K Michael Haywood

Prof K Michael Haywood

Prof K Michael Haywood

K Michael Hay­wood is Pro­fess­or Emer­it­us, School of Hos­pit­al­ity, Food and Tour­ism at the Uni­ver­sity of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.

“As a former pro­fess­or and con­sult­ant to the hos­pit­al­ity and tour­ism indus­tries, I now host the Des­tin­a­tions-in-Action blog on substack from my Tour­ism Studio.”

Michael has also writ­ten for The “GT” Travel Blog.

Also find him on Linked­In.

What ‘good tourism’ needs: Listening, learning, leading

March 28, 2023

What's 'good tourism'? Image by FLY:D (CC0) via Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/@flyd2069

K Michael Hay­wood won­ders what the sub­ject­ive notion of ‘good tour­ism’ is, or could be, and how it might be achieved.  The ‘good’ in ‘good tour­ism’ rep­res­ents the search for that which is desir­able and deserving of esteem and respect. It sug­gests that tour­ism activ­it­ies be appro­pri­ate with­in future-ready soci­et­al, loc­a­tion­al, cul­tur­al, and oper­a­tion­al contexts. […]

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Douro on my mind: Measuring & marketing value during the ‘value crisis’

February 7, 2023
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Douro Valley, Portugal by by Maksym Kaharlytskyi (CC0) via Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/5ZmAyIG_OrI Price / value scale by Tumisu (CC0) via Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/illustrations/purchase-shopping-price-value-7307064/ Thought bubble by Clker-Free-Vector-Images (CC0) via Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/vectors/cloud-thinking-thought-bubble-304979/

Des­tin­a­tion mar­keters can exploit a gen­er­al per­ceived lack of value and trust to build affin­ity with pro­spect­ive vis­it­ors, accord­ing to K Michael Hay­wood.  In this “Good Tour­ism” Insight, Pro­fess­or Hay­wood describes the oppor­tun­ity for des­tin­a­tion mar­keters and the attend­ant chal­lenge for des­tin­a­tion man­agers. [You too can write a “GT” Insight.] It has been 20 years since […]

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Tourism’s thriveability requires performative change: The changemakers

December 13, 2022

Tourism’s thriveability requires performative change The changemakers Base image by by Paul Diaconu (CC0) via Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/photos/hard-hats-working-tools-builder-5028084/

If we were to boost tour­ism des­tin­a­tions’ capa­city to thrive, who are the likely change­makers? And what actions might they take? K Michael Hay­wood offers answers in this “Good Tour­ism” Insight. [You too can write a “GT” Insight.] In the first part of this art­icle, “Tour­is­m’s thrive­ab­il­ity requires per­form­at­ive change: The found­a­tions”, I laid out some […]

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Tourism’s thriveability requires performative change: Foundations

December 13, 2022

Tourism’s thriveability requires performative change The foundations Base image by Tom (CC0) via Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/photos/steel-mesh-frame-building-shell-6504537/

What are the basic require­ments for tour­ism des­tin­a­tions to thrive? K Michael Hay­wood lays them out in this “Good Tour­ism” Insight. [You too can write a “GT” Insight.] These days, anxi­et­ies are run­ning high. Our abil­ity to thrive is under threat.  Per­mac­rises are wreak­ing hav­oc:  No won­der so many com­pan­ies, com­munit­ies, and coun­tries are adrift; oth­ers lost […]

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Destination innovation is about more than technology

October 4, 2022

Destination innovation is more than tech. Image by Michal Jarmoluk (CC0) via Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/photos/innovation-business-businessman-561388/

Tech­no­logy alone is unlikely to solve all our prob­lems, or help us achieve all that we wish. This is true for tour­ism des­tin­a­tions as they look to innov­ate out of crisis and into an uncer­tain future. It’s a “GT” Insight by K Michael Hay­wood. [You too can write a “Good Tour­ism” Insight.] The World Tour­ism Innovation […]

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Tourism’s resilience relies on sustainable, regenerative, needs-based models

August 29, 2022

Can tourism be resilient, like ivy. Image by Alicia Mary Smith (CC0) via Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/GHoxPI8qvfs

For tour­ism des­tin­a­tions and ser­vice pro­viders to sur­vive and thrive in the face of cur­rent and loom­ing chal­lenges they must become more resi­li­ent, accord­ing to K Michael Hay­wood. Prof Hay­wood argues that this can be achieved by demo­crat­ising ‘com­munit­ies-as-des­t­in­a­­tions’ and enact­ing prin­ciples of sus­tain­ab­il­ity and regen­er­a­tion. Tourism’s reviv­al may be under­way, though its resi­li­ence is […]

Read More Tourism’s resilience relies on sustainable, regenerative, needs-based models