Fast Company remains at the "cutting edge" of business publications. Over the last few years, the folks at Fast Company have launched a number of great new ideas from Tom Peters( Brand You, Projects) Seth Godin (Idea Virus)and Chip/Dan Heath (Made to Stick)to name a few.
I was thrilled to see sustainable tourism on the pages of Fast Company in the July edition. Sure - it wasn't a big article but there it was !(click through here).It is important to see "Sustainable Tourism" being recognized in mainstream media.
For the record I was even happier to see Queensland, Australia in the Fast Company article.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
On the radar - Biodiversity
The issue of maintaining the world's biodiversity is fast becoming one of the major topics in sustainability and CSR. A recent McKinsey study shows that it is on the minds of many corporate executives.
Tourism has an important role in supporting the maintenance of biodiversity. Our industry must plan to ensure our actions are biologically and environmentally sustainable. Our people must recognize the role they play in sharing the stories of the world's endangered species.
Tourism has an important role in supporting the maintenance of biodiversity. Our industry must plan to ensure our actions are biologically and environmentally sustainable. Our people must recognize the role they play in sharing the stories of the world's endangered species.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Sustainable Tourism and Social Media
At the recent DMAI conference I had the pleasure of moderating a panel of some of the most forward thinking Destination Management Organization Managers on the topic of social responsibility and sustainability. It was a great topic - made better by the speakers passion for teh topic.
Rodney Payne of Think ! Social Media jotted some notes on what he heard in the session. See his blog on the panel here
Rodney Payne of Think ! Social Media jotted some notes on what he heard in the session. See his blog on the panel here
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Google and Travel
Google is moving into the travel marketplace and will soon be using its incredible reach in ways that will impact the tourism industry for years to come. An old mate, Clayton Reid of MMG Worldwide interviews Rob Torres of Google to discuss the plans. Check it out at Brands that Travel.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tourism - The path to export competitiveness
Sometimes it is hard to remember that each dollar an international visitor spends is an export. It is.
As America prepares to increase its export competitiveness it is important to keep in mind that encouraging international visitors to explore "from sea to shining sea" will spread the value of those export dollars to communities across the nation. I was impressed by a recent Brookings Mountain West report that export earnings in the Denver area were driven by the travel and tourism industry (11.5 percent). It is important for our leaders and policy makers to keep the important fact in mind. Tourism is an economic development tool.
As America prepares to increase its export competitiveness it is important to keep in mind that encouraging international visitors to explore "from sea to shining sea" will spread the value of those export dollars to communities across the nation. I was impressed by a recent Brookings Mountain West report that export earnings in the Denver area were driven by the travel and tourism industry (11.5 percent). It is important for our leaders and policy makers to keep the important fact in mind. Tourism is an economic development tool.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Between a rock and a hard place....
An article in the Washington Post last week caught my eye and raised an issue that seems to be gaining more traction. The Headline was – Green Hotels juggle conservation with customer service – but the article was really about the failure of many hotels to follow through on their in room green promises. The article complained about a hotel room had a towel reuse policy that the housekeeping people seemed to ignore and showerheads designed to save water that didn’t work in a way that would save water.
I am always amazed at the amount of work the large hotel companies are doing to go “green”. Many of the changes are “behind the scenes” and the most hoteliers aren’t highlighting them in their marketing communications. There are green champions – at the highest levels of hotel corporations and in thousands of hotel properties across the country that are working hard to improve the hospitality industry’s green record.
Nevertheless – it is the highly visible programs like towel reuse programs that consumers see – and question - when they don’t happen as expected. Hotel managers could easily look at these types of reports and decide that towel reuse programs are worth the potential criticism. They are between a rock and a hard place and these criticisms highlight the significant organizational behavior change process the industry is working through. Nevertheless I applaud the companies that are introducing the programs, as imperfect as they are, and working to get them right 100% of the time. Progress …. towards perfection… is better than no change at all.
I am always amazed at the amount of work the large hotel companies are doing to go “green”. Many of the changes are “behind the scenes” and the most hoteliers aren’t highlighting them in their marketing communications. There are green champions – at the highest levels of hotel corporations and in thousands of hotel properties across the country that are working hard to improve the hospitality industry’s green record.
Nevertheless – it is the highly visible programs like towel reuse programs that consumers see – and question - when they don’t happen as expected. Hotel managers could easily look at these types of reports and decide that towel reuse programs are worth the potential criticism. They are between a rock and a hard place and these criticisms highlight the significant organizational behavior change process the industry is working through. Nevertheless I applaud the companies that are introducing the programs, as imperfect as they are, and working to get them right 100% of the time. Progress …. towards perfection… is better than no change at all.
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