You’re invited: Learn about best practices at the EXO Foundation Sustainability Awards


EXO Foundation Sustainability Awards empowering sustainable tourism in Asia

You’re invited to the cere­mony of the third edi­tion of the EXO Found­a­tion Sus­tain­ab­il­ity Awards to take place on Octo­ber 1! 

This spe­cial event will hon­our out­stand­ing organ­isa­tions ded­ic­ated to pro­mot­ing sus­tain­able and respons­ible tour­ism, cel­eb­rat­ing their achieve­ments with well-deserved recog­ni­tion and awards.

What to expect …

Read More You’re invited: Learn about best practices at the EXO Foundation Sustainability Awards

As Bali runs dry, can tourism help replenish its water?


In Bali, water is essential to culture as well as life. As Bali runs dry, can tourism help replenish its water?

The travel & tour­ism industry can be expec­ted to hon­our the human right to water, par­tic­u­larly in com­munit­ies and des­tin­a­tions in which it operates. 

Industry stake­hold­ers need not see this as a bur­den, but rather as a com­pel­ling oppor­tun­ity to mean­ing­fully engage with loc­al people on secur­ing tra­di­tion­al water sup­plies, all the while devel­op­ing more sus­tain­able water and waste man­age­ment sys­tems of their own.

Nic­olaus Sulistyo sheds light on IDEP Found­a­tion’s Bali Water Pro­tec­tion (BWP) ini­ti­at­ive; an EXO Found­a­tion Sus­tain­ab­il­ity Award winner.

Read More As Bali runs dry, can tourism help replenish its water?

What is good tourism? “Good Tourism” & “GT” Travel wrap July-August 2025

August 29, 2025

What is good tourism? Share the “Good Tourism” & “GT” Travel wrap July-August 2025 as you would a green salad. Image by Nadine Primeau (CC0) via Unsplash. "GT" added the word "Share ..." https://unsplash.com/photos/sliced-broccoli-and-cucumber-on-plate-with-gray-stainless-steel-fork-near-green-bell-pepper-snowpea-and-avocado-fruit-l5Mjl9qH8VU

Wel­come to the July-August 2025 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 […]

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Undertourism: Who’s suffering, and why?

August 26, 2025

Gemini AI-generated image prompted by the headline of this post: Undertourism: "Who's suffering, and why?" Per Gemini: "This image uses the well-known 'tip of the iceberg' metaphor. The beautiful, stable tip above the water represents the visible, successful luxury end of the tourism industry. Below the surface, however, the massive, unseen foundation is fracturing and breaking apart, symbolising the hidden suffering of the smaller, foundational players who support the entire structure." “GT” cropped it and added the words.

Under­tour­ism: Who’s suf­fer­ing, and why?

Many thanks to Saverio Francesco Ber­to­lu­cci, Jim Butcher, Dorji Dhradhul, K Michael Hay­wood, and Chris Kit­tish­in­nak­uppe for shar­ing their thoughts on ‘under­tour­ism’; the flip side of ‘over­tour­ism’.

Their responses appear in the order received. 

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Tourism, war, and peace

August 19, 2025

Tourism, war, and peace: Some are calling on tourism leaders to do more to promote peace. Given that tourism is often among the first casualties of war, in what tangible and measurable ways can its leaders foster peace and understanding? Gemini-generated image cropped by "GT" with words added.

Some are call­ing on tour­ism lead­ers to do more to pro­mote peace. Giv­en that tour­ism is often among the first cas­u­al­ties of war, in what tan­gible and meas­ur­able ways can its lead­ers foster peace and understanding?

Four respond­ents from the “Good Tour­ism” net­work took the time to share their thoughts.

Have a thought to share? Respond in the com­ments at any time. 

Or write a Bite. 

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Thimlich Ohinga: UNESCO World Heritage site management is failing a local community

August 14, 2025
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The walls remain: Thimlich Ohinga Exclusionary heritage management is failing a community in Kenya

Even as Thim­lich Ohinga’s dry stone walls crumble, the loc­al com­munity con­tin­ues to be excluded from the man­age­ment of the Kenyan UNESCO World Her­it­age site. 

This accord­ing to tour­ism officer Doreen Nyam­wey­a’s who shares her second “Good Tour­ism” Insight:

Last month, July 2025, I spent time in Migori County, Kenya, on a field vis­it for my MSc thes­is on respons­ible tour­ism aware­ness levels among host com­munit­ies in her­it­age destinations …

Read More Thimlich Ohinga: UNESCO World Heritage site management is failing a local community