Good news in travel & tourism October-November 2023
This ‘Good news in travel & tourism’ wraps up two months of “Good Tourism” & “GT” Travel news, insights, and experiences.
Share it as you would hummus …
It’s “GT”. And go!
Sharing menu
“Good Tourism” doesn’t judge. “GT” publishes.
Did you ever want to write a thoughtful piece about the state of the tourism industry; how we got here; how we can make it better (or avoid the worst)?
Has a lack of confidence in your writing held you back? Well, please don’t let it. Your correspondent is here to help you.
If you submit a draft that complies with the simple “GT” Insight guidelines, I will personally copy edit your work and ensure that you are happy with it before I click ‘Publish’.
The freedom to share
Just as “Good Tourism” never defines ‘good tourism’, “GT” will never judge anyone who would, in good faith, share their insights, ideas, expertise, experience, and wisdom. It’s part of “GT’s” mission to offer a platform for truly diverse perspectives and opinions:
- From established leaders in academia and industry to young people with the gumption to express themselves;
- From elite global organisations to the most modest of micro businesses (like “GT”);
- From the world’s ‘WEIRD’ (western, educated, industrialised, rich, and democratic) places to the ‘LDCs’ (least developed countries) in the ‘Global South’;
- (From those who adore acronyms and categories to those who despise them ;-))
- From the centre and from the margins.
No, “GT” doesn’t judge. “GT” publishes.
Join the “GT” network. Contact “GT” »
“GT” Insights: Informed perspectives on tourism
The “Good Tourism” Blog publishes informed opinions on the issues facing the travel & tourism industry, everyone’s business. “GT” Insights are diverse perspectives written by, for, and about our sector. Here are the most recent:
‘Where responsibility meets opportunity’ is where tourism faces its threats
Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Chair Peter Semone delivered an impassioned keynote address, October 4, on the eve of PATA Travel Mart 2023 in New Delhi, India.
This “Good Tourism” Insight version was published with Mr Semone’s blessing.
“GT” attended PATA Travel Mart at the kind invitation of PATA and thanks to the generosity of the event hosts, the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
As we gather here in New Delhi for the PATA Travel Mart 2023, the world is entering a critical time. We are living in a time where opportunities are boundless.
However, the risk of devastating crises that can destabilise global well-being is at an all-time high. I don’t have to remind you of the pain that we experienced with COVID across the globe.
The reality is that humankind is facing two existential threats that have the potential to devastate the travel & tourism industry. These two crises, if they escalate any further, will make COVID pale in comparison.
I refer to … Continue reading ‘‘Where responsibility meets opportunity’’
What is ‘mass tourism’? And what’s the problem?
What is ‘mass tourism’? How do we think about it and talk about it? Do we consider all of its contexts, costs, and benefits?
Does leisure travel for the many have its place in a ‘green’ future for us all? Or will it remain the privilege of a few?
Vilhelmiina Vainikka shared this “GT” Insight at the invitation of Tourism’s Horizon: Travel for the Millions, a “GT” Partner.
- What is ‘mass tourism’?
- Quantitative vs qualitative
- Contexts: The ‘good life’
- Is mass tourism a singularity or a plurality?
- Are the masses a threat?
- Let’s talk about mass tourism … deterministically or flexibly?
- Mass tourism vs the green transition
- Mass mobilities
- What do you think?
- About the author
On ‘permanent vacation’: Why digital nomads feel at ‘home’ in Bend, Oregon
or some, excessive work-related travel disrupts lives at home. For digital nomads, work makes itinerant lifestyles possible.
Digital nomads may be an attractive long-stay visitor segment for some destinations to target. But they won’t stay very long if they don’t like the place.
What makes destinations attractive to digital nomads? Ron Davidson and Ed Jackiewicz find some clues in Bend, Oregon.
It’s a “Good Tourism” Insight.
- Introducing Bend, Oregon
- From Old West to New West
- The rise of the digital nomad
- Bend’s trends
- Digital nomads are different
- Why digital nomads like Bend
- What do you think?
- About the authors
Souvenirs: Our sensorial selves, memories of the future
What do souvenirs mean to you?
What do they say about the people who collect them and the places souvenirs purport to represent?
It’s a “GT” Insight by K Michael Haywood.
Cash, time, or freedom: Travel & tourism is expensive
If one can put romantic notions of ‘the good old days’ aside, then one must acknowledge that travel was then, and is now, an elitist pursuit for those with the luxuries of cash, time, and/or freedom. Tourism is expensive.
Our industry has to change, according to Duncan M Simpson. But how?
Mr Simpson shares this “Good Tourism” Insight at the invitation of Tourism’s Horizon: Travel for the Millions, a “GT” Partner.
- A little freedom
- Difficult, expensive, and slow
- Slow, raw, and untidy
- Different now? Not really.
- Something needs to change
- What do you think?
- About the author
“GT” Insight Interviews
A “GT” Insight Interview is presented in a simple Q&A format or is a summary of an interview whose full transcript is available. The interviewer ensures that the interviewee’s considered answers are faithfully represented.
Prof Greg Richards on academic silos, localism, overtourism, and modernity
Greg Richards thinks more of us should lift our gaze from our narrow academic, business, and local concerns. We should scan the horizons of what we (think we) know, and try harder to understand the primordial instinct we have to travel and the human incentives that drive the tourism industry.
Professor Richards is the subject of the first in a series of Tourism’s Horizon Interviews. For this “Good Tourism” Insight, Jim Butcher summarises highlights of his in-depth interview with Prof Richards.
- Who is Professor Greg Richards?
- Tourism in the universities
- Widening research horizons
- Localism = authentic?
- ‘Overtourism’ or ‘overtoeristisering’?
- Mass tourism and modernity
- ‘Chance encounters and serendipitous experiences’
- What do you think?
- About the author
- About the Tourism’s Horizon Interviews
Michele Sambaldi on technology, overtourism, sustainability, & connectivity
Michele Sambaldi stresses the need to keep one’s promises in order to succeed in hospitality and tourism.
He also notes the contradictions inherent in discussions around overtourism, sustainability, infrastructure, and development.
Mr Sambaldi participated in a Tourism’s Horizon Interview. For this “Good Tourism” Insight, the interviewer Saverio Francesco Bertolucci summarises the highlights.
- Who is Michele Sambaldi?
- ‘BRAND’ matters in the high-tech present
- Overtourism vs the common good
- ‘Sustainability’ is an overused term
- The great connector
- What do you think?
- About the author
- About the Tourism’s Horizon Interviews
“GT” Insight Bites
A “GT” Insight Bites post is either a collection of short opinion pieces that travel & tourism stakeholders are welcome to submit at any time, or a compilation of short responses to an identical set of propositions and/or questions. Here are the most recent “GT” Insight Bites:
On enrichment, repatriation, the double-edged blade, and war
Write no more than 300 words on a travel & tourism topic that is important to you.
This is an open invitation to travel & tourism stakeholders to contribute a “GT” Insight Bite.
Simply contact “GT”. “GT” doesn’t judge. “GT” publishes.
Thanks to everyone who shared. Their responses appear in the order received.
- ‘Tourism has enriched my life’
- Thanks to tourism, I started a nursery school
- Tourism is ‘a double-edged sword’
- ‘When the war stops …’
- What do you think?
On empowerment, promotion, and the power of expression
Write no more than 300 words on a travel & tourism topic that is important to you.
This is an open invitation to travel & tourism stakeholders to contribute a “GT” Insight Bite.
Thanks to these good people who contributed to this instalment of “GT” Insight Bites:
- Leonard, who demonstrated his artistic talents in real time at the Red Rocks Cultural Festival in Rwanda, and with whom I shared a late evening meal.
- Roger, who shared with me his love of birds as we walked through his village.
In the order received:
- ‘My goal is to empower young people’
- ‘I get the chance to promote culture and conservation’
- What do you think?
“GT” Travel 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 most recent:
Guided by young people through Hanoi’s Old Quarter
Arriving in a new destination, travellers often scramble to get their bearings.
One can read a map, identify key landmarks, get a vantage from someplace high such as a mountain or tall building or, if one is fortunate enough, meet a local who will help them.
Orienting oneself is most challenging in large cities, particularly those in which the visitor does not speak the local language.
This was the case when we arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam in the winter of 2023.
Continue reading ‘Guided by young people through Hanoi’s Old Quarter’ by Ed Jackiewicz, Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies, and Ron Davidson, a cultural geographer, both at California State University, Northridge, USA.
Share a “GT” Travel Experience or “GT” Travel Postcard
Are you a ‘tourism insider’ keen to share some of the experiences that got you interested and keep you interested in the travel & tourism industry?
Have you ever wanted to write a travel blog about an inspiring travel experience … and have it published?
You are invited to share your travel passion with discerning travellers, and join a list of other distinguished “GT” Friends who have done just that.
It could be a “GT” Travel Experience (500 – 1,000 words) or a “GT” Travel Postcard (your favourite photo from a trip accompanied by an extended caption of up to 300 words).
It doesn’t matter if you think you can’t write. I will personally copy-edit your draft and ensure that you are happy with it before I hit the ‘publish’ button.
It’s all part of the “GT” Travel Experience.
Join the “GT” network. Contact “GT” »
Good news from friends
Good news in travel & tourism from the wonderful organisations that make “GT” possible. Here is some of what happened recently in the “Good Tourism” network:
It’s time for REAL change: TPCC ‘Tourism and Climate Change Stocktake 2023’
November 30, 2023: “The time for real change is now,” according to the TPCC (Tourism Panel on Climate Change).
The TPCC will launch its Tourism and Climate Change Stocktake 2023 on December 11 during a global online event at 0900 GMT/UTC, which will be repeated at 1700 for travel & tourism stakeholders around the world.
This first sectoral Stocktake has taken a year of research involving leading tourism and climate science experts and its release has been timed to link to the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 28) … Continue reading ‘It’s time for REAL change: TPCC ‘Tourism and Climate Change Stocktake 2023’’.
Degrowth no response to climate change, say PATA, India
New Delhi, India, October 5, 2023: Tourism’s degrowth is not an appropriate response to climate change according to both V Vidyavathi, Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, and Peter Semone, Chair of the Pacific Asia Travel Association.
In response to your correspondent’s question at the official media briefing session at PATA Travel Mart, Ms Vidyavathi said that degrowth was not a sustainable strategy.
She explained that it was the Ministry’s intent to grow tourism while promoting more sustainable forms of tourism via its Travel for LiFE initiative. “All for one; one for all.”
Additional Secretary Rakesh Kumar Verma had earlier talked about a target of 100 million international arrivals by 2046, up from the 17.9 million peak prior to COVID.
Mr Semone said that responding to climate change was about balance: The power of tourism to bring together humans would help alleviate the threat of geopolitical and social unrest; while concepts such as India’s Travel for LiFE would mitigate the negative effects of climate change.
Continue reading ‘Degrowth no response to climate change, say PATA, India’.
SUNx announces ‘Climate Friendly Travel Club’
Bali, Indonesia, October 2, 2023: In the iconic global tourism centre of Bali, SUNx — Strong Universal Network — announced that it was launching a new social enterprise for Climate Friendly Travellers, the Climate Friendly Travel Club.
Professor Geoffrey Lipman, President of SUNx, announced this during the World Tourism Network (WTN)’s TIME Summit with the formal signature of an SDG 17 Agreement with WTN.
Lipman said: “The Climate Friendly Travel Club is another step in our 2030 Strategy to help developing and small island states respond to the code red climate crisis using clean and green tourism as an economic development lifeline.
“It is symbolic of our commitment to social development and justice, through Climate Friendly Travel.” Continue reading ‘SUNx announces ‘Climate Friendly Travel Club’’.
Discover new carbon-neutral tours in destinations across Thailand
Did you attend World Travel Market 2023 looking for fun and inspiring new carbon-neutral tours for your increasingly conscientious and climate-aware customers?
You would have been in luck because the Thai Ecotourism and Adventure Travel Association rolled out 20 new, inspiring tours designed to reduce carbon emissions and fully offset the rest, in local, Thai projects.
TEATA’s participation at WTM 2023 was supported by the European Union (EU)-funded, SWITCH-ASIA Thai Tourlink Project.
They will also attend ITB Berlin 2024. To organise a meeting online, please contact switchasia@travelife.info.
Read ‘Discover new carbon-neutral tours in destinations across Thailand at WTM’.
Partnerships: Good partners are like family at Red Rocks Initiatives Rwanda
At Red Rocks Initiative for Sustainable Development in Rwanda we are always open to new partnerships. We recognise that good partners helped us take our very first steps. And good partners have helped us get to where we are now. They, and new partners, will be valued stakeholders in our ongoing journey.
More than stakeholders, good partners are like family to us. The photo above features members of our community, local artists, guides, visiting guests, and representatives of Kigali-based CC-JOBS. CC-JOBS and Red Rocks are partners in training professional chefs and raising the skills of home cooks in the area, yet here we are celebrating the official opening of the Red Rocks Community Arts Centre together. (I [Greg Bakunzi] am at the back wearing the white cap.)
Continue reading ‘Good partners are like family at Red Rocks Initiatives’.
The importance of good partnerships
To help you navigate dire straits, take the temperature in an uncertain climate, and keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, it’s wise to seek out good partners.
“GT” is a good partner. Verify that with a “GT” Partner and then look at partnership opportunities. There’s a package for everyone — big or small; public or private; commercial or not-for-profit — because travel & tourism is everyone’s business.
All “GT” Partners enjoy outstanding value, including the opportunity to contribute news to the “GT” newsletter and to these ‘good news’ wraps of a month or two of “GT” content.
Your comments
If there are comments on any “GT” post, you will find them below the main content of that post. You need to be signed in first.
The “GT” Blog requires registration and sign in to make comment, read comments, and reply to comments. Why? Because “GT” is a ‘safe space’ for diverse perspectives and respectful, friendly debate.
You will NOT be banned for your off-the-wall opinions or your weird sense of humour (even if the capricious algorithms of our big tech overlords punish the publisher).
However, you WILL be banned for engaging in argumentum ad hominem. If you disagree with something, always tackle the argument not the individual making it.
Join the “Good Tourism” community
Friends indeed
“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 time … And when you travel, remember:
It’s not ‘no’. It’s ‘know’.
Gotta go? Then go!
If you’ve time, go slow
If you don’t, try low
Do what you know is good
And know there is more to know
Featured image (top of post)
Share ‘Good news in travel & tourism October-November 2023’ as you would hummus. Image by Andrea (CC0) via Pixabay.
Donations, diversity, disclosure
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 your original content supports an independent publisher.
Partner with “GT”. You know you want to. Here are some testimonials.
Note: It is “GT’s” policy to fully disclose Partner or sponsored content. If an item associated with a “GT” Partner is not disclosed as such, then it either met the “GT” Insight guidelines (including “avoid sales pitches”) or it was a simple oversight.
