Good news in travel & tourism June 2022
“Good news in travel & tourism” wraps up a month of “Good Tourism” & “GT” Travel news, insights, and experiences.
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- “Good Tourism” Insights
- “Good Tourism” Insight Bites [Dispersion | Degrowth]
- Good news from friends [Global | Africa | Asia]
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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:
Global good news from friends
Back to the future: A sustainability plan for our kids
On the 50th Anniversary of the Stockholm Earth Summit, and the 30th Anniversary of the Rio Earth Summit — both of which were led by Maurice Strong, the inspiration for SUNx Malta (Strong Universal Network) — Geoffrey Lipman gave a keynote at a Stockholm event reflecting on “the dominant role Maurice played in creating today’s United Nations-led climate and environment agenda”. Read the transcript at “Back to the future: A sustainability plan for our kids”.
Enrich yourself and your people with no-nonsense responsible tourism courses
“Buzzwords abound in travel & tourism. Singapore’s responsible tourism pioneer, Kevin Phun, excels in unboxing the premises and practicalities bundled within buzzwords … and in demonstrating how they are relevant. He has to be good at that in Singapore, a prosperous city state whose inbound tourism stakeholders might be forgiven for thinking they don’t have to consider such things as ‘ecotourism’ or ‘pro-poor tourism’.” Read on in “Enrich yourself and your people with no-nonsense responsible tourism courses”.
New CABI Tourism Cases
New CABI Tourism Cases: “Combatting climate change, supporting biodiversity conservation and benefitting local people” (Botswana); “Becoming Vincent: Using the ‘hero’s journey’ to connect and design (digital) tourist experiences along Vincent van Gogh’s heritage locations” (the Netherlands); “Outsourcing Management to the Private Sector, Community-Based Tourism in Mozambique” (Mozambique); and “Robotics Programming Kids for Leisure” (Australia)
Good news from friends in Africa
10th Red Rocks Cultural Festival in less than two months
The 10th Red Rocks Cultural Festival is coming up on August 26 to September 2. The theme for this year is “Conservation and Cultural Sustainability”. The final day of the Festival coincides with Rwanda’s annual Kwita Izina Gorilla Naming Ceremony, during which newborn gorillas are given names by conservationists. The day culminates in the Crazy Night of the Gorillas, which is a party for all to enjoy.
WTACH signs MOU to help African women in travel & hospitality
The World Tourism Association for Culture and Heritage (WTACH) and the African Association of Women in Tourism and Hospitality (AAWTH) will collaborate to advance the careers of African women in the travel & hospitality sector in Africa. They signed a memorandum of understanding on June 10.
Red Rocks starts project to manage waste products
Red Rocks Initiative for Sustainable Development has initiated a project to teach communities living around Volcanoes National Park on how waste can be treated as a resource to be put to productive use; how agricultural waste can be used to produce biogas as well as composted to fertilise crops.
How botanical gardens help the environment around Volcanoes National Park
Red Rocks Initiative for Sustainable Development reckons that the botanical gardens it established near Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda, “has played a great role not only as a resource for the study and cultivation of plants with healing properties [but also] in the mitigation of the effects of climate change”.
How artists help the environment around Volcanoes National Park
Through its Red Rocks Art Gallery, Red Rocks Initiative for Sustainable Development continues to support talented young Rwandan artists so that they can “gain from their talents, and be agents to spread conservation messages around the Volcanoes National Parks and the globe”.
Good news from friends in Asia
Khiri Travel Sri Lanka reaps rewards for designing sustainable experiences
During COVID lockdowns, Khiri Travel Sri Lanka “anticipated increasing demand for more sustainable and off-the-beaten-track experiences and geared up for it by designing a range of experiences focused on having a positive impact on the environment as well as local communities”. The programmes became “instant best-sellers”. Read all about it in “Khiri Travel Sri Lanka reaps rewards for designing sustainable experiences”.
Bali is back, and so is the rest of wild Indonesia
Khiri Travel is delighted with the quick return of travel to beautiful Indonesia. “We are extremely happy to see our befriended guides and drivers in Bali working again. Equally, we are proud to promote the more far-flung islands of the archipelago, as we have always done. On our home-island of Lombok, our office has been open throughout most of the pandemic.” Read the full story at “Bali is back, and so is the rest of wild Indonesia”.
All aboard! High-speed train offers compelling new way to travel through Laos
“The romance of train travel is alive and well in Laos. The recently-completed high-speed railway that stretches from Vientiane, through Laos, and into southern China is operating ‘full steam’ ahead. This exciting journey takes you through remote villages and into the heart of rural Laos, offering up close and personal views of the Laos of today …” Continue reading in “All aboard! High-speed train offers compelling new way to travel through Laos”.
Khiri Travel is hiring again
Khiri Travel is/was looking to hire a general manager in Vietnam and an assignment manager in Thailand. Khiri says it will add more positions in the coming weeks across all of its destinations.
Everywhere Khiri Travel operates is open to travellers
“All the countries in which Khiri Travel operates are open [to] vaccinated travellers. No test is needed for entry to Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. For the time being, only Myanmar still needs travellers to take a test before departure. Vietnam is also open for unvaccinated travellers under the same conditions as vaccinated travellers.” Full details.
How Kong Soung became a confident, independent woman
“I am becoming more confident and productive, thanks to my awesome teachers, school activities, and the campus environment. I really love it!” So says Kong Soung, a student of École d’Hôtellerie et de Tourisme Paul Dubrule, an ASSET H&C member in Siem Reap, Cambodia. “[I have also improved] my leadership, accountability, empowerment, teamwork, and independence.”
A graduate of an ASSET H&C member loves her school
Sala Baï “took good care of me […] gave us food, lent us bicycles, took care of our health, organised various activities for us”, said Sreyngop May, a former student of Sala Baï Hotel & Restaurant School, a member of ASSET‑H&C in Siem Reap, Cambodia. “We all felt warmly welcomed and joyful.” Facebook.
Laos’ phenomenal cloud of bats
“As dusk falls over Laos, an endless ribbon-like cloud of bats pours out of a cliffside cave at Pha Luang in Meuang Feuang. This natural phenomenon has yet to attract many tourists. Only a handful of Lao biologists …” Read more about the Pha Luang Bat Cave.
A real Lao accommodation experience: We Are Lao
“While many big name resorts struggle to seamlessly blend with nature, Ban Lao Meuang Feuang effortlessly delivers a real Lao accommodation experience,” according to We Are Lao.
Sinxayaram Temple’s ‘Kingdom of Buddhism’ welcomes tourists: We Are Lao
Sinxayaram Temple presents the “Kingdom of Buddhism” in Meuang Feuang. It has been attracting the faithful from around Laos and northern Thailand for decades, and is now welcoming tourists.
Angnamtong View opens lakeside resort: We Are Lao
Angnamtong View Resort and Draft House Restaurant, about 90 minutes from Vientiane, is luring guests to its villas, floating pavilions, and water sports activities on the Nam Tong Reservoir.
Khiri Pulse on the culinary delights of Northern Thailand
In EP5 of the Khiri Pulse podcast Tim Russell chats to “Thai food legend and internationally acclaimed food writer Kay Plunkett-Hogge about the culinary delights of Northern Thailand”.
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