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 🍉🕊🙏
🌿 This certificate is the capstone to a wonderfully enriching experience training with other sustainable tourism professionals at the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) conference in Sevilla December 2022. I’m happy that I was able to confirm what I’ve learned in the process, in large part thanks to our kickass trainers Ramkumar and Ignacio 🙌
Thank you CB Ramkumar and Ignacio de las Cuevas for the engaging training sessions and evening tapas, and congrats to Randy and team for hosting such a great event. This week has deepened my understanding of how to apply sustainable global standards to our industry, and I loved learning about the multitude of initiatives destinations and organisations are carrying out in their corners of the world 🥹🌍
December 2022 was an uncharacteristically rainy time in Seville 🌧️ But the weather couldn’t put a damper on the warmth and enthusiasm of everyone I met. I’m so grateful to have heard your stories, both professional and personal, and know you have a friend for life.
With this certificate under my belt, I’m excited to continue carrying on the work of greening our industry with more knowledge and vigour 🍀
(Pictured: Post-training class photo, lunch with the Arab league, tapas time, the MICE criteria consultation workshop, selfies at the Real Alcazar, the GSTC team on stage, FIBES lookin’ like Al-Aqsa, night walks, Khalisah in Real Alcazar.)
When I was an International Relations student at AUS, I didn’t have any clear ideas on how to forge my own path or career. I didn’t know I would graduate during an economic depression and experience a second financial crisis not long after. It would have been nice to have someone to talk to, so whenever I’m asked to share my experience with students I’m excited to do so just in case it can help them in any way that might’ve been helpful for younger me.
So when my alma mater reached out to do a feature on me for my old department’s newsletter, I was a little nostalgic about it. It feels like I was the last generation of students who did not have smartphones or social media at AUS, and the newsletters have certainly come a long way. Over email, I answered some questions and the process turned out to be a nice exercise in retrospection.
You can read my feature below; and if you’re a student, I hope any part of this might be helpful for you too.
Mixed feelings about this TEDx talk, mainly because I always thought my first TEDx would chronicle a personal life event where I overcome seemingly impossible odds to win the Quidditch cup for Gryffindor (still waiting for that owl). The opportunity also came to me during a busy work season when I was in the middle of co-authoring a report called “Raising the Bar” about our competitive destination clients. I was also given two weeks to prepare for this TEDx.
But opportunities like this are few and far between, so that month I kissed my sleep goodbye and took the plunge. Without the comfort of a screen to sit behind or cheat notes to read off-screen, I did my best to share what I think was the most important trend to come out of our work (Spoiler: The people transformed by the process of working in sustainability).
I see a million ways that I could have done better, but — I also see this as a lot of learning for the next one 😏
The day after the TEDx talk I presented the top-level findings of the report in a company webinar, where you can sense my energy levels are a little higher on Zoom following a night of relieved sleep.
In first week of June, I got to go on my second trip to Germany with the GDSM, this time to speak about Regenerative Events with my colleague Milda (photos above and below, but sadly no video). I also got the chance to speak with students at the IMEX-MPI-MCI Future Leaders Forum roundtables and snuck in a quick chat with Rachel Moore over at Hubilo about legacy events (full interview below).
After a three-year hiatus, IMEXFrankfurt was back in action and in person. It wasn’t my first tradeshow, but a first IMEX experience can feel like one. I loved how the map was available on the floor when entering the show floor section, and the inspiration hub contained rooms with headsets for people to block out other sounds and home in on your talk. The inspiration hub hosted more events than I could attend, but I did my best to take part in some campfires (small group huddles) and talks surrounding sustainability and events.
For our talk, Milda and I weren’t sure what to expect when only one person showed up just one minute before our start time, but five minutes in we had a full house of listeners who stayed until the end. A very good sign that a) Regenerative events are a growing point of interest for event organisers and associations, and b) IMEXFrankfurt had pulled together the most relevant talks for their audiences. I actually recognised some people in the crowd from an EIC-led campfire chat the morning of our talk, and I was heartened to see them remember that we were speaking and showed up to stay till the end. Another thing about IMEX: The connections run a little deeper there.
Sadly I didn’t get to see much of the city of Frankfurt, but between getting to meet lots of old and new acquaintances, glamming up for the gala night and eating the best spinach dumplings at the Munich stand, I think the visit was an overall success.
Do you ever find yourself getting into bed and thinking about bookmarking sustainability podcast episodes on your phone real quick, and then you accidentally curate a playlist with 11+ hours of bomb-ass content?
Whoops.
I get it — there is just too much information out there. Who’s got the time to read all the articles and reports on the thing? When are you gonna watch that documentary or TED Talk? Who’s got the mental bandwidth anyway?
Thankfully, you can listen to a podcast episode while doing something else in your busy lives (like commuting, cooking, or folding laundry). Bonus when the podcast is informative and engaging too.
I tried to pack this playlist with the heavyweights in sustainability – like Paul Hawken and Naomi Klein – but I also tried to add interesting voices like the Sioux Chef Sean Sherman. Below I’ve highlighted some episodes that particularly tickled my ears. So if you’re looking for an excuse to get away from your desk and take a brisk walk, here are some sustainability and social justice podcast episodes to keep you company.
1. How to Save a Planet
I think many long-time listeners will agree that it was better when Ayana Elizabeth Johnson was co-hosting this podcast (no offence Alex Blumberg), but even without her bright light, the podcast is still a lighthouse of shining episodes that leave you inspired to take action.
I learn so much from each episode, but this one lives forever in the front of my mind. Up until I heard it I had no idea how much carbon oceans sequester (a lot!) and how one badass fisherman is creating underwater vertical farms of kelp.
Listen to Bren Smith make the case of ‘de-sushi-fying’ fishing
2. Finding Humanity
B Lab partnered with Finding Humanity to launch a podcast series highlighting how businesses must play a role in saving the planet. In the ‘right to repair’ episode, Nathan Proctor‘s barely concealed outrage at having to replace phones every two years honestly gives me life.
“Why have we glued batteries into phones?”
In ‘the urgent case for stakeholder governance’, the episode looks at how top-level company stakeholders drive business decisions toward profit and why that economic focus should be managed (just reading this sentence fills my head with the screams of pro-business lawmakers and that alone makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside).
“Building stakeholder consideration into your legal DNA”
3. Jane Goodall and Robin Wall Kimmerer.
People. These are arguably the two biggest names in the sustainability movement and they’re here TOGETHER. Scientist to scientist, woman to woman, nature lover to nature lover. Bask in the hopecast.
“In my own evolution, I have gone from scientist to storyteller because it feels like that’s what we need right now.”
4. Planet B
Social justice podcast looking at balancing the climate scale between the global north and south, Planet B takes on all the heavy topics. In this one, executive director of the anti-poverty charity War on Want Asad Rehman talks about the climate refugee and all of it is quotable.
“The global green new deal has to centre the idea of reparative justice […] from the global north to the global south”
5. Kerning Cultures
Not specifically a podcast dedicated to sustainability, but the topics covered by Kerning Cultures falls in and around ‘social impact’. This gorgeous podcast is about ‘stories across the Middle East and the spaces in between’ and documents people and places with both journalistic integrity and captivating storytelling.
There is one environmental-focused story for the water warriors: Dr. Azzam Alwash is an environmental engineer who gave up his comfortable life in California to work on restoring Iraq’s salt-water marshes that were destroyed by Saddam Hussein as retaliation to uprisings in that area. “The personal cost of giving up my family life for these marshes was heavy, but this is bigger than me,” says Dr. Alwash.
The Marsh Arabs – or Ma’dan (معدان) – are a nomadic tribal group that lives in marshland areas in the south of Iraq, where the Tigris and the Euphrates deposit into the sea.
For the social focus, this is a story about a specific form of trauma that happens to some refugee children after relocating to Sweden. It’s a tough one, but important to listen to.
What does resignation syndrome have to do with Sweden and refugees?
6. Damages
I can’t describe this podcast better than the show description, which says it’s “Law & Order meets the climate crisis.” When the state of Minnesota greenlights Enbridge’s intention to build a pipeline through Anishinaabe territory and threaten the wild rice in those wetlands, the lead plaintiff that motions to stop them is Manoomin. Plot twist: Manoomin is the rice.
The “Rights of Manoomin” tribal law recognizes wild rice as having the rights to exist, flourish, regenerate, and evolve, as well as inherent rights to restoration, recovery, and preservation. This resistance is working, on the ground and in court. But stop reading my summary and listen to it in full.
As an Asian and big rice fan, I approve of this case.
Today I was invited to speak at the ICCIA‘s “Leadership Talks” series on “Achieving Sustainable Tourism: Challenges and Opportunities.”
I am grateful to have the chance to speak with such a diverse audience and alongside speakers like Randy Durband, Wiwik Mahdayani, and Amine Ahlafi. It’s a shame we didn’t have enough time for a bigger Q&A discussion at the end, but glad to be able to share more about our work.
Thanks to the talk I had with David Peacock in September, TMI called me back and asked if I could speak at a student webinar entitled “Sustainability in Practice: Tourists, SMEs, Residents, and Destinations Taking Responsibility for Change”. The talk was organized by Joyce Cawthorpe and Dr. Maeve Marmion, TMI Director of CPD and the Head of Department for Marketing, Tourism & Destinations at the University of Chester. Nick Lancaster, a professor at the University of Cumbria & Managing Director of Lancaster & Lancaster Ltd (a hospitality/tourism consultancy), was already confirmed to be one of the two speakers at this event, so it was really flattering that I was invited to be the other speaker.
Nick Lancaster’s presentation focused on the reality of delivering day-to-day sustainable tourism within the Lake District National Park, while I focused on examples I’ve come across at the GDS-Movement.
I picked out examples from our destinations…… and talked about the evolution we were seeing
From my first talk as “the ‘greenest’ green consultant“‘ at the GDSM in September to this one in November, I had done so much with the team and been through the 2021 GDS-Index assessment and award season that I felt like I had so much to share. We were swimming in data and insights from 73 destinations that have submitted information on their sustainability practices, and everywhere I looked there was inspiration to be found. I spoke about how Skelleftea took a page out of Destination Fyn’s book (literally) by dedicating their sustainability guide to them; I shared how Helsinki uses inclusion in their report-turned-website; I even spoke about the Icelandverse TVC that promotes authentic experiences over virtual ones. The accelerated growth I experienced in my early months at the GDS-Movement culminated in so much information to share, and luckily I found out after that there was a good crowd to share it with too; Joyce told me that there were 43 named people on the call but some were university lecturers sharing their screen with students in a classroom so the talk might have reached a minimum of 60 to 70 people directly and several universities have requested the recording – so that’s my little contribution to sustainable tourism for 2021, hah. I hope someone in those numbers found something that resonated with them in the presentation.
I spoke with Dr. Norhayati’s business class at the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) last about destination management and sustainable tourism. Dr. Norhayati designed a series of guest lectures for her capstone business courses where experts in different industries talk about how they’re integrating sustainability in their work. From social entrepreneur, sustainable finance/accounting and fashion, I joined as the sustainable tourism guest lecturer.
I love how she’s captured the intersecting and all-encompassing nature of sustainability across the different industries for her students, as that’s something I wish I was exposed to more as a bachelors student.
Because Dr. Norhayati gave me a generous time slot to go over the subject matter (and because her students were already familiar with many of the concepts of sustainability), I had fun organizing the talk to move from the current state of affairs into what I’m trying to do at the GDS-Movement.
The overview of my talk
I tried to drive home the message that tourism doesn’t have to be this awful thing that happens to beautiful fragile places that displace and exploits locals and their land, but that tourism could be a source of equity and good stewardship if properly managed and monitored.
This is a topic that’s been researched and discussed extensively and exhaustively, but I still approach the idea with awe that instead of feeling guilty or forcefully turning a blind eye on your impact during your travels, perhaps your trips could actually leave a place better than you found it. I love the idea of travellers being welcomed and made to feel at home, and mutual respect and dignity are shown between both locals and visitors. This does happen on occasion, of course, but in my experience, the sad reality tends to skew more towards disrespectful and unaware tourists littering and disturbing disenfranchised locals. It’s an awful feeling to see (particularly in Bali or Thailand) waiters or bus drivers swallow their discontent as they see their jobs through in serving a boisterous group of unaware travellers. Seeing the inequity in Asian destinations and the negative impacts of tourism in my home country of Malaysia is what put me on the path of sustainable tourism in the first place (I may write more about this in another post).
Last September, I was talking to David Peacock about something work-related and ended up shooting the breeze about all the things I was learning at the GDS-Movement, and he said I should share my insights on a webinar he was speaking at. I was hesitant at first because I’d only been with the GDSM for three months, so I didn’t feel like I knew enough about the company to be talking about them publicly so soon. But he said that he wasn’t looking for an expert’s perspective, and I thought that’s great, I enjoy speaking unofficially as a non-expert. My CEO was all for it so I agreed.
The poster for the talk
The talk was titled “Sustainability: DMO‘s Must Take an Active Role or Face Irrelevance” hosted by the Tourism Management Institute (TMI) and you can watch part of the discussion here. We talked about how different DMOs approach (mis)managing their destinations by including sustainable practices and their resident’s opinions – or not, to their own detriment, now or later.
Even if you haven’t listened to his podcast on the Future of Tourism, you can tell that David is an excellent interviewer and orator because he was able to draw out information from me and others in the session, and it turns out that I did know a few things after all (it’s always nice when your interviewer is able to extract info from you and make you look good).
David Peacock doing his thing
Still, the chance that I may misrepresent something from my new role lingered in the back of my mind, which resulted in a semi-permanent look of anxiety on my face throughout the webinar.
“Even though I’m 99% sure of the things I’m saying, I hate that I can’t fact-check them while I’m speaking”
It turned out to be a really fun and engaging experience, and Peacock moderated a Q&A discussion that got audience members from different DMOs sharing news about what they’re doing to transition to a more inclusive and sustainable future. My colleagues Rebecca and Jess were also part of the Q&A and shared their wisdom and insights too.
Eventually, this cross-collaboration led to a highly-engaging discussion between my CEO Guy Bigwood and David Peacock. You can watch their interview below or listen to the podcast episode on Spotify.
Khalisah Stevens 