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Spring 2021 April-June
Volume 1, Issue 4
The Destination Stewardship Report is an e-quarterly collaboration between the Destination Stewardship Center and Global Sustainable Tourism Council, and in time maybe others. Our goal is to provide practical information and insights useful to anyone whose work or interests involve improving destination stewardship in a post-pandemic world. It’s an all-volunteer experiment, so its success will depend on your interest, feedback, and content contributions. Join us, and help each other.
Please subscribe HERE if you have not done so already. For more information and participation, contact us. —Jonathan Tourtellot, Editor
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In Canada, the Nisga’a Offer an Indigenous Tourism Model
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How to present an indigenous culture “written in the land” to tourists? Along with Laura Hope, communications manager at Coast Funds, Bert Mercer, the economic development manager for the Nisg̱a’a Lisims Government, describes the process of tying together a culturally sensitive tourism experience for visitors to the Nisga’a First Nation in British Columbia.
Weaving a Cultural Tourism Story
The Nisg̲a’a Highway, running through the heart of our Nation’s lands in Canada’s rugged northwest coast, was given the numeric designation 113. The number was not chosen arbitrarily; between 1887, when Nisg̲a’a chiefs travelled . . . READ MORE→
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Saving Cultural Heritage: The Singapore Hawkers Case
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Drives for sustainability may sometimes overlook the endangered arts and traditions that make a place and a culture come to life. The World Tourism Association for Culture & Heritage (WTACH) aims to rectify that. In Singapore Chris Flynn, WTACH's CEO,
discusses a particularly delicious case – one recently recognized by UNESCO.
The Amazing Hawkers of Singapore
The Singapore Hawkers and their food stalls are a culinary society of their own making. A community that’s taken shape over decades, if not centuries. They hold a sacred place in Singapore history and in the hearts of its people. Now they have gained UNESCO recognition, . . . READ MORE →
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Doing It Better: Sedona, Arizona, USA
Prompted by a restive citizenry and a responsive city council, the DMO for the city of Sedona, Arizona, USA, now acts in effect as a destination stewardship council. That’s unusual. For part of our ongoing project to profile places with effective, holistic management, Sarah-Jane Johnson takes a deep dive into Sedona’s story. This is the sixth in the Destination Stewardship Center’s profiles of exemplary places with collaborative destination management in the spirit of GSTC’s Destination Criterion A1.
In Arizona’s Popular Red Rock Country, One CVB Put Community First 19 May
For decades the Arizona desert town of Sedona (population 10,000) has welcomed an annual average of 3 million tourists captivated by the landscape of red rock buttes, canyons, and pine forests. They can take advantage of READ MORE →
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Once Overrun, Dubrovnik Plans for Sustainability
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Dubrovnik, Croatia, a UNESCO World Heritage city, is known as the 'Pearl of the Adriatic Sea', its historic city center surrounded by original medieval stone walls – and until recently, thronged with cruise ship passengers. In 2017, that began to change. The following before-and-after story has been provided by the Mayor's Office, City of Dubrovnik (with a closing note on the Covid hiatus).
‘Respect the City’ Program Includes Limits on Cruise-ship Crowds
Dubrovnik, a champion of Croatian tourism, is a city that is both a museum and a performance . . . READ MORE →
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A Chance to Tame Cruise Tourism
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Cruise critic Ross Klein argues that now is the time for port cities to gain control of cruise tourism crowds, explaining three ways to do that – and why it won't be easy. But if not now, when?
OPINION: Re-imagining Cruise Tourism
The COVID-19 pandemic has given port cities an opportunity to reflect on the impacts of cruise tourism, both positive and negative. At the same time, the cruise industry has been forced to in effect reset. It begrudgingly ceased cruise
operations and since April 2020 has floated many restart dates; few have materialized and only … READ MORE →
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Springtime for Destination Stewardship in Japan
It’s a tall order for a large country to change its national policy and commit to improving stewardship for hundreds of its tourism destinations, but Japan is taking tentative steps in that direction. GSTC’s Emi Kaiwa reports on how this tentative change of heart came about, what’s happened to date, and how far it has to go.
In 2018, a book left in an office rack snagged the attention of a young Japanese official. Beginning … READ MORE→
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Measuring Destination Happiness
A massive webinar to mark last month’s “International Day of Happiness” yielded some serious pointers for destinations seeking a broader measure of successful tourism recovery than counting revenue and arrivals.“Covid has shown us we can’t be happy on an unhappy planet” was one message for destinations around the world, report DSC associates Marta Mills and Chi Lo – the point being that local contentment should be part of the tourism equation: “A good place to live is a good place to visit.”
The Happiness Agenda – Happy People Mean Happy Destinations
In celebration of the International Day of Happiness, on Saturday 20th March 2021, Planet Happiness, SUNx, the World Tourism Network, and the International Institute for Peace through Tourism, convened a global webinar. With over 400 registrants, 150 live participants for nearly 3.5 hours, … READ MORE→
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“Reset Tourism” Webinar Series #1– Destination Stewardship“Good for us, better for all.” —St. Kitts sustainable tourism slogan
Held on 25 March 2021, the first webinar of the Future of Tourism Coalition's four-part “Reset Tourism” series drew 500 registrants. These webinars are intended to help destinations emerge from the Covid crisis with new forms of governance and collaboration that will enable a more holistic and sustainable approach to tourism management and development.
The Coalition team here presents highlights from the first Webinar, led by two of the six Coalition founding members, the Destination Stewardship Center (DSC) and the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST):
Destination Stewardship and Stakeholder Engagement
This two-hour webinar laid out the case for policymakers to consider… READ MORE→
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New App Can Help Destinations
Assessing the sustainability of destinations and acting on the findings can be a complex, expensive task. Dave Randle explains the workings of a new app that his Blue Community Consortium underwrote to assist with that process. Some university students gave the app’s first step, assessment, a revealing field test on seven Florida destinations. Here’s what the app does, and what the students found.
App Can Help Assess Sustainability of Tourism Communities
For the past ten years, the Blue Community Consortium, a not-for-profit organization, has provided an opportunity for coastal communities, businesses, and organizations to declare their own work to protect, enhance, and restore coastal habitat … READ MORE→
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Publications and more
Bookshelf
Note: Quotes are publisher blurbs.
Becker, E. (2016). Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism. Simon & Schuster.
“In this ‘meticulously reported and often disturbing exposé of the travel industry’, (The New York Times Book Review), Elizabeth Becker describes… its huge effect on the world economy, the environment, and our culture.”
Bunten, A. C. (2015). So, How Long Have You Been Native?: Life as an Alaska Native Tour Guide. University of Nebraska Press.
“Firsthand account of what it is like to work in the Alaska cultural tourism industry.”
Honey, M. & Frenkiel, K. (2021). Overtourism: Lessons for a Better Future. Island Press. Due out 26 May.
“Bringing together tourism officials, city council members, travel journalists, consultants, scholars, and trade association members, this practical book explores overcrowding from a variety of perspectives.”
Guyette, S. (2013). Sustainable Cultural Tourism: Small-Scale Solutions. BearPath Press.
“This practical text guides tourism planning and development efforts from within cultures—addressing regional linkages, the tourism plan, visitor surveys, marketing, cultural centers and museums, job creation, and enterprise development, as well as evaluation of sustainability.”
Stavans, I., & Ellison, J. (2015). Reclaiming Travel. Duke University Press Books.
“Based on a controversial opinion piece originally published in the New York Times, Reclaiming Travel is a provocative meditation on the meaning of travel from ancient times to the twenty-first century.”
Reports
World Monuments Fund. (2015). Harboring Tourism: Cruise Ships in Historic Port Communities.
“This publication reports on the proceedings of Harboring Tourism: An International Symposium on Cruise Ships in Historic Port Communities, held February 6–8, 2013, in Charleston, South Carolina.”
Wood, M.E., Milstein, M., & Ahamed-Broadhurst, K. Destinations at Risk: The Invisible Burden of Tourism | Travel Foundation
“This report describes how destinations must uncover and account for tourism’s hidden costs.”
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Destination Monitor
➢ DSC's Destination Monitor and Travindy offer continuing selections of news stories.
Announcements
Volunteers needed! At Tourism Cares https://www.tourismcares.org/opportunities. The Destination Stewardship Center seeks an experienced editor for this Report as well as a tech-savvy gap year graduate or apprentice (WordPress, MailChimp, and Google Suite) – contact us
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Submissions Requested
The Destination Stewardship Report relies entirely on submitted articles and notices, not to mention corrections and suggestions. All 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?
Please contact us with your ideas. Your next issue is planned for July 2021.
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Upcoming Webinars
21 April 2021 at 13:00 UK time, the Tourism Society: "The changing face and purpose of tourism" with Anna Pollock, Founder of Conscious Travel.
The Future of Tourism Coalition's Reset Tourism webinars are free and open to all. Everyone registered will receive a link to the recordings.
- 25 March (completed; see story) – Destination Stewardship and Stakeholder Engagement
- 22 April 15:00-17:00 BST - Managing Tourism’s Impacts [register]
- 6 May 15:00-17:00 BST - Local and Sustainable Supply Chains [register]
The final webinar will present the full Future of Tourism online toolkit and begin collaboration with organizations across the Coalition network.
- 27 May 13:00-14:30 EST - Time suitable for the Americas [register], or:
- 3 June 09:00-10:30 BST - Time suitable for Europe/Africa/Asia. [register]
29 April 2021 - Green Destinations: Healthy Destinations –The Healing Force of Landscapes. International seminar highlighting examples of ‘healing landscapes’ in Europe. https://greendestinations.org/events/
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