“Good Tourism” Destinations & Places

“GT” Des­tin­a­tions & Places is all about con­fid­ent des­tin­a­tions, their spe­cial places, and the travel & tour­ism stake­hold­ers there who are keen to show­case their good, their bet­ter, and their best.

“Good Tourism” Destination Partnership

For “GT” Des­tin­a­tion Part­ner­ship or sponsored con­tent about your spe­cial place, please click here for more inform­a­tion.

The PR challenge of opening Thailand safely to inbound travel & tourism

March 11, 2021
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Smiling eyes of a Bangkok taxi driver. Image by David Gillbanks

The COV­­ID-induced travel & tour­ism depres­sion has hit Thai­l­and hard. Ranked eighth in terms of inter­na­tion­al vis­it­or arrivals in 2019, Thai­l­and is the poorest of the des­tin­a­tions in the top 10. It is no won­der then that an industry-led pub­lic rela­tions cam­paign advoc­at­ing for a safe reopen­ing has emerged: #OpenThai­l­and­Safely. Head­ing up its mes­saging and […]

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Losing Lutruwita: Tourism troubles in Tasmania’s World Heritage wilderness

March 9, 2021

At the centre of a controversy is Halls Island on Lake Malbena in the middle of Walls of Jerusalem National Park, which is part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Tasmania, Australia. Image by Rob Blakers (c) supplied by Tom Allen of the Wilderness Society Tasmania.At the centre of a controversy is Halls Island on Lake Malbena in the middle of Walls of Jerusalem National Park, which is part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Tasmania, Australia. Image by Rob Blakers (c) supplied by Tom Allen of the Wilderness Society Tasmania.

The World Her­it­age wil­der­ness of Lut­ruwita (the palawa kani name for the island of Tas­mania) is under threat from col­lu­sion between state gov­ern­ment and private tour­ism interests, accord­ing to Tom Allen. The Wil­der­ness Soci­ety cam­paign man­ager reck­ons tour­ism does best when it com­ple­ments not com­prom­ises nat­ur­al val­ues. It’s a “Good Tour­ism” Insight. Upon sign­ing the […]

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What to keep, change, do in a crisis (and why we should give a sh*t)

February 23, 2021

A Live Ningaloo tour group encounters humpback whales. Photo: Ningaloo Aviation & Jacob Hill supplied by Live Ningaloo.

Sonia Beck­with’s tiny Aus­trali­an eco­tour­ism oper­a­tion Live Nin­ga­loo faced an exist­en­tial crisis in 2020, like so many travel & tour­ism busi­nesses glob­ally did (and still do). In this “Good Tour­ism” Insight, her second, Ms Beck­with shares the value of caring — a lot! — and how she har­nesses and sus­tains it. When my part­ner and I foun­ded our micro tourism […]

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Sustainable tourism’s endless balancing act: Preserving, promoting Ras Al Khaimah

February 16, 2021

Abseiling in Ras Al Khaimah. Source: Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority

The new year is an oppor­tun­ity to reflect on the val­ues that mat­ter to the travel & tour­ism industry even after the pan­dem­ic ends, accord­ing to Raki Phil­lips of the Ras Al Khaimah Tour­ism Devel­op­ment Author­ity. In this “Good Tour­ism” Insight, Mr Phil­lips explains how the Emir­ate is embed­ding sus­tain­ab­il­ity into everything it does. Let me […]

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Vietnam’s ‘little tiger’ meat trade and why travel & tourism should help tackle it

February 9, 2021
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May 21, 2019 in Hanoi, Vietnam: Cat in a cage, ready to be sold, killed, and cooked © FOUR PAWS

From the front line of a fight to end Viet­nam’s trade in cats for their meat, veter­in­ari­an Kath­er­ine Polak of FOUR PAWS Inter­na­tion­al explains why the cat meat trade presents a danger to travel & tour­ism, and how industry stake­hold­ers can pledge their sup­port. It’s a “Good Tour­ism” Insight.  Images in this post may cause […]

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Engaged in green: Crowne Plaza Vientiane, Laos


Crowne Plaza Vientiane, subject of a Sustainable Tourism Laos Showcase by "Good Tourism" Partner We Are Lao.

The first Sus­tain­able Tour­ism Laos Show­case by “GT” Des­tin­a­tion Part­ner WeAre­Lao asks: “How does IHG imple­ment its strict Green Engage glob­al guidelines in Laos?”  “It’s hard work to get to where we want to go,” said Crowne Plaza Vien­tiane Gen­er­al Man­ager Pat­ria Puyat, “but it can be done.” “Sus­tain­ab­il­ity is the right thing to do,” Ms Puyat said. […]

Read More Engaged in green: Crowne Plaza Vientiane, Laos