Good news in tourism July 12 – 18, 2020
… because it’s everyone’s business!
Published every Sunday, “Good news in tourism” is the perfect pick-me-up for the start of a new week in travel & tourism.
This week in “Good news …”:
- COVID ops
- Policy & governance
- Eco‑, nature-based, & wildlife tourism
- Cultural heritage
- Carbon-neutral supersonic flight
- Friends indeed
- Odds & ends
It’s “Good Tourism”. And go!
Important “GT” news first:
Among outspoken tourism academics and thinkers today Jim Butcher is one of the few who would challenge the notion that post-pandemic tourism must — for the sake of the planet — be much diminished from what it was. And he does just that in a fresh “GT” Insight published Tuesday: “Why tourism degrowth just won’t do after COVID-19”.
In defense of degrowth, Gavin Bate weighed in with comments.
COVID ops
The Turks and Caicos Hotel & Tourism Association (TCHTA), in partnership with the Turks and Caicos Islands government and others, has launched a mission to provide “essential food items for persons in need during the COVID-19 crisis”. TCHTA chair Nikheel Advani says the goal is to “provide a visible ray of hope to those who are directly or indirectly dependent on the largest local economic driver — tourism”. The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory.
Scotland’s Highland Council has set up a new tourism committee to “address the tourism challenges that face our communities as we come out of lockdown”. Committee chair Maxine Smith said: “It is vital that we work closely with local and national partners to ensure that Highland remains welcoming and safe during the economic recovery of the region.” VisitScotland regional director Chris Taylor told the Committee that the region remains “top of the wish list” for domestic tourism.
Ireland’s County Clare and Fáilte Ireland have formed a dedicated Tourism Recovery Taskforce. According to Clare Mayor Mary Howard, the Taskforce is made up of “representatives and leaders of the tourism industry and community tourism networks [who] will work together to deal with the many challenges”.
Thailand’s Tourism & Sports Ministry wants to — or has been instructed to by prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha — use the second phase of its domestic tourism stimulus to support “second-tier” provinces.
“Culture and tourism authorities across China have been asked to introduce a package of measures supporting rural tourism development and facilitating tourism market recovery, according to a circular issued Friday.”
Visit Casper, the tourism bureau for Natrona County, Wyoming, USA has launched a campaign targeting residents and their friends and relatives. It asks residents of Casper to invite friends and family “and then play tour guide”.
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Policy & governance
Bhutan tourism will be more evenly distributed over time and space; promoted year-round and to more parts of the Kingdom. Dorji Dhradhul, director general of the Tourism Council of Bhutan, expects the Cabinet to this month approve the draft Tourism Policy of Bhutan 2020; the first since tourism started there in 1974. It passed the review of the Gross National Happiness Commission on July 3.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Arabia is sticking with its target of 100 million visits by 2030. Presumably this means the billions of dollars earmarked for tourism infrastructure development is safe.
A project in Moc Chau, northern Vietnam will develop local tourism potential and “enhance the community’s role” so as to “improve income among locals, especially women”. Most (73%) of the AUD 553,028 (USD 384,000 USD) project is funded by Australia’s GREAT (Gender Responsive Equitable Agriculture & Tourism) Programme.
Ethnic minority communities manage 14 tourism sites in the mountainous northeastern province of Rattanakiri, Cambodia, according to governor Thong Savon. Only 25,191 foreign tourists visited the province in 2019.
Sapphire Coast Tourism is determined to brighten and beautify a neglected area of Amanzimtoti town in order to support informal traders and boost local tourism. Sapphire Coast is an area south of Durban, South Africa.
The importance of good partnerships
Many commentators would like to see previously overcrowded destinations recover from the COVID-19 depression with a focus on quality rather than quantity. That would be nice, of course. However, some or many extant tourism stakeholders will likely go out of business should this happen. Don’t let one of those be you. Stay as positive as you can be. And seek out good partnerships with those who make you their priority.
“GT” is a good partner. Ask about partnership opportunities.
Eco‑, nature-based, & wildlife tourism
Led by Germany, a delegation of the EU has provided Namibia with NAD 272 million (USD 16.32 million) to “protect biodiversity, secure ongoing activities in the conservation and tourism sector, as well as to maintain jobs in conservancies and rural areas”.
Andrew J Sebastian, founder of the Eco-Tourism & Conservation Society of Malaysia, reckons ecotourism helps people reconnect with nature making it easier to lobby the government for conservation. “Ecotourism is doing well in other countries. In Malaysia it is still catching on. We are sitting on a gold mine but we haven’t developed it yet.”
As part of a larger coronavirus recovery plan, the government of Queensland, Australia will spend AUD 10 million (USD 7 million) on its new Reef Assist program, creating ‘shovel-ready’ projects for Great Barrier Reef catchment areas. The investment will leave “lasting benefits for Queensland’s environment, agriculture and nature-based tourism industry”, according to Pepe Clarke of Pew Charitable Trusts.
The government of Punjab, India hopes that new tourism infrastructure and facilities for the Ropar wetland will attract domestic and international birdwatchers and travellers just as the wetland itself attracts migratory birds.
US Virgin Islands National Park Trust has joined with a skincare brand to promote sun care products that are safer for marine environments, particularly coral reefs. The US Virgin Islands earlier this year banned the importation, sale, and possession of any sunscreen with oxybenzone, octinoxate, or octocrylene in it.
To encourage more people to visit the lower Yellowstone river in eastern Montana, USA a coalition is hoping for a boost to tourism facilities along a 163-mile stretch. They reckon investment in “fishing sites, boat ramps, campsites, restrooms, visitor centers, interpretive trails” plus “state park designations” have the potential to “boost tourism at a time when outdoor recreation is surging amongst a pandemic-anxious public”.
Berea, Kentucky, USA is discovering that tracks and trails for walkers and cyclists are not only a boon for businesses but also a boost to the well-being of locals.
Grays Creek in Surry County, Virginia, USA is now officially “scenic”, according to the state’s Department of Conservation & Recreation. Virginia’s Scenic Rivers Program identifies waterways with “outstanding scenic, recreational, historic and natural characteristics of statewide significance [and protects them] for future generations”.
On a sombre note, two pioneers of nature-based tourism passed away this week: Max Benjamin, a pioneer of scuba diving in Papua New Guinea, and Brian Perry, a pioneer of whale watching in Queensland, Australia. The good news is that their achievements are being acknowledged and celebrated and that they will be remembered.
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Cultural heritage
“GT” Insight Partner the World Tourism Association for Culture & Heritage has publicly congratulated Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA “for recognising the need to protect and preserve their unique cultural heritage and in so doing, conceiving, planning and approving the first historic preservation plan. Let’s hope others follow this lead [as it] sends a message to others that celebrating their past is an investment in their future.”
A team of experts from Germany and Iran are working on turning an archaeological dig into an outdoor museum. The site, Tepe Rivi in northeastern Iran, has so far revealed artefacts “from the Bronze and Iron Age, the Achaemenid, the Parthian, the Sassanid dynasties, and the early Islamic period”.
Hong Kong’s Heritage Conservation Foundation (HCF) has launched its Hospitality Young Leaders Programme, which gives local graduates of “tourism and conservation-related subjects” on-the-job training at Tai O Heritage Hotel. HCF operates the UNESCO-listed property.
The next Rwanda Cultural Fashion Show has repositioned to support cultural tourism in the land-locked country. Event founder Celestin Ntawirema said he was “developing creative ways aimed at promoting cultural tourism through fashion”.
In Maryland, USA, 13 Civil War Heritage sites have new resources to help support their preservation; more than USD 5.1 million in grants.
Carbon-neutral supersonic flight
Nevada, USA-based supersonic aircraft company Aerion and direct air capture company Carbon Engineering of British Columbia, Canada have teamed up to develop carbon-neutral supersonic air travel. They will explore how the latter’s synthetic fuel, which is made from CO2 captured from the atmosphere, water, and clean electricity, can power the former’s AS2 supersonic business jet.
Boom Supersonic in Colorado, USA says it will begin test flights of XB‑1, a 1:3 scale model of its planned supersonic jet, Overture, in 2021. Boom claims their faster-than-sound jet will be carbon-neutral.
Friends indeed
As international travel bans lengthen, belts tighten further in places previously reliant on foreign tourism … Here are fundraisers worth considering because “GT” Friends & Partners are involved. (This content has appeared in “Good news in tourism” before, so enjoy it again or scroll down to the next subheading to skip.)
Khiri Reach, the charitable arm of “GT” Partner Khiri Travel, has set up a fund to support freelance tour guides. Khiri Reach boss Nia Klatte said: “We want to support a group of people who are among the very hardest hit by the current crisis: our freelance guides. Unfortunately, in Southeast Asia, the government safety nets are extremely minimal if they exist at all for freelancers. And while some domestic tourism is coming back, it will take months or years for tourism activities to return to ‘normal’.”
“GT” Insight Partner Second Look Worldwide is endorsing a fundraiser organised by “GT” Friend James Nadiope, who said: “Since Uganda went into quarantine with total lockdown followed by curfew, many families where we work go empty stomach with no food to eat. I would like to appeal to all well-wishers for financial donations to help these vulnerable families.” [Callback: In January, Mr Nadiope wrote about “How bees, trees, & tourism reduce human-wildlife conflict in Uganda”.]
Many Asian elephants and their mahouts in Thailand and elsewhere are in deep trouble. That’s why Hollis Burbank-Hammarlund, founder & director of “GT” Insight Partner Work for Wild Life International, would ask that you contribute to the Elephant Healthcare Emergency Lifeline Fund, which helps keep veterinarians on the job delivering essential emergency veterinary care to elephants that need it most … when they need it most.
Forest patrols by Wildlife Alliance rangers in Botum Sakor National Park in southwest Cambodia may have to be suspended. The rangers’ equipment, food and wages are provided in entirety by the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation (GTAEF) and Cardamom Tented Camp both of which depend on tourism. And there is no tourism. An emergency fundraising page is live. [“GT” Friends Willem Niemeijer and John Roberts are associated with the fundraiser via Cardamom and GTAEF respectively.]
Not a fundraiser as such, but a great idea for accommodation providers: “GT” Friend Rachel Sherwood is organising well-deserved holidays for healthcare workers at the front lines of the COVID-19 fight. Operation Recuperation is collecting pledges from accommodation providers and second home owners from all over the world.
Odds & ends
Bits ‘n pieces that don’t easily fit into this week’s arbitrary clusters:
Jim Butcher’s “GT” Insight, which leads this post, appeared on this website only four days after Kelley Louise’s very different “GT” Insight; the same day op-ed writer and editor Bari Weiss resigned from The New York Times citing the “new McCarthyism” that had taken root there. “Showing up for work as a centrist at an American newspaper should not require bravery,” Ms Weiss wrote in her resignation letter.
Borrowing the words of Adolph Ochs — former owner of the NY Times under whose stewardship the paper earned its reputation — your correspondent promises to continue to make The “Good Tourism” Blog a forum for the consideration of all questions of industry importance, and to that end to invite intelligent discussion from all shades of opinion.
While we’re on the topic of mainstream media, this CNN article about what might / should happen when tourism returns to Southeast Asia features quotes from “GT” Friends Susanne Becken and Willem Niemeijer.
Stay healthy, smile, have a good week … When you can travel travel again, remember:
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): “Most people are afraid of suffering. But suffering is a kind of mud … There cannot be a lotus flower without the mud.” _ Thich Nhat Hanh. Image by David Gillbanks (CC BY 4.0).
Donations, diversity, disclaimers
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Disclaimer 2: None of the stories linked from this week’s post have been fact-checked by “GT”. All terminology used here is as the linked sources used it according to the knowledge and assumptions they have about it. Please comment below if you know there has been buzzword-washing or blatant nonsense relayed here, but be nice about it as the linked sources might get offended. (“GT” won’t.) And as for “GT” bringing it to your attention so that you might be the one to set the record straight, you are welcome! 🙂
