2017 is the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for development. Sustainable tourism is being touted as an important tool in development. Why tourism? The United Nations gives 5 reasons: Tourism can create inclusive and sustainable economic growth Tourism can increase inclusiveness, employment and contribute to poverty reduction Tourism can contribute to resource efficiency, environmental protection and reducing climate change Tourism can help us appreciate cultural values, diversity and heritage and Tourism can lead to greater mutual understanding, peace and security. But introducing or increasing tourism doesn’t automatically create these...

22 March, 2017 /

There is an excitement about the power of social entrepreneurship. Unleashing the power of entrepreneurial thinking on social problems provides “out of the box” solutions  after years of "standard" responses these challenges. However, some of the most vocal advocates for social entrepreneurship only extoll the virtues of scalable solutions and game-changing approaches. There is more to social enterprise than a few large organizations and I want to take a moment to celebrate social entrepreneurs that are working in their own small corners of the world, making real and positive change...

06 July, 2016 /

The rise in "Local" is making an impact. One of the three big trends shapingmarketing today - So Mo Lo ( Social, Mobile and Local), "local" tends to be an afterthought in conversations that focus on the rise of mobile and the impact of social networking and marketing. But "local" is a big deal to tourism marketing and is changing the way the industry does business. The focus on local has a couple of great benefits for tourism: Local product and services build a "sense of place". "Local" tends...

28 May, 2015 /

Brand USA, the new national tourism office of the United States, launched the new campaign Land of Dreams this week. The feedback in the industry so far seems to have been pretty positive - view the first ad for yourself at Land of Dreams ...

26 April, 2012 /