The Micronesian nation of Palau has been gaining a reputation not only for trail-blazing conservation measures, reports Tiffany Chan, but also for putting the brakes on irresponsible mass tourism. Now they've set their sights on carbon neutrality.

Micronesian Archipelago Leads the Way in Pacific Stewardship

Children of Palau
I take this Pledge
To preserve and protect your beautiful and unique Island home.…
—From the Palau Pledge

The tiny island nation of Palau is known worldwide for its marvelous environment – turquoise waters, unexplored lands, biodiversity – and for the innovative regulations that have been implemented to ensure its pristine condition.

A key part of good destination stewardship is to favor tour operations that support the people who live there. But does that really work in practice? And actually make money? Agritourism specialist Todd Comen decided to give it a try in his home state of Vermont. 

Hypothesis: Integrated Rural Tourism Actually Works

In 2015, I wanted to test a theory of rural tourism: my own. In the year 2000 I had introduced a theory of Integrated Rural Tourism at the 1^st World Congress on Rural Tourism held in Perugia, Italy, organized by Prof. Adriano Ciani of the University of Perugia. The theory went something like this: In rural communities, entrepreneurs can supplement their income stream by delivering services to visitors based on their personal strengths and core assets, and once a number of entrepreneurs successfully do this, the rural communities in which they live and work begin to experience . . . READ MORE →

It’s a  destination described by one expert as having “one of the greatest, rural, natural resource-based economic development programs in the U.S.” The remarkable Pennsylvania Wilds here joins our ongoing “Doing It Better” series on places with a holistic approach to destination management in the spirit of GSTC Destination Criterion A1. Over the past three years two DSC volunteers, Ellen Rugh and Jacqueline Harper, have been collecting and documenting information on the region’s remarkable PA Wilds Center. Here is their report.

Holistic Destination Regeneration, from Conservation to Design

This forested multicounty region in northwest Pennsylvania, once known as the “timber capital” of America, was depleted of its trees and wildlife by the beginning of the 20^th century. Poor forest management and increased demand for lumber led to raging wildfires and floods. The elk population went extinct; the whitetail deer nearly so.

With the timberlands denuded and an oil boom played out, the region went into decline. The government ended up buying the land to create state and national forests. Now, after 100 years of conservation, the rebranded “Pennsylvania Wilds” has been restored and hosts a rich, thriving forest that educates others on the importance of responsible forestry. 

One opportunity for regenerating the depressed region was tourism, . . . READ MORE →

Pandemic Insights Suggest a Course for the Future

As long-time travel leaders, we joined forces in 2019 to create and lead a US/Swiss women’s small group cross-cultural exchange trip predominantly in the Araucania region of Chile, home to the majority of the native Mapuche.

Our group experienced homestays in traditional rukas, stayed in locally owned lodges . . . READ MORE →