Travel Foundation lights green bomb
Salli Felton CEO of Travel Foundation making the point
Rapidly becoming destinations global travel advocacy powerplayer
Most of the industry knows the Travel Foundation as the organization that helps the travel industry – both big tour operators and little travel agents – get a bit more sustainable in destinations.
But now, it looks like they’ve taken on a big spurt in energy and a change in course
Maybe it’s because we don’t hear so much about Tourism Concern since Tricia left and there’s a hole in the market. Anyway something has changed.
For years The Travel Foundation has carried out sustainable tourism projects in high-level mass tourism destinations, linking destination communities with tour operators. That would seem sensible after all, as the Travel Foundation was always supported by the big tour operators and ABTA.
And, of course there was the Make Travel Greener week, which tried to connect with agents and help them pass on the sustainability word.
Anyway, as the organization has released its latest annual report – it certainly seems that things have changed.
Of course there is the usual good stuff about their work in tour operators destinations – Fethiye for instance, where they started the well-respected Taste of Fethiye actually getting local people to produce and sell food to mass tourists.
But now there is also a major focus on destinations who are nearing tourism-explosion level. This is a big deal that nobody else in the industry is really talking about (well why would they? We are in the travel industry – filling up destinations is what we do after all)
Not according to Salli Felton who says that popular destinations are just too popular and places like Venice, Florence and Barcelona have got so many tourists that it will kill their tourism industry.
It’s all true of course, and it’s interesting that somebody from this side of the fence is making the point. After all it is rather like the poacher telling the gamekeeper how to do his job.
But somebody needs to do it and maybe nobody better could be on the side of destinations – they certainly could do with the help.
Valere Tjolle
@ValereTjolle
Valere
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