Good news in travel & tourism August 2021
“Good news in travel & tourism” wraps up a month of “Good Tourism” & “GT” Travel news, insights, tips, and advice.
- “GT” Travel
- “GT” Insights
- Good news from friends
(including job opportunities) - Why scare quotes (“ ”)?
- Friends indeed
Keep up with “GT”
If you like “GT” and you don’t want to miss a thing, subscribe to “GT’s” weekly e‑news:
“GT” Travel: Informed inspiration & top tips for travellers
The “GT” Travel Blog encourages tourism insiders to set aside their professional hats, pick up their well-worn (or neglected) travel fanaticism, and share anecdotes, tips, and suggestions with discerning lay travellers. “GT” Travel posts from the month that was:
Busting the borderland’s bad rap
“I enjoy supporting the ‘underdog’ destinations of the world. […] Rancho El Aribabi in northern Sonora, Mexico, just south of the US-Mexico border. While this amazing place has much to offer, it struggles to attract tourists because of all the negative media attention the area gets.” _ Connor Clark, PhD candidate
Far and wide: Inspired by Hanoi’s hoa sữa
“The tart-sweet fragrance of those hoa sữa […] permeates every corner of the city. [The Hoa Sữa School for Disadvantaged Youth in Hanoi, Vietnam was so named] with the hope that when students graduate, they will go far and wide, making life more beautiful with their presence.” _ Nguyễn Thị Thu Thảo, ASSET‑H&C
‘So many reasons’ to travel to Tanzania in the off season
“There are so many reasons to travel in the off season,” according to Off Season Adventures. In Tanzania, short bursts of rain create “lush landscapes and beautiful vistas [and skies] that provide some of the brightest views of the Milky Way you will ever see.” Five more reasons. And Lindsay Booth’s experience (before she was CEO).
Tips for when you go on a road trip with your dogs
Pets are welcome at Anurak Community Lodge. The “GT” Partner has some sensible tips for guests from other parts of Thailand on how they might best undertake a road trip with their dogs. Facebook post.
“GT” Insights: Informed perspectives on the industry
The “Good Tourism” Blog publishes informed opinions on the issues facing our industry, everyone’s business. “GT” Insights are diverse perspectives written by, for, and about the travel & tourism sector. Here are the latest from the month that was:
One beach at a time: Local action can help turn the tide on marine plastic
Even the smallest steps taken by travel & tourism stakeholders to counter the global threat of ocean plastic pollution are important, according to PhD candidate Krisztina Eleftheriou-Hocsak. In this “Good Tourism” Insight, she discusses the local actions taken by a not-for-profit organisation in Cyprus.
Why it’s misanthropic to malign mass tourism
Nearly everyone wants to escape their everyday and take a holiday, including working people with small budgets and limited time. Does that mean they, and those who cater to them, are terrible people? Jim Butcher doesn’t think so. In his third “GT” Insight, he paints mass tourism in a progressive light and defends the mass tourist.
The wellness pilgrimage: A post-COVID tourism opportunity for sacred sites
Many people will be keen to travel for wellness, perhaps even enlightenment, when they arrive at the end of their COVID-19 tunnels. University lecturer Ricardo Nicolas Progano points to the potential for rural destinations with sacred, spiritual, or religious heritage to tap into pent-up wellness tourism demand.
Support “GT”
Through “GT” Insights, The “Good Tourism” Blog has been making diverse perspectives accessible to a growing travel & tourism industry audience since 2017. There is no paywall, which means “GT” content is available to ALL stakeholders. And not only do guest authors not pay for the privilege (nor are they paid), they receive professional copy editing support from the publisher for whom “GT” is a full-time concern. That’s why your ongoing support as a “GT” Partner or patron is greatly appreciated.
If you find “GT” inspiring, interesting, somewhat amusing, or at least different then surely it’s worth a little something to you.
It means something huge to “GT”. Thank you very much to those who have donated.
Good news from friends
Good news in travel & tourism from the wonderful organisations that make “GT” possible. Here is some of what happened this month in the “Good Tourism” network:
JOB OPPORTUNITIES at Cambodian NGO and social enterprise
Cambodia’s Bayon Education and Development is seeking a new executive director. The NGO is also hiring a new director for its Bayon Bakery and Pastry School, which is an ASSET‑H&C member and was the focus of a “GT” Travel post. Spread the word to help them find the best possible candidates.
Newborn leopard cat saved from ant attack at Cardamom Tented Camp
A Cardamom Tented Camp cook heard cries from near the staff house; cries of desperation from a leopard cat cub under attack from large red tree ants. See how tiny the newborn was when she was rescued in this video from August 12. And the day after. Cardamom will post updates on social media.
Meet the veterinary ‘heroes’ taking care of Thailand’s tourism elephants
“Thailand’s captive elephants remain in limbo as the pandemic surges again with no predictable end date,” Hollis Burbank-Hammarlund of Work for Wild Life writes. “And so the hard work, of the many Thai veterinarians and veterinary nurses whose salaries [we] support, continues.” Meet some of them.
Planet Happiness convenes (& summarises) ‘high-level global dialogue’
Planet Happiness invited “carefully selected, leading individuals and agencies” to a July 19 “high-level leadership discussion” on the travel & tourism sector’s post-COVID recovery. A summary of discussions is available here.
What’s new at CABI Tourism Cases
New tourism-related case studies this week from the inter-governmental organisation CABI (subscription required to access): How to grow tourism 10x (Trentino, Italy); How to use ‘slow tourism’ to tap nearby markets (Alsace, France), and; How to work together to protect traditions (North Carolina, USA)
To ‘build back better’, what does ‘better’ mean?
The SUNx Program chats with Sibylle Riedmiller of the Chumbe Island Coral Park in Tanzania, which is “one of the first companies to commit to the principles of Climate Friendly Travel through our 2050 CFT Ambitions Registry”. “Chumbe Island: Tourism and conservation in harmony”
ASSET‑H&C is proud to support budding entrepreneurs
Through its Entrepreneur Challenge, ASSET‑H&C member EHT Paul Dubrule supports graduates who want to start their own business. On World Entrepreneur Day, August 21, ASSET‑H&C said that it would offer three finalists a one-month training program.
‘Great collaboration’: Remote internships a success at ASSET‑H&C
ASSET‑H&C’s Sophie Hartman paid tribute to UK-based students James Byrne and Rinkal Ravinkumar Patel who recently completed their internships. The “talented” pair worked with ASSET‑H&C to produce e‑learning videos about environmentally-responsible practices in hospitality. Facebook post.
The importance of good partnerships
Many commentators would like to see destinations recover from the COVID-19 depression focused on quality rather than quantity. That would be nice, of course, if host communities want that. However, some or many extant tourism stakeholders will likely go out of business. Don’t let one of those be you.
Seek out good partnerships with those who make you their priority.
“GT” is a good partner. Please verify that with a “GT” Partner and then ask about partnership opportunities. There’s a partnership opportunity for everyone — big or small; public or private; commercial or not-for-profit — because travel & tourism is everyone’s business. All “GT” Partners enjoy: a 85 x 85 “Good Partner” button; input into “GT’s” curated list of worthy charitable causes “Friends indeed”; and the outstanding opportunity every week to contribute positive news items to the “GT” newsletter.
Why are there scare quotes (“ ”) around “Good Tourism” & “GT”?
Your correspondent has been asked about this. There are two reasons, neither of which should scare you. 😉
Firstly, ‘good’ is very much in the eye of the beholder. What constitutes ‘good tourism’ for someone who is primarily concerned about, say, local jobs and businesses, may be deemed ‘bad tourism’ by another who sees only problems for the local culture. Where ecotourism purists would wish to leave nothing but footprints, accessibility advocates might want to build ramps. Furthermore, what’s widely considered ‘good tourism’ practice in the present may have unintended consequences in the future.
A lack of certainty is why “GT” is determined to remain open to all perspectives on travel & tourism. If “GT” has ever confused you with its content, that’s why. (“GT” has lost readers for that reason.)
If you were to agree with everything published under the “GT” masthead then I would have failed. (I don’t agree with everything published by “GT” and I’m the publisher!)
Please don’t expect “GT” to play the echo chamber game, despite the commercial incentives to do so. There is already too much of that going on in the media and in tech algorithms. It’s unhealthy.
Unlike others with the word ‘good’ in their name, “GT’s” mission is not to tell you what good is, nor to reflect your prejudices. Rather “GT” exists for you to share your perspective and/or be exposed to others.
The second reason for the scare quotes?
Simply because I do not presume that my website is good! The Good Tourism Blog (without ” ”) might imply that. The “Good Tourism” Blog, on the other hand, is a blog about “Good Tourism”, whatever that means.
Anyway, I do hope “GT’s” content is good enough to share occasionally. Please do.
Friends indeed
“Friends indeed” are worthy travel & tourism industry fundraisers and charitable causes that are associated with or suggested by “GT” Partners and friends. Please help them if you can. Share the page with your networks. And link to it from your website.
Tourism is everyone’s business. Travel is everyone’s pleasure.
Freedom of movement is a basic human right. And the tourism industry is everyone’s business. “Everyone” includes not only those who earn a living from the travel & tourism industry, but also people who travel, and people who live in places travelled to and through. EVERYONE. Please share “Good news in tourism” and “GT” Travel with your friends and colleagues. And dive deeper into “Good Tourism” Insights for ideas on how to make sustainable tourism and responsible travel better … for you, for your people, and for your place. For they are your people. And it is your place.
Stay healthy, smile, have a good week … And when you travel, remember:
It’s not ‘no’. It’s ‘know’.
Featured image (top of post): ‘Forest bathing’. No water necessary. By Motoki Tonn via Unsplash.
Donations, diversity, disclosure
To help your correspondent keep his energy-efficient lights on, please consider a private one-off gift or ongoing donation. THANK YOU to those who have! 😍
You are a tourism stakeholder — yes, YOU! — so what’s your view? Do you disagree with anything you have read on “GT”? Join the conversation. Comment below or share your “Good Tourism” Insights. Diversity of thought is welcome on The “Good Tourism” Blog. And you will be supporting an independent publisher with your original content.
Note: It is “GT’s” policy to fully disclose partner/sponsor content. If an item is not disclosed as partner or sponsor-related then it was either a case of forgetfulness or the content caught “GT’s” attention by some other more organic means. Partner with “GT”. You know you want to.
