Good news in tourism January 11 – 17, 2021
Because success is a mind game …
Published most Sundays, “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.)
- “Good Tourism” news & “GT” Insights
- Aviation
- Tourism jobs & economic development
- Travel & tourism planning
- Wildlife & ecotourism
- Odds & ends
It’s “Good Tourism”. And go!
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“Good Tourism” news & “GT” Insights
The newly-launched Worldwide Travel Alliance (WTA) — and the newest “Good Tourism” (“GT”) Partner — provides sales, marketing, representation, and public relations services to travel brands seeking sources of European customers ahead of the expected post-pandemic travel boom.
COVID-19 lockdowns have not only impacted travel & tourism, including wildlife tourism, but also wildlife itself. As a research ecologist, conservationist, eco-tour proprietor, and chair of Wildlife Tourism Australia, Ronda J Green is interested in all aspects of that. In her “Good Tourism” Insight published Tuesday, Dr Green summarises “The effects of COVID-19 lockdowns on wildlife and wildlife tourism”.
From the exciting prospect of a breakout season to the existential threat of bankruptcy, 2020 was a turbulent year for small Australian eco-tour operator Live Ningaloo. In her “Good Tourism” Insight published Thursday, Sonia Beckwith shares how she and her partner fought to keep their ecotourism dreams alive: “When the odds are against you: How a small tour operator survived 2020”
“GT” Partner the World Tourism Association for Culture and Heritage is “joining forces” with Charitable Travel. Charitable Travel makes it easy for travellers and tourists to donate to UK-based charities.
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 “Good news in tourism” posts and/or e‑news.
Aviation
Carbon-neutral aviation is possible, according to researchers from ETH Zurich, a public research university in Switzerland. They reckon the most economical way to achieve that now is to continue powering aircraft with fossil fuels but use carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and store C underground.
Egypt’s minister of petroleum & mineral resources Tarek Al-Molla will reduce the price of aviation fuel this month to help the tourism and aviation sectors. This came after a meeting between minister of tourism & antiquities Khaled Al-Anani and minister of civil aviation Mohammed Manar Enaba. There was an earlier price reduction in April 2020.
Urban air mobility startup Archer Aviation of the US has partnered with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles of the EU to start producing an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft by 2023. The aircraft is expected to have a range of 60 miles (96.6 km) at a speed of 150 mph (241.4 kph).
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Tourism jobs & economic development
Indonesia’s government plans to set up 200 “tourism villages” in the southernmost province of East Nusa Tenggara. Such villages create jobs and opportunities for locals and empower them economically, according to tourism and creative economy minister Sandiaga Uno. They will support Labuan Bajo, a fishing town on the western end of Flores Island and a “gateway” to Komodo National Park. Labuan Bajo is designated one of Indonesia’s five “super priority destinations”.
India’s Madhya Pradesh government wants to adopt Kerala’s Responsible Tourism Mission model, “aimed at development of village and local communities, eradicating poverty and giving emphasis to women empowerment”. A memorandum of understanding has since been signed by the states’ tourism ministers: Kadakampally Surendran of Kerala and Usha Thakur of Madhya Pradesh.
“Massive” plans to upgrade a castle precinct in Wales is expected to create 300 jobs. The idea is to turn Cyfarthfa Castle and its parklands into an attraction for half a million visitors a year.
Friends indeed
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Travel & tourism planning
Construction on a zero-carbon city will start this quarter. Saudi Arabia has planned The Line, a city of a million people powered by 100% clean energy as part of NEOM in the northwest of the Kingdom. The Line will be 170 kilometres long, without roads and cars, yet no journey along it (within it? through it?) will take more than 20 minutes.
In Colorado, USA, Visit Durango has released its 2021 – 2022 Destination Management & Marketing Strategic Plan. According to boss Rachel Brown, Visit Durango is making the move from destination marketing to destination marketing and management.
Ardebil is the first city in Iran to have been “completely evaluated” as part of a tourism planning process that is “under the auspices of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)”.
Sustainable tourism & responsible travel is everyone’s business
Freedom of movement is a basic human right. And the travel & tourism industry is everyone’s business. “Everyone” includes not only those who earn a living from the travel & tourism industry, but also people who travel, and people who live in places travelled to and through. EVERYONE. Please share “Good news in tourism” with your friends and colleagues. And dive deeper into “Good Tourism” Insights for ideas on how to make sustainable tourism and responsible travel better … for you, for your people, and for your place. For they are your people. And it is your place.
Wildlife & ecotourism
In the USA, the Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition has released Restoration and Renewal: The New Appalachian Economy, a report about projects that “clean up abandoned coal mine lands and brownfields [and] give them new life as solar energy sites, recycling centers, eco-tourism assets and other economic ventures”. The report profiles 19 projects in six states: Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Ornithologists have successfully halted a controversial road project in Nepal. The road will now not disturb the forest home of a rare bird and other endangered species. Furthermore, the scientists reckon there are opportunities for locals to develop “low-intensity sustainable tourism through nature and culture tours”.
The forest department of Uttarakhand, India will welcome tourists for the state’s first high-altitude snow leopard tours in February. It’s part of the Secure Himalaya project to “link conservation with livelihood”. Uttarakhand’s tourism department and the United Nations Development Programme have also worked on it.
The government of Togo in west Africa is planning a new ecotourism project for Akebou in the southwest. The project will include “a hotel that will require local materials”.
Odds & ends
Bits ‘n pieces that don’t necessarily fit into this week’s arbitrary clusters:
Multiple stakeholders in the Mahoosuc region centred around Bethel, Maine, USA have collectively launched The Mahoosuc Way. With five core values — honour the land; explore wisely; show respect; cultivate community; and be climate-conscious — it’s a pledge that residents and visitors may make to “Embrace Our Place”.
In Australia, the Queensland state government has extended the Year of Indigenous Tourism to the end of 2021 and announced AUD 200,000 (USD 156,000) in new funding to support Indigenous festivals, events, and jobs.
Myanmar’s “first community-based tourism [project? product?] situated on an island was opened at Don Nyaung Hmaing village in Kyunsu Township on January 10”.
The popular rural destination Mopungchuket village in Nagaland, northeast India is partially reopening to tourism after being closed since March 2020.
Stay healthy, smile, have a good week … And when you can travel again, remember:
It’s not ‘no’. It’s ‘know’.
Featured image (top of post): Whale shark, Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Image by Chris Jansen supplied by Live Ningaloo for “When the odds are against you: How a small tour operator survived 2020”.
Donations, diversity, disclaimers
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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! 🙂
