Good news in travel & tourism December 2021
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- “GT” Insights
- Good news from friends
- Top five most visited “GT” posts of 2021 (& all time)
- Dim prospects for COP26 declarations: Shepard
- Friends indeed
“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:
Winning from within: How can travel & tourism stem the brain drain?
Travel & tourism is everyone’s business. It’s all about people. How do we keep people allied and inspired in organisations, destinations, and host communities? K Michael Haywood tackles this problem in his third “Good Tourism” Insight: “Winning from within: How can travel & tourism stem the brain drain?”
Stronger together: Tourism training partnerships help prevent child exploitation
The sexual exploitation of children by those who use the services of the travel & tourism industry is a difficult subject to acknowledge let alone discuss. This is why trainers and educators should prepare future frontline workers to look out for and report signs of the crime, according to Bronwen Maher, Sophie Hartman, Nguyễn Thị Thu Thảo, and Võ Thị Quế Chi. They combine to write: “Stronger together: Tourism training partnerships help prevent child exploitation”.
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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:
Wildlife returns to Cambodian conservation area
“GT” Partner Cardamom Tented Camp in Cambodia has seen the return of a small herd of elephants to its conservation area. A large group of smooth-coated otters are back too. Read the full story.
If not for Cardamom’s ecotourism business model, the 18,000-hectare forested concession would likely be clear-felled by loggers and then used for agriculture and other developments. In neighbouring areas there are rubber plantations and the construction of a deep-sea port, hotel, and airport.
Cardamom Tented Camp is a three-way initiative between Minor Group, YAANA Ventures, and Wildlife Alliance “to ensure the land and its biodiversity does not fall into the hands of loggers, poachers, and sand dredging operations”.
Read the full story. And leave your thoughts in the comments.
Free hospitality ‘Eco-Guide’ is now in multiple languages
ASSET‑H&C’s Eco-Guide for Hospitality Businesses and Schools, which is the subject of a recent “GT” Insight, is available in the Burmese, Khmer, Thai, and Vietnamese languages. Background and links.
Free CABI chapter on IP, accessibility, sports, and leisure
Ask CABI to email you a “revised and expanded chapter discussing the intellectual property rights and case studies of: TV sport spectatorship; Disability and access to culture; Gender equity in access to sport; and Measuring the right to leisure time internationally.” Request that from here.
Bayon stays on mission through a crisis
During COVID-19 lockdowns, ASSET‑H&C member the Bayon Pastry School Coffee Shop in Siem Reap, Cambodia sponsored smartphones, tablets, computers, and internet for its teachers and students to ensure that learning could continue. Facebook post.
Strong Earth Awards 2021
SUNx Malta and partner have announced the winners of the inaugural Strong Earth Awards; the best seven 500-word think pieces by students on the topic: “Why the Earth Charter is even more important now than when it was introduced by Maurice Strong and Michael Gorbachev in 2000”. SUNx news article.
Khiri Travel launches podcast
The first episode of Khiri Pulse, Khiri Travel’s podcast, is about single-use plastics. It features the GM of Khiri in Laos and Cambodia, John Black, and his guests Christian de Boer and Sambath Meas.
What’s new at CABI Tourism Cases
New tourism-related case studies in December 2021 from the inter-governmental organisation CABI (subscription required to access):
- A film festival celebrates the Pacific (Pacific region)
- The first Tanzanian woman to own and operate her own tour company (Tanzania)
- ‘Everyone should be able to travel’ (South Korea)
- The Hay Festival: Sustainable impacts on a small town (Wales)
- Art says no to plastic (India)
- Nazy’s battle to change the image of the Pankisi Valley through tourism (Georgia)
- Experience design for the Dutch Fort, Batticaloa (Sri Lanka)
- Using the sun to lower noise pollution in water (French Polynesia)
- Developing a country-wide adventure tourism program (Ecuador)
SUNx’ ‘eXist’ December bulletin
SUNx’ eXist monthly newsletter for December 2021 features the “GT” Partner’s seven-point CODE RED Action Plan for climate-friendly travel & tourism, the Strong Climate Champions Program, and an interview with a SDG17 Partner in India. Read it here.
ASSET‑H&C launches ‘Eco-Mondays’
Every Monday until end of March 2022, ASSET‑H&C will broadcast a video “learning nugget” based on the content of its Eco-Guide. The first one is about “Monitoring and awareness” (Facebook video).
ASSET‑H&C launches a train-the-trainer program
ASSET‑H&C has launched a “foundational” training program for 27 trainers from its member network. The training is designed to enhance trainers’ ability to transfer knowledge and skills. Facebook post.
ASSET‑H&C acknowledges volunteers on International Volunteer Day
On International Volunteer Day, December 5, ASSET‑H&C thanked all the people “who selflessly give their time and energy to support our work”. 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.
Top five most visited “GT” posts of 2021 (& all time)
If it is ‘holiday season’ where you are, and you are taking time off, these top five lists should provide you with some excellent catch-up reading:
“Top five most visited “GT” Insights & “GT” Travel Experiences of 2021 (& all time)”
Thanks to all the wonderful Partners of “Good Tourism”. Thanks to all the brilliant “GT” guest authors. And thank YOU!
Merry Christmas if you celebrate it. Be merry if you don’t. And have a brilliant 2022!
Dim prospects for COP26 declarations: Shepard
The prospects for COP26-related declarations are “dim”, according to Richard Shepard of Sustainable Rural Development International who commented on Geoffrey Lipman’s “GT” Partner message: “CODE RED: SUNx’ 7‑point climate action plan for tourism is more ambitious than the Glasgow Declaration”. The “high-minded approaches [of large gatherings] largely go unfulfilled in whatever sector they address”.
SUNx’ seven-point plan, on the other hand, is “the realistic approach”, Mr Shepard writes. He like points 3, 4, and 6 because they “involve realities on the ground and recognise that the market will react if properly incentivised”.
Read Richard’s full comment. And leave your own thoughts.
Meanwhile, Geoffrey Lipman of SUNx has doubled down on his belief in the effectiveness of alarmist rhetoric to usher in a response to climate change concerns. While he was at it he challenged me on my (admittedly loose) claim that “freedom of movement is a basic human right”. Debate is welcome at “GT”.
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.
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.
Stay healthy, smile, have a good week … And when you travel, remember:
It’s not ‘no’. It’s ‘know’.
Featured image (top of post): “Good news in travel & tourism” wraps up a month of “Good Tourism” & “GT” Travel news, insights, tips, and advice. Share it as you would a stollen. By kakuko (CC0) via Pixabay.
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