In the pause created by the pandemic, many have started to ask some of the big questions about how the tourism industry operates – and one of the key debates, especially in the age of selfies and overtourism...
At WTM Africa there was a panel discussion about the relationship between tourism and the maintenance of biodiversity. Africa is still blessed with much of world’ charismatic megafauna, the Big 5 and a host of...
There is presently much chatter about “revenge travel” as the industry anticipates a post-lockdown boom in travel, although the world is far from post-Covid. The concept of “revenge spending” arose in the...
We can learn much about tourism in Africa, celebrating diversity and inclusiveness, about growing the cake to create more value for neighbouring communities, living with and benefitting from biodiversity (some of it...
There has been great optimism in the media that we will ‘build back better’ after lockdown. It is a worthy aspiration. I also hope that we will. But will we? The theme of WTM Virtual last November was Recover, Rebuild...
With each passing day, the grave future of Earth becomes more stark. The disruption of COVID-19 has not been enough to shift the trajectory, nor has it prompted polluting sectors of the economy to reconsider the harms...
Rubbish has become an integral part of everyday life. Think about it. How many things did you throw away today? And this week? In the last year? Some study rubbish directly – seeing it as contemporary archaeological...
“Sous les pavés, la plage! (Under the pavement lies the beach!)” shouted the protestors in Paris in 1968. It was a much graffiti’d slogan of the situationists and students as they challenged a society that they...
The consequences of climate change are with us. Climate change is a real and present danger. As I write this is much discussion about the recurrence of the ‘beast from the east’ in the UK, the snow is with us. Some will...
“Nature is healing” read social media posts at the outset of the pandemic, as birdsong replaced the drone of traffic during lockdown. But for wildlife conservation in Africa, the reality was very different. Written by:...
Three current crises – COVID-19, climate change, biodiversity loss – all have one thing in common. No country, state or individual can successfully solve or even hope to contain these challenges alone. Unilateral...
Two weeks ago, Marco Lucero, the co-founder of Chilean sustainable tourism organisation Cuidadores de Destinos, posted the following Tweet: What if Tourism becomes a platform for deep connection and understanding...
For the last eight years, Jeremy Smith has been to every single session of the responsible tourism programme at World Travel Market London. And every year, he has produced a daily summary of what has happened during...
Africa Travel Week
Harold Goodwin
The Conversation Africa
Jeremy Smith