At the beginning of February 2024, I was invited by QnA International to speak at the 12th Annual Meetings Arabia & Luxury Travel (MALT) Congress hosted in Abu Dhabi.

The talk was titled “Sustainable Wellness: Enriching Luxury Travel Experiences with Environmental Consciousness” and I was one of three panel speakers on this “Sustainability & Wellness Tourism Panel” slated for the 29th of February 2024.

From left to right: Nadia Swan from ARN, myself, Tiffany McGrath from Sustainability Kiosk, and Samir Mehta from Desert Adventures Tourism.

These panel discussions often fly by and I feel like we barely got to scratch the surface of what sustainability in luxury tourism really looks like, but it was an interesting conference nonetheless and I got to meet some great people: Souhilla Taarabit spoke about managing travel for a large group company with multiple verticals, and in our side chats I learned of the ways she was also making responsible travel choices to lower the group’s overall travel footprint. I met with Eva Lydia Mpanga from NKURINGO SAFARIS, a Ugandan safari travel company and owner of a luxury safari lodge which looked lush AF. The team from Sands Macao and Macao tourism were really fun to speak with (of course we bonded over our shared Asian foodie culture immediately – a happy group of Portuguese tarts if there ever was one).

Overall it was a good event, it was good to have a peek at the luxury travel sector in the Middle East and learn about the trends and forecasts for this region.

On a different but parallel note, it is still strange to work, travel, and behave as though massacres and mass starvation aren’t happening on the other side of the region. As Ramadan looms closer, I hope and pray for an immediate ceasefire soon 🍉🕊🙏