What is good tourism? “Good Tourism” & “GT” Travel January-February 2026
Welcome to the January-February 2026 wrap of “Good Tourism” & “GT” Travel news, insights, and experiences shared by friends and Partners of The “Good Tourism” Blog. [You too can share.]
What is good tourism?
The “Good Tourism” Blog never defines ‘good tourism’. Your correspondent would never be so bold. The fact is that what’s good for one stakeholder may not be good for another.
The travel industry is complex, so it is a good idea to open one’s mind to perspectives one may never otherwise encounter.
This is the “Good Tourism” mission. It’s “GT”. And go!
Sharing menu
“Good Tourism” 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:
Imagining peace: How travel writing bridges divides between Israel and the UAE
Following the 2020 Abraham Accords, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) transformed from a distant adversary to a popular holiday destination for Israelis. From virtually zero visitors prior to the Accords, Israel surged to become Dubai’s eighth-largest source market for tourism by early 2023.
Dr Irit Shmuel and Prof Paolo Mura analyse how travel narratives are helping to bridge the cultural divide. Thanks to “Good Tourism” Insight Partner Tourism’s Horizon: Travel for the Millions for inviting them to share this “GT” Insight.
- Tourism and the production of meaning
- From diplomacy to everyday travel
- Tourism writing as a cultural lens
- A model of how tourism shapes peace imaginaries
- Peace at the level of imagination
- What did we learn from this study?
- What do you think?
- About the authors
The flaw in sustainability: Why responsible tourism avoids hard questions
Ewan Cluckie argues that travel & tourism’s sustainability claims have created a credibility crisis, and that it is time to ask hard questions about ownership, governance, and incentives.
It’s a “Good Tourism” Insight. (You too can write a “GT” Insight.)
- Sustainability: Much talk, declining trust
- The limits of sustainability as it is commonly practised
- The questions we tend not to ask
- The gap between standards and assurance
- The case for transparency
- Why regulation is shifting the burden
- Moving from practices to structure
- A more honest phase of responsible tourism
- What do you think?
- About the author
- Featured image (top of post)
What does good tourism mean to you?
Have you ever wanted 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 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” Insight Bites
A “GT” Insight Bites post is a compilation of short responses to an identical set of propositions and/or questions, and/or a collection of short opinion pieces that travel & tourism stakeholders are welcome to submit at any time (BiteX). Here are the most recent Bites:
Is a tourism career a ticket or a trap?
Is a career in travel & tourism a ticket to the world or a trap? What is your honest advice to a young person entering the industry today?
That’s a “Good Tourism” Insight Bites question.
Thanks to the four respondents writing in from Canada and Southeast Asia for their considered thoughts on tourism and hospitality careers.
And thanks to David Beirman from Australia for his “GT” Insight BiteX on academia’s relationship with sustainability.
Have a thought to share?
Respond in the comments at any time. Or write a Bite of your own.
[Click/touch an item on the Bites menu to go straight to it.]
- A career in tourism is a ‘golden ticket’ and ‘profound responsibility’
- Tourism is a ‘bifurcated world of hosts and guests’
- Honest hospitality is not something a computer can do
- If you love your job, it can be your ticket to the world
- “GT” Insight BiteX (‘X’ is up to you)
- Academia’s drift from reality on sustainable tourism
- What do you think?
What’s the point of UN Tourism?
What’s the point of UN Tourism?
Thanks to the four good people who responded to this “GT” Insight Bites question. Their responses appear in the order I received them.
Have a thought to share?
Respond in the comments at any time. Or write a Bite of your own.
- Why would anyone question the UN’s value to tourism?
- UN Tourism: A flawed force for good
- UN Tourism can’t fix the traveller ‘say-do’ gap
- The point of UN Tourism: Does anyone know? Plus other thoughts
- The ‘engine room’ of global tourism?
- What do you think?
What’s AI doing for you?
In what way is artificial intelligence (AI) changing the way you work, hire, learn, or teach?
With perspectives from senior people in travel & tourism’s business, academic, activist, airline, and NGO worlds — and even from Iran — there is more depth in this compilation of “GT” Insight Bites than you might initially presume; despite AI being “the hottest (and maybe the most boring) subject of the moment”, as one respondent described it.
As a non-technical person trying to live in the moment, I agree. While AI is indeed boring to the likes of me — technically minded futurists would disagree — I know it cannot be ignored. And, as evidenced by “GT’s” transparent use of AI, I find it quite helpful.
Have a thought to share?
Respond in the comments at any time. Or write a Bite of your own.
- AI is ‘amplifying’ expertise for climate action
- AI is an antidote to the blank page
- AI can be a ‘constructive force’ for ‘meaningful tourism’
- AI is ‘a means to an end, not an end in itself’
- AI enhances the human touch in community-based tourism
- We published an AI-produced magazine to be read at 30,000 feet
- What do you think?
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:
Khiri Travel achieves GSTC certification across eight Asian destinations
Khiri Travel, the Southeast Asia-based destination management company, has earned certification as a sustainable tour operator by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.
YAANA Ventures’ walkathon to support eight Asian charities
Diversified sustainable travel group YAANA Ventures held simultaneous walkathons in 10 Asian destinations to boost eight local charities.
The walkathons took place on February 1, 2026, in Nonthaburi and Khao Sok in Thailand; Kandy, Sri Lanka; Sanur, Bali, Indonesia; Vientiane, Laos; Yangon, Myanmar; Cebu, the Philippines; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and Koh Kong and Phnom Penh in Cambodia.
- Team effort
- Outreach
- Tourism as a force for good
- Join the walk
- About YAANA Ventures
- About Khiri Reach
From conservation to regeneration: APE Malaysia’s decade of purpose-driven tourism
At APE Malaysia (Animal Projects & Environmental Education), our work sits at the intersection of wildlife conservation, ecosystem restoration, and responsible tourism.
From the outside, our programmes may appear diverse; structured volunteer programmes, wildlife enrichment, reforestation, environmental education, and community engagement.
From the inside, they are tightly connected by one guiding principle: tourism must contribute to ecological recovery rather than accelerate environmental loss.
- Rehabilitation is only the first step
- Without forests, there is no future for wildlife
- Community partnership as a conservation requirement
- Engaging tourism and corporate partners with integrity
- Tourism as a tool for regeneration
- Looking ahead
- Contact APE Malaysia
The importance of good partnerships: “GT” needs you
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.
To continue, “GT” needs new Partners. And soon.
Check out the list of current Partners, then look at the pricing available in the Partnership info PDF. You do the math.
Yes, yours truly, the publisher, would appreciate your help. But do contact me soon, because …
“GT” Partnership places are strictly limited!
“GT” is a good partner. There is a “GT” Partnership package for any organisation — big or small; public or private; commercial or not-for-profit — because travel & tourism is everyone’s business.
“GT” Partners enjoy outstanding value, including Partner messages, and the opportunity to contribute news to the “GT” newsletter and to these ‘What is good tourism?’ wraps.
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 (within reason; 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:
#KnowNotNo … 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)
What is good tourism? Is it like sharing a hotpot? Perhaps you’ll find the answer in the “Good Tourism” & “GT” Travel wrap for January-February 2026. Perhaps not. The featured image was Gemini-generated. “GT” added the word “Share …”
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.
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.
