“Good Tourism” Insights

Dancers, singers, and drummers from a local women’s cooperative welcome visitors to the Red Rocks Cultural Center in Nyakinama village, Rwanda. Pic by David Gillbanks.

Dan­cers, sing­ers, and drum­mers from a loc­al women’s cooper­at­ive wel­come vis­it­ors to the Red Rocks Cul­tur­al Cen­ter in Nyak­i­n­ama vil­lage, Rwanda. Pic by Dav­id Gillbanks.

“Good Tour­ism” Insights are ori­gin­al posts by aca­dem­ics, experts, and prac­ti­tion­ers who are keen to share their sus­tain­able tour­ism and respons­ible tour­ism insights, expert­ise, and exper­i­ences for the bene­fit of all travel & tour­ism stakeholders.

Each “GT” Insight rep­res­ents the opin­ion of its author, NOT neces­sar­ily the opin­ion of The “Good Tour­ism” Blog, its Part­ners, or its pub­lish­er. The “Good Tour­ism” Blog neither pays nor is paid for any “GT” Insight. 

Any­one with an informed and sin­cerely-held opin­ion about travel & tour­ism is wel­come to sub­mit a “GT” Insight for pub­lic­a­tion. The “GT” Insight guidelines are very simple.

Prof Richard Butler on tourism’s challenges and academia’s inadequacies

December 12, 2023

Professor Richard Butler on tourism’s challenges and academia’s inadequacies ... "[Don't] let wishful thinking take precedence over logic"

As most travel & tour­ism stake­hold­ers rush towards an uncer­tain future filled with very real chal­lenges, Richard But­ler wor­ries that aca­demia is los­ing itself down ideo­lo­gic­al alley­ways and crit­ic­al cul-de-sacs. The cre­at­or of But­ler­’s Tour­ism Area Life Cycle (TALC) mod­el thinks it is import­ant for tour­ism research­ers and edu­cat­ors to check in with real­ity. Prof […]

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Posted in Insights & Best Practices, Insight Interviews
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Cash, time, or freedom: Travel & tourism is expensive

November 28, 2023

Then as now, tourism is expensive. Photo Cadbury Research Library, University of Birmingham.

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?

Read More Cash, time, or freedom: Travel & tourism is expensive
Posted in Insights & Best Practices, "Good Tourism" in England, "Good Tourism" in Europe, "Good Tourism" in the United Kingdom, "GT" Destinations & Places
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Michele Sambaldi on technology, overtourism, sustainability, & connectivity

November 21, 2023

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. [The full tran­scripts of the Tourism’s […]

Read More Michele Sambaldi on technology, overtourism, sustainability, & connectivity
Posted in Insights & Best Practices, Insight Interviews
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Prof Greg Richards on academic silos, localism, overtourism, and modernity

November 13, 2023

Prof Greg Richards took part in the Tourism's Horizon Interviews and spoke about 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 […]

Read More Prof Greg Richards on academic silos, localism, overtourism, and modernity
Posted in Insights & Best Practices, Insight Interviews
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Souvenirs: Our sensorial selves, memories of the future

November 2, 2023

Souvenirs from Portugal base image by Sunguk Kim (CC0) via Unsplash. "GT" added the words "Memories in future tense". https://unsplash.com/photos/assorted-color-toy-lot-WksmEy5wV1s

What do souven­irs mean to you?  What do they say about the people who col­lect them and the places souven­irs pur­port to rep­res­ent; then, now, and in the future?  It’s a “Good Tour­ism” Insight by K Michael Hay­wood. (You too can write a “GT” Insight.) Souven­irs Hav­ing returned from a month in Por­tugal my head, while […]

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“GT” Insight Bites: On empowerment, promotion, and the power of expression

October 26, 2023

Nyungura ‘Leonard’ Bapfakwita expresses himself in real time at the 2023 Red Rocks Cultural Festival in Rwanda. Picture by David Gillbanks.

Thanks to these two Rwandan tal­ents for con­trib­ut­ing to this instal­ment of “GT” Insight Bites: Leonard, who demon­strated his art in real time at the Red Rocks Cul­tur­al Fest­iv­al; Roger, who shared with me his love of birds as we walked through his beau­ti­ful vil­lage. You too can contribute.

Read More “GT” Insight Bites: On empowerment, promotion, and the power of expression
Posted in Insights & Best Practices, "Good Tourism" in Africa, "GT" Destinations & Places, “Good Tourism” in Rwanda, Insight Bites
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