth just won’t do after COVID-19 — July 14, 2020 — Among tourism academics and thinkers today — the outspoken ones at least — Jim Butcher is one of the few who would challenge the notion that post-pandemic tourism must — for the sake of the planet — be much diminished from what it was.
- How a small South African backpackers is making a big community-based difference — February 28, 2020 — The Hogsback region in the Eastern Cape of South Africa attracts visitors to its indigenous forests, lush mountainous landscape, and breathtaking hikes. Lieve Claessen and partner Elliot Sonjani operate Elundini Backpackers in a rural community at the edge of Hogsback. Ms Claessen shares some of the ongoing challenges facing Elundini and its host community.
- How a community-based tourism & homestay network empowers women in Nepal — February 4, 2020 — Tourism impact and sustainability expert Aadyaa Pandey discusses a few of the challenges overcome by Nepal’s Community Homestay Network (CHN). And she celebrate its positive impacts. Thanks to “GT” Insight Partner Second Look Worldwide for inviting Aadyaa to contribute this inspiring “GT” Insight about a social enterprise that arose from a modest yet wildly successful CSR project.
- (Equal fifth) Turn down the volume: How to plan for a sustainable tourism recovery after C‑19 — May 6, 2020 — Bangkok-based travel & hospitality entrepreneur and sustainable tourism advocate Willem Niemeijer sees an opportunity in the SARS-CoV‑2 crisis; an opportunity to rebalance tourism with more sensible management and less visitor volume. But make your plans swiftly because Mr Niemeijer reckons recovery will be faster than many think.
(Equal fifth) A community-based tourism dilemma: COVID’s ‘new normal’ vs ‘back to normal’ — November 10, 2020 — Skål recently recognised the International Trade Centre’s Myanmar Inclusive Tourism Project with a sustainable tourism award. In this “GT” Insight, Peter Richards describes the pre-pandemic promise of new community-based tourism products, their challenges now, and how communities are handling COVID safety concerns as they consider reopening.
The five most visited “Good Tourism” posts of all time
Newer “GT” posts naturally receive greater up-front visitation from a growing “GT” audience and social media presence, however older posts enjoy the benefit of search engine magic and inbound links accumulated over time. The most visited “GT” post of all time, written by Peter Semone and published all the way back in 2017, benefited greatly in 2020 from its subject matter being the the theme of World Tourism Day.
- Rural tourism: Delighting tourists, developing communities — August 12, 2017 — In July 2017, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) released its report on International Rural Tourism Development — An Asia-Pacific Perspective. The report presented best practices and successful strategies in rural tourism development throughout Asia Pacific and showcased the power that tourism has to help millions of people escape poverty and improve their livelihoods. Peter Semone was the report’s editor and in this “GT” Insight he let us in on some of what he learned.
- What’s Goa-ing on? The past, present and future of tourism in Goa — April 8, 2019 — Justine Calais of the Responsible Tourism Collective of Goa shares her “GT” Insight into what’s really going on with tourism in India’s Sunshine State.
- Elephants are smart. What if tourism jobs were good for them? — April 8, 2019 — Inspired by some surprising research results announced at a session of a Global Sustainable Tourism Council conference in Chiang Mai, February 2019, David Gillbanks asked a couple of elephant experts a few curly questions.
- Elephant tourism: The harms of received wisdom — June 26, 2017 — The “received wisdom” about elephant tourism that keeps conscientious travellers away from elephant-based attractions is doing more harm than good, according to elephant expert John Roberts in this “GT” Insights contribution.
- Regenerative tourism vs sustainable tourism: What’s the difference — August 4, 2020 — Susanne Becken and David Gillbanks explore some of the similarities and differences between the new buzz phrase “regenerative tourism” and the old buzz term “sustainable tourism”.
Have a brilliant 2021!
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Featured image (top of post): Five! Image by yohoprashant (CC0) via Pixabay.
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