Reflective Posts – Kyleigh Stewart’s Portfolio

13 November 2020 / 0 Comments

Indigenous Tourism

As members of the tourism industry, with many of the tour operators we know and love operating on the land of the first nations people, it is important we recognize them and continue to work toward reconciliation.

As members of the industry, it takes more than just accepting that we are guests on their land, instead, we must include them in our decision making and planning processes and ensure that they are being treated with the respect they deserve.

In the past, we have often seen the first nations people being disrespected repeatedly and now it is our chance to make the changes for the better. To do this, many organizations have started working with the local first nations peoples to collaborate on new present and future opportunities. For example, Thompson Okanagan is doing a good job of realizing the potential for partnerships with the local first nations and has incorporated that into their destination development strategy.

The North Thompson and Nicola Valleys destination development strategy specifically notes promoting the concept of developing new experiences to bands and aspiring Indigenous entrepreneurs, as well as establishing a local tourism enterprise facilitator to work directly with Indigenous businesses. This is just a sample of the plans they have to partner with the first nations people to develop the industry to incorporate those that came before us.

When it comes to policy and planning, this should be a focus for many jurisdictions worldwide. The lack of respect that is shown towards the first nations and indigenous peoples is shocking and that needs to be changed. In order to do this, there needs to be more representation of the first nations people in the industry, whether it is indigenous industry professionals, representatives, or another form, this needs to be something that is done not just locally but on the global level in many countries around the world.

Barcelona // Photo by Federico Giampieri via Unsplash

13 November 2020 / 0 Comments

Overtourism

The topic of overtourism has exploded in popularity over the past few years as the impacts of overtourism are being felt in many communities around the globe. As members of the tourism industry, it is our responsibility to step up and make the changes necessary to support the healthy growth of tourism for years to come. The question is, how do we do that?

The documentary Crowded Out provides some insight into the issues we are facing and some potential fixes to the issue but it also discusses the question of responsibility. The documentary asks questions like, who is actually in control of the tourism industry?

In order to be effective, I believe that each tourism operator must take responsibility for their own actions and must be aware of the impacts they are having in the communities they operate in. Although it would be amazing for someone else to take on this role, there is not enough time to wait around for other people to take action on the problems we are causing. I will acknowledge the fact that many tour operators may not always have the community’s best interest in their minds and that is where more policies need to be introduced. Unfortunately, we cannot trust everyone to take accountability so implementing things such as tourist taxes or limits on the number of visitors allowed in a specific area each day is necessary to try and control the issue we are seeing.

With COVID-19 now taking hold of the tourism industry, overtourism is much less of a concern. However, when travel does finally make its comeback, we need to be prepared for a boom in the industry which will likely see the tourism hotspots once again, overrun.

9 November 2020 / 0 Comments

Accessible Tourism

Accessible tourism is an extremely important side of our industry that often does not get enough attention as it deserves. The world is full of a widely diverse population with many people requiring different or additional services to what may be considered the standard. As someone who knows many people requiring accessibility in their travel, this topic is one I am very passionate about.

I can’t begin to imagine what it would be like to not be able to visit somewhere I have dreamt of or do something I have always wanted to do, just because it was not accessible for my needs. In order to combat this issue of inaccessibility, the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association (TOTA) has taken it upon themselves to promote full inclusion and accessibility in community and tourism experiences, products and services in the Thompson Okanagan region.

TOTA is doing great work to turn the Thompson Okanagan into an inclusive community, but unfortunately, this is not the same everywhere in the world. Although the UN Sustainable development goals do incorporate accessibility, many places still do not put their own resources into becoming more accessible.

The question is, how can we make tourism on the global level more accessible?

I wish it could be as easy as setting out some general guidelines but we all know that is not going to be effective in creating change. For many communities, becoming more accessible would require changes to infrastructure that would cost a lot of money they may not have. In order to support changes in the industry to make tourism more accessible and inclusive, we need to offer more training programs and resources to educate professionals on the topic as well as offer grants to small tourism businesses looking to make the changes to their operations.

Again this is all easier said than done but I do feel like growing educational opportunities and awareness of the topic will push tour operators in the right direction over the coming years.