Good news in travel & tourism October 2021
Share it like you would an Indian rojak.
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- “GT” Experiences
- “GT” Insights
- Good news from friends (including jobs)
- Practise what you preach, Professor
- Imposter outed on podcast
- Friends indeed
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“GT” Experiences: Informed inspiration for travellers
The “Good Tourism” Blog’s young sibling The “GT” Travel Blog publishes informed inspiration and top tips for travellers from tourism insiders. Here is the latest:
Find five-star dining in surprising Mae Sot
“Mae Sot has been a convenient place for foreign tourists to cross the border to renew their Thai visa […] Thus I had primarily associated the city with easy ‘visa runs’. However, a business trip combined with a long weekend changed my perception …” _ Sophie Hartman of “GT” Partner ASSET‑H&C in “Find five-star dining in surprising Mae Sot”
“GT” Insights: Informed perspectives on the industry
The “Good Tourism” Blog publishes informed opinions on the issues facing our industry, everyone’s business. “GT” Insights are diverse perspectives written by, for, and about the travel & tourism sector. Here are the latest from the month that was:
Africa must put communities, conservation at the centre of travel & tourism recovery
Picking up on the reports, findings, declarations, and statements of organisations and opinion leaders in Africa and around the world, tourism scholar Edwin Magio calls upon African travel & tourism stakeholders to put words into action.
Can tourism destinations-as-communities be better & smarter by design?
What does it mean to collaboratively design tourism at the community level? And to what end? If it is to strive towards a ‘good’, ‘better’, ‘smarter’ tourism, what does that look like? Retired university professor K Michael Haywood shares his vision.
‘Real-life tourism’: The essence of regenerative tourism
Bronwyn Hutchison would like to see more examples of regenerative tourism in practice. Here she sheds light on a family-run lodge and tour operation in New Zealand whose regenerative practices are rooted in Māori beliefs and customs.
Three steps travel companies can take to contend with climate change
How does one take meaningful action to back up a potentially hypocritical declaration about climate? This is a question that travel & tourism companies must contend with right now. Francesca Gallone suggests three steps.
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Good news from friends
Good news in travel & tourism from the wonderful organisations that make “GT” possible. Here is some of what happened this month in the “Good Tourism” network, including human capital news (jobs, training, etc.):
Cardamom Tented Camp earns global accolade for its sustainability story
Cardamom Tented Camp ecolodge in Cambodia is one of Green Destinations’ 2021 Top 100 Destination Sustainability Stories. The announcement was made October 5 during Green Destinations’ online annual conference.
STREETS International: ‘Sustainable tourism at its best’
STREETS International is a social enterprise with a mission to create a better future for disadvantaged youth in Vietnam via hospitality training. If you travel to the lovely UNESCO World Heritage town of Hoi An, be sure to visit STREETS Restaurant Café.
DASH-2-Zero: SUNx releases second CFT report
The SUNx Program has released its second annual Climate Friendly Travel Report ahead of the COP 26 Climate Summit in Glasgow. It calls for climate resilience, “DASH-2-Zero” emission reduction, and sustainability in response to the UN’s “Code Red for Humanity” rhetoric. Download the report.
Is the UK outbound market important to you?
World Travel Alliance has created an infographic indicating that, among other things, travel confidence among British travellers has returned to pre-pandemic levels as the government scraps its “traffic light” system. And former “red list” countries are rapidly climb the rankings of most searched destinations.
Off Season Adventures adds Rwanda
“Known as the land of 1,000 hills, Rwanda has some of the most stunning landscapes in Africa,” Off Season Adventure said as they announced their new destination. OSA is working with Rwanda Eco Company and Safaris to develop unique itineraries and options. Facebook announcement.
New life in Laos
WeAreLao has relayed the news that Mae Khoun Noy has given birth. The proud mum is an elephant at the Elephant Conservation Center (ECC) in Sayabouly, Laos. The 49-year-old was rescued in 2018, when traffickers tried to smuggle her and 12 other elephants to Dubai. Both cow and calf are doing well as evidenced by this video that was also brought to my attention by “GT” Insight Partner Work for Wild Life:
What’s new at CABI Tourism Cases
New tourism-related case studies in October from the inter-governmental organisation CABI (subscription required to access):
- ‘Parkbus: More people in nature, less pollution’ (Ontario, Canada)
- Walking backwards into the future (New Zealand)
- The Caribbean’s first carbon neutral hotel (Aruba)
- ‘If we don’t get organised, someone will organise us’ (Quebec, Canada)
- Evolving with the trends, but sticking to your values (Crete, Greece)
- Change needs community (Tanzania)
- Swim a mile in their fins (South Africa)
- How small scale social media campaigns funded 20 guest houses (Albania)
- How do we measure sustainability? (Mexico)
- The cogs in the machine (Slovenia)
- Managing crisis at speed (Asia Pacific)
- Which route is right? (South and Central America)
- From fishless to USD5 billion (Iceland)
- No reputation? No problem (France)
- Simple goals make sustainability happen (USA)
SUNx signs Glasgow Tourism Declaration
“The Glasgow Tourism Declaration is a great start to improve sector climate response, and we are pleased to be an early signatory,” SUNx Malta president Geoffrey Lipman writes. “It moves in the right direction, but it has to go further and it has to go faster [including] a DASH-2-Zero.” Full statement.
And the Honey goes to …
The Center for Responsible Travel (CREST) has bestowed its Martha Honey Legacy in Responsible Travel Award upon Geoffrey Lipman of “GT” Partner the SUNx Program for his “leadership in addressing the current tourism and climate crisis, climate-friendly advocacy, and mentorship”.
COVID challenges Laos’ coffee culture too
Saffron Coffee in Luang Prabang, a “profit-for-purpose enterprise” supporting more than 485 coffee-growing families in northern Laos has had to ramp up less profitable exports. Lockdowns have hampered the ability to meet growers and inspect crops. John Morris Williams interviews Saffron’s Todd Moore.
Human capital: policy, vacancies, education, training
Job vacancies listed here may be filled already if they are from earlier in the month. To learn of vacancies in a more timely manner, subscribe to the “GT” newsletter.
Khiri Travel seeking general manager
Khiri Travel is looking to hire a general manager to be based in Bangkok. Willem Niemeijer, CEO of Khiri’s parent company YAANA Ventures, reckons it is “a challenging and fun position to take on at the start of an exciting time” as Thailand reopens.
Are green skills needed in tourism & hospitality?
ASSET‑H&C has organised an online workshop for tourism & hospitality educators on the relevance of green skills for the workforce. The workshop will take place November 12 at 1400 – 1530 (UTC+7). More information and registration.
ASSET‑H&C family grows with Spoons Cambodia
“We are thrilled to welcome Spoons Cambodia (formerly EGBOK) as part of our network and we look forward to going further together,” ASSET‑H&C team leader Sophie Hartman said. Spoons provides vocational training to rural and poor youths.
La Boulangerie Française shortlisted for women’s empowerment
ASSET‑H&C member La Boulangerie Française in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam has been shortlisted for the RAJA-Danièle Marcovici Foundation Public Choice Award 2021. The prize recognises women’s empowerment efforts. Vote for La Boulangerie before November 8. All nominees.
Khiri celebrates K Ving
Khiri Travel has shone the spotlight on Apichart Chinarongsing or “Ving”. An English-speaking guide and tour leader for Khiri Thailand since 2011, Ving “can handle tough clients very smoothly with his words and his actions”. “I always love meeting new people [and] sharing my knowledge of Thailand,” he said.
ASSET‑H&C, IECD seek entrepreneurship consultant
ASSET‑H&C and IECD are seeking an entrepreneurship consultant to help “create a micro enterprise incubator mechanism that addresses the specific needs of disadvantaged youth graduating from a hospitality or catering vocational training centre”.
ASSET‑H&C partner seeks consultant
ASSET‑H&C partner Apprentis d’Auteuil is seeking a consultant to be based in Cambodia to conduct a comparative study of the business models of social enterprises specialised in training and professional integration. Terms of reference and application info.
Room for one more hospitality trainer
ASSET‑H&C member the Hospitality & Catering Training Center in Mae Sot, Thailand, is looking for a hospitality trainer for its room division. LinkedIn post. Meanwhile, learn why Nguyen Van Duc is so proud of being a bakery and pastry trainer at La Boulangerie Française Hué, Vietnam. Facebook post.
World Teachers’ Day tribute
On World Teachers’ Day, October 5, ASSET‑H&C paid tribute to its change-makers who “work tirelessly to improve disadvantaged students’ lives and play an instrumental role in mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ education”.
Back to the top of “Good news from friends” ^
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, 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 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 enjoy: a 85 x 85 “Good Partner” button; input into “GT’s” curated list of worthy charitable causes “Friends indeed”; and the outstanding opportunity every week to contribute positive news items to the “GT” newsletter.
Practise what you preach, Professor
This rant by your correspondent appeared in the October 17, 2021 edition of the “GT” e‑newsletter (subscribe to the “GT” newsletter for free here):
Check out this carbon-black nugget of hypocrisy: “Climate change researchers, especially professors, fly more than other researchers.”
Yes, okay, they are also more likely to offset their travel.
However, whereas every flight is an immediate dump of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, offsets have medium- to long-term effects. Surely offsets are inadequate in a scenario of climate ‘crisis’ or ’emergency’, no?
The best offsetting mechanisms should be used regardless. Climate change will probably become a real problem for a lot of people, eventually, if it isn’t already. However, as I’ve written before, I’m not going to declare an ’emergency’ and then continue travelling. That would make me a hypocrite.
Unnecessary travel and all but the most localised tourism represent the lowest-hanging fruit in any sincere response to a climate ‘emergency’; just as they have been easy pickings during the COVID-19 pandemic. As an industry, we don’t want to actively position ourselves as fall guy number one, do we?
So, how do we contend with climate change?
To the extent that there is still scepticism, the free marketplace of ideas will sort it out eventually. Witness News Corp’s recent pivot to support a net-zero target in Australia. In any case, I’m not sure how we can expect everyone to bend the knee to the gospel of ‘The Science’ of climate change, evolving as it is, while the more established (small ‘s’) science of human reproductive biology is being challenged for sociopolitical ends. (Whether or not the ends are valid is irrelevant to my point. Means matter.)
Personally, I’m wary of top-down authoritarianism. (Yet, through “GT”, I have published the sincerely-held opinions of those who are amenable to it.) In liberal democracies, to resort to authoritarian tactics is to have failed to communicate with and convince enough people to make remnant dissent irrelevant.
Whether or not governments lead, pull, prod, or follow on the issue of climate change, technological innovation, community and individual adaptation, and voluntary behavioural change will constitute most of the solution for our industry, and our species … as they always have!
To that point, “GT” Partner SUNx’ ‘moonshot’ advocacy around alternative fuels, and their climate-friendly travel registry, make a lot of sense. While less slick and headline-friendly, perhaps, than Tourism Declares’ ‘emergency’ rhetoric, SUNx’ messaging is certainly more logically consistent.
Maybe Tourism Declares’ use of ‘emergency’ is like the ‘defund the police’ movement in that the activists don’t literally mean that … or do they? It depends who’s asked.
(It was interesting in March 2020, before COVID started biting, to learn from some of the Tourism Declares signatories on what they meant by the “system change” and “regulatory action” that they were calling for.)
So, how do we contend with climate change?
(I’m not avoiding my own question, am I? Maybe I am …)
The short answer is: I dunno.
What I do know is that we need greater sincerity and humility and charity in our public discourse around climate change, and every other issue of importance.
And, for our own credibility and to sleep better at night, we need to say what we mean and do what we say.
Continuing to facilitate travel & tourism during an ’emergency’ … ? That doesn’t sound right to me. So to those who rely on unnecessary travel for their livelihoods, perhaps it’s more appropriate to share concerns and ideas than it is to declare “emergency”.
In trying to be ‘good’, whatever that means to you, please try not to be a hypocrite. It’s unbecoming of anyone with any self-respect, let alone a professor.
Also know that it is okay to be wrong and imperfect. With respect, Prof, I know a whole lot about that!
Imposter outed on podcast
The other week in the “GT” e‑newsletter I promised to share a podcast episode featuring yours truly; should it ever be allowed out in public. Well, here it is: A conversation about ‘good tourism’ between Lauren Uğur and David Gillbanks.
You can also search for “Conversations in Tourism” on your favourite podcatcher. (I use Podcast Addict on my Android phone, for I am indeed a podcast addict.)
On “Conversations in Tourism” you’ll find episodes with people who are actually worth listening to, including “GT” guest author Jim Butcher. (I’m the exception that proves it.)
Apologies for my … No, I’m not going to apologise for my voice, filtered as it was through the built-in mic on my thin and light, and the ‘broadband’ available in this corner of the ‘industrialised’ world.
I’ve known forever that my speaking voice is perfect for print; just as my face is fabulous for radio. And I don’t use it (my voice) much. I’ve got eyes and ears and an open (empty?) mind, y’see.
Podcast host Lauren Uğur’s voice, on the other hand, is as clear as a bell. The pod’s worth listening to if only for her South African tones and for her polite and professional responses to my nonsense.
I know that I am able to express myself gooder and more edumacated-like in written form. Still, notwithstanding my hyperbole and bad analogies and repetition and repeating myself, and y’know … umm … hesitation and n‑nerves, I stand by what I said; mostly because it’s all just an admission of my uncertainty, confusion, and refusal to repress my nomadic urges as (other) hypocrites scream …
“EMERGENCY!”
Yes, I’ve been outed as an imposter in this highly complex, cross-cutting industry … But that’s okay, because rather than serve you a word salad of buzz phrases and borrowed virtue, I’m trying to be ‘authentic’.
As the publisher of “GT” I’m no longer the corporate shill I once tried to be. I’m much more likely to call out bull$hit when I see it (and laugh at my own).
And, anyway, even if I were an imposter in your eyes or anyone else’s, tourism is everyone’s business! So there. 🙂
Tourism is everyone’s business. Travel is everyone’s pleasure.
Freedom of movement is a basic human right. And the 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” and “GT” Travel 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.
Friends indeed
“In 2021, the world continues to face the dire challenges of the coronavirus pandemic,” writes Neal F Bermas, founder of the hospitality training social enterprise STREETS International. “During this period STREETS has been forced to temporarily suspend operation. Rising to the challenge, the small remaining STREETS team have created an emergency fund to support STREETS graduates, and others from similar hospitality and culinary training programs …”
The STREETS Emergency Fund has provided emergency support during the pandemic for “nearly 500 recipients”. Supporters can also purchase cookbooks and merchandise from STREETS’ online shop.
“Friends indeed” are worthy travel & tourism industry fundraisers and charitable causes that are associated with or suggested by “GT” Partners and friends. Please help them if you can. Share the page with your networks. And link to it from your website.
Stay healthy, smile, have a good week … And when you travel, remember:
It’s not ‘no’. It’s ‘know’.
Featured image (top of post): Singaporean Indian rojak: A delicious diversity of textures and flavours with a rich chilli, peanut, and sweet potato dipping sauce on the side. It’s perfect for sharing, just like “GT” content. Image by Jason Goh (CC0) from Pixabay.
Donations, diversity, disclosure
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