2023 January - April

Volume 3, Issue 3
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Tourism in Colombia Sails Towards Peace

Jungles once controlled by FARC guerillas are now being explored by tourists. What does it tourism look like in Colombia post-conflict and how has it transformed the lives of communities? Arvey Alfonso Granada Calderon explains.

Regenerative Tourism: A strategy for reconciliation and the pursuit of peace

There have been many years of conflict in Colombia; however, the situation has changed to the point of seeing tourism projects with a community foundation, which have been developed in territories where it was not possible to transit years ago. Nowadays, it is possible to sail across a jungle river beside people without masks, telling their real names and stories, thanks to the “industry of human encounters”....

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Regenerative and sustainable tourism in the Willamette Valley

Overcoming community divides and pandemic challenges, the Willamette Valley Visitor Association has been working to change the conversation, rebuild trust, and spark connections within their community. The Willamette Valley Visitor Association talks more about their work, including the barriers they’ve faced and how they’re working to overcome them.

A vision of sustainability for the Willamette Valley

The Willamette Valley is a vast and bountiful landscape sandwiched between the Cascade and the Coastal mountains in northwestern Oregon, USA. Stretching nearly 150 miles long and 60 miles wide, the Willamette Valley offers an abundant agricultural scene, including a world-famous wine country. Hiking, cycling and adventuring of all kinds is available to visitors, and the Willamette Valley is home to the first nationally recognized water trails in all of the northwest. Fed by mountain tributaries south of Eugene, the Willamette River flows northward for nearly 200....

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Highlighting Destination Stewardship in Seville: Collaboration, Standards, and Good Policy

Good destination stewardship planning requires more than good intentions. It requires genuine and diverse community collaboration, setting and following rigorous standards, and good public policy that enables action. Tiffany Chan, Destinations Program Coordinator at GSTC, describes the key themes and main takeaways from the 2022 Global Sustainable Tourism Conference.

Sustainability is only effective if it is a collaborative process

After a two-year hiatus during the pandemic, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s (GSTC) 2022 Global Sustainable Tourism Conference resumed in person on December 12th-15th in Seville, Andalusia, Spain at FIBES Sevilla, the city’s Exhibition and Conference Centre. With 350 delegates from 61 countries and hundreds of viewers joining the livestreams, it was the largest GSTC conference yet....

 

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Building a community-centered destination stewardship initiative

Care for communities that make up the fabric of destinations is critical. But how? A destination stewardship approach can help tourism stakeholders – including community members – create their shared future in a collaborative and mutually beneficial way. Samantha Bray, PhD candidate at the University of Waterloo, shares her expertise. This post was originally published on the Center for Responsible Travel’s website.

What Does Destination Stewardship Mean and Why Does It Matter?

Translating the concept of destination stewardship to action requires a structure that supports bringing all of the stakeholders around the table. It also requires giving them a real voice in tourism planning, policy, and management....

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The rising tide raises all boats – how can we all be better destination stewards?

Tourism is roaring back as pandemic-era restrictions fade away and destinations welcome visitors back. But how can destinations and businesses promote help create more responsible stewards? Dr. Rachel Dodds, Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, shares a few practical steps.

Travel is different now

When I took my daughter to Disneyland last past spring, I noticed two things: how many people there were and how much garbage was being produced with single-use everything. My daughter, however, noticed how many cool rides there were and how hard it was for me to find....

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Two Winners from the Top 100
Every year, Green Destinations organizes the Top 100 Destination Sustainability Stories competition, which invites submissions from around the world – a vetted collection of stories spotlighting local and regional destinations that are making progress toward sustainable management of tourism and its impacts. From the winners announced this year, we’ve selected two more stories, this time from Australia and Japan, that showcase different reasons for engaging the local community. Synopses by Samantha Bray.
People Power: Rebuilding a Region with ECO at Heart in Australia

Top 100 submission by Whitney Edwards, Marketing Officer, Marketing & Tourism, Central Coast Council.

The need for a sustainable tourism strategy

Just 90 miles north of Sydney, the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, offers an eco-tourism wonderland of national parks, state forests, bushland, nature reserves, beaches, inland waterways, and mountains. The landscape wonders are enhanced by thriving communities and Aboriginal cultural sites numbering in the thousands, some between 7,000 and 20,000 years old. However, in 2020 it was recognized that something important was missing – a sustainable tourism strategy to effectively promote and protect the region’s greatest assets….

“Agriculture x Tourism” Helps Protect Thousands-Year-Old Grassland in Aso, Japan

Top 100 submission by Akinobu Ishimatsu, Manager, Tourism Division, Economy Department, Aso City Hall.

Stewarding the land using traditional practices

A symbiotic relationship between people and the land has existed in Aso, Japan, for 13,000 years. Featuring an active volcano and the largest grasslands in the country, locals have long stewarded the area through traditional agricultural practices of animal grazing and grass harvesting. However, in recent years the grasslands have rapidly converted to forest, as rural communities face difficulty in maintaining their livelihoods, the number of grazing animals decline, and access has been limited over....

Upcoming Events

Hosted in the Mediterranean city of Antalya, Türkiye, the GSTC2023 Global Sustainable Tourism Conference from May 9th to 12th will bring together stakeholders involved in the development and promotion of sustainable travel & tourism.

The conference will hold a mixture of panel discussions and interactive workshops with Destination Stewardship being one of the four themes. Thought-leading speakers will share their insights on topics such as Port Destinations, Coastal Destinations, Rural Tourism, and more.

Register Here

May 3 - 4, 2023 | Green Tourism Conference | Vienna, Austria. This is the final conference for the EU project "European Tourism Going Green (ETGG) 2030". This international event offers exciting presentations on sustainable tourism in Europe and industry networking at the highest level.

June 5 - 8, 2023 | Green Destinations Latinoamérica | Bombinhas, Brazil. The Green Destinations Conference will hold its first regional edition, the Green Destinations Latin America. The event, held by FACISC and DEL Institute, will be hosted in Bombinhas - Santa Catarina, at the Hotel Vila do Farol, one of the destinations selected as TOP 100 stories of responsible destinations.

July 18 - 20, 2023 | Destinations International's Annual Convention | Dallas, TX, USA. The Year of RE - Reimagine. The world of destination marketing and management is now completely different. Destination organization leaders of today must have a renewed focus on solutions to tackle the challenges of showcasing organizational strength and resilience that create welcoming communities and increase resident engagement. 

September 25 - October 1, 2023 | Virtual Island Summit | Virtual. Sharing Knowledge For Resilient, Sustainable And Prosperous Islands Worldwide. The Virtual Island Summit 2023 will have eight content tracks.

October 8 - 10, 2023 | Green Destinations 2023 | Tallinn, Estonia. The Green Destinations 2023 conference will take place in the Estonian capital of Tallinn and will be organised by Visit Tallinn and Visit Estonia.

Contact us to submit your notice.
Destination Monitor
Notable News on Stewardship Developments Around the World

Controversial Dominica Cable Car To Move Forward | Dominica News Impact on World Heritage site raises concerns

Gujarat To Create Wetland Ecotourism Destination, Improve Habitat | Times of India

Amsterdam To Urge Rowdy Visitors to Stay Away | 10play Another tourism campaign against visitors

Developers Must Rebuild Razed Pub from its Own Rubble | Washington Post

Cambodia Evicts Ankor Residents | Skift

Bali Cracks Down On Unruly War Refugees | Daily Mail Badly behaved tourists spark visa tightening

Biden Names New National Monuments | CNN

Greenland Hopes for Balanced Tourism | NY Times Seeks Goldilocks visitation levels to diversify its extractive economy

Downeast Maine Becomes New U.S. National Heritage Area | Maine Monitor

Faroe Islands' Tourism Strategy Ticks All the Boxes | Sustainable Brands "Preservolution" approach engages locals and tourists

DSC's Destination Monitor and Travindy offer continuing selections of news stories.
Bookshelf
Note: Descriptions are taken from publisher blurbs.

Anna Irimis (2023) The Youth Tourist: Motives, Experiences and Travel Behaviour. Emerald. Maps out the heterogenous segments of the youth market – oversimplified as “money poor and time rich” – to help illustrate significant differences in social status, interests, and consumer behaviour.

Iñigo Sánchez-Fuarros, Daniel Paiva, Daniel Malet Calvo, editors (2023, Kindle edition, due April 28) Ambiance, Tourism and the City.  Routledge. Case studies offer new academic insights into the impact of tourism on cities and their atmospheric qualities. For those with an interest in urban ambiances, tourism, cultural geography, and urban planning.

Peeters, P., Papp, B. (2023). Envisioning Tourism in 2030 and Beyond. The changing shape of tourism in a decarbonising world. The Travel Foundation. Research report aims to help policymakers and tourism industry understand what a global, thriving, decarbonising tourism industry could look like by 2030 and through to 2050.

World Economic Forum (2022). Ten Principles for Sustainable Destinations: Charting a new path forward for travel and tourism. White paper provides guidance, best practices and possible tools for stakeholders to collaboratively and effectively reconsider how they manage destinations and tourism practices.

Announcements
Tip for Gmail users:
If Google keeps filing your Destination Stewardship Report under "Promotions," just drag it to "Primary" and future issues should appear there instead. Also, look for "Message clipped" at the bottom and click it to see the entire Report e-mail.
Volunteer Opportunities
The Destination Stewardship Center seeks an experienced volunteer senior editor for this Report. We also need a tech-savvy gap-year graduate or apprentice (WordPress, Google Suite, social media), as well as sharp interns with good editorial skills. Contact us with a cv and writing samples.
Submission Requests
The Destination Stewardship Report relies entirely on submitted articles and notices, not to mention corrections and suggestions. Submissions must pertain to some aspect of destination stewardship, be shorter than 1,000 words, and avoid self-promotion. Photos welcome. What story can you tell that would help others? Contact us with your ideas. Your next issue is planned for Summer 2023.

The Destination Stewardship Report is a collaboration between the Destination Stewardship Center, Global Sustainable Tourism Council, and Center for Responsible Travel. It seeks to provide practical information and insights useful to anyone whose work or interests involve improving destination stewardship. Its success will depend on your interest, feedback, and content contributions. Join us, and help each other. Subscribe HERE.
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Sponsored by:

        

Executive Editor – Jonathan B. Tourtellot
Managing Editor – Alix Collins
Illustrations Editor – Gabe Gerson
Scheduling, design & distribution – Tiffany Chan
Editorial assistance – Martha Mulokoshi, Samantha Bray,
Chi Lo, Cindy Linnell, Devika McWalters, Laura Negre, Paula Lewis

 
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