Travel Foundation gets bigger picture – to spread positive tourism benefits

Simon Reeve with Petra Stušek

Do things differently – take tourists out of their comfort zones and make the OTAs pay say speakers

New TF boss vows to scale up, increase partnerships create more sustainable holiday destinations and spread the positive impacts of tourism.

Around 100 guests at the Travel Foundation annual meeting were treated to inspirational talks from TV presenter Simon Reeve, Petra Stušek from Ljubljana Tourism and ecotourism founder Megan Epler Wood.

The new boss of the Travel Foundation Salli Felton introduced perspectives from a range of travel organisations demonstrating how they share a vision of what creates better holiday experiences.

In a sustainable destination, local people can become ambassadors for tourism and a range of unique products can be created to meet customer demands.  A shared vision could bring decision makers together and create a better kind of tourism.

 "This is why the Travel Foundation was created – to bring tourism stakeholders together to see the bigger picture, to learn how things can be done differently but more effectively and to create the building blocks that will ensure others will follow in their footsteps. In effect – to create a better kind of tourism"

As an example, the Foundation’s new programme in Jamaica, aims to increase to the spread of tourism revenue to local communities, in partnership with the Jamaica Ministry of Tourism. 

Annette Tingle, from the Travel Foundation in Jamaica, talked about a project that has supported the Rastafari Indigenous Village to create tours that meet UK tour operator standards.  This project has inspired the local government to work with the Travel Foundation to create training programmes that will enable many more community enterprises to benefit from tourism.

 TV presenter, Simon Reeve, highlighted the need for travel companies to "nudge guests out of their comfort zones"  towards more enriching experiences and the importance of creating opportunities to help lift people out of poverty.  "Sustainable tourism is doing the best you possibly can by wildlife, locals and the planet."

Petra Stušek, showcased the city’s innovative and award-winning approach to sustainability.  Transforming tourism in the city has involved pedestrianizing the city centre to open up new vistas, walkways and cycle paths, creating a wealth of local events, and promoting the use of the city’s many drinking fountains to reduce the use of plastic bottles.   A key message was that creating a better place for local people to live and work also creates a better place to visit.

A key question from Megan Epler Wood was how to finance sustainable tourism in destinations, when destination budgets largely go into marketing not protection, and local tax revenues cannot keep pace with the growth of tourism. 

Her suggestion was for a global trust fund paid for by online travel agents, who are often disconnected from the destinations they sell.

Valere Tjolle

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