Happiness Through Connection
Facing a global pandemic, the importance of finding happy positive ways to look after ourselves and each other became more clear.
If there’s one thing Covid19 taught, it’s how interconnected we all are… And it serves to remind us of a core basic need to connect, person to person, face to face.
Such is the importance to us and tourism, connection is one of our values – connection to people, places, purpose, spiritually and also our dreams and vision.
Happiness in Dreaming
Travel is often something that makes us happy and gives us something to look forward to. Whilst travel and transport may be on lockdown, we can still dream and plan ahead for the day when borders and tourism organisations open their doors again.
Happiness to Sustain Tourism
Covid was the most globally challenging time that the travel sector has ever faced and it was more important than ever that travel was supported. That meant resilient, which means sustainable – because only then does it ensure money supports destinations and communities in need and long term.
Happiness in Nature
A pandemic is a threat to our existence – an existential threat, though it’s not the planet under threat, but our species. And that threat may be man-made. We’re happy that China has banned the consumption and trade of wildlife products – let’s hope permanent. And that we got through Covid-19- though there may be more pandemic viruses and zoonotic diseases which ‘jump across’.
But there’s a bigger picture. Climate Change, the real existential threat to our species, is equally the result of inappropriate human consumption of the world’s resources. Welcome to the Anthropocene.
#TourismDeclares
The Covid19 pandemic shows how we can reduce our carbon footprints when required. In China, measures to contain coronavirus resulted in reductions of 15% to 40% in output across key industrial sectors, likely to have wiped out 25% or more of the country’s CO2 emissions in February.
It highlights the fact that carbon emissions aren’t population-related, but industrial output, which just relates to our demand. We need sustainable consumption and production, SDG 12.
And that includes tourism. Those of us in Tourism Declares Climate Emergency are very aware of our industry’s footprint and seek change. Not just in reducing our own footprints but systematic change in the sector, to be responsible in all our decisions and how they impact environment and communities; to be contributory and regenerative, not exploitative and extractive.
We need the whole ecosystem of travel – flights, cruises, accommodation, transport, tour companies – which is 10% of the world’s economy and jobs – to change.
A tall order. And not one we could even imagine not long ago discussing how the climate crisis requires even more urgent action by entire global travel & tourism sector.
Testing Times in Travel
But here we are. Nature has a funny way of reminding us who’s boss. We’ve not heeded the warnings so far and they’re getting more powerful: SARS (2003), Ebola (1996), global financial collapse (2009), Amazon rainforest fires, Australian bush fires, Greece beach-side fires… the list could go on. A new discipline, planetary health, focuses on increasingly visible connections between the wellbeing of humans and other living things. It shouldn’t be a surprise, we are all in the same ecosystem, connected.
But we haven’t been paying enough attention. We haven’t fixed things.
It’s the ultimate test and it’s only going to get worse under the Climate Crisis as global temperatures cause meltdowns, drought, fires, famine and migration pressurising less and less resources in a more and more condensed area. It’s a pressure cooker.
World Reset
Nature delivered a great opportunity for change into our laps in the shape of Covid-19. Did we pay enough attention?
Tourism is a resilient business. It’s survived before and will again. But hopefully from Covid we learnt and it won’t be the same.
Coronavirus showed us the wins possible. Clearer water in the canals in Venice. Dolphins returning to Italy’s ports. Italians on balconies making sweet music – there’s nothing quite like belting out Nessun Dorma to show you haven’t got a sore throat or cough.
Even in a pandemic, these things have made us happy, reminded us what we were, still are at core, and want to be.
For those creating and choosing trips but not sustainable (most), it’s an opportunity to wake up and smell the organic coffee. If it’s not sustainable, there won’t be travel. Perhaps now after temporary paralysis, it will be valued.
Restart Travel
Did you know most tourism destinations are targeted by governments on volume, not value?
Think no frills flights, huge cruise ships and homestay platforms, generally inconsiderate to destination people and places.
In doing so, it drives prices down to devalue tourism to commodities not communities, meaning quantity over quality, profit over planet; yet drives up local prices of housing and goods. Locals always have destination-prices.
Tourism makes people happy. But most tourism only thinks about keeping guests happy, in order to profit from them, when there’s whole destinations of residents and other stakeholders involved and impacted.
Places like Costa Rica, with its Social Progress Index and Bhutan, with its Gross National Happiness index, don’t consider volume, not even necessarily value – rather values. It’s about time we all did now.
Regenerate Travel
Responsible tourism is about making better places for people to live in and better places to visit. It’s about making happy hosts and happy guests, happy communities in destinations and happy tourism providers. Win-win all round.
Sustainable tourism is about making a happy world.
It’s about time we changed to happy travel.
Are you ready to change?
Healthy planet, happy world.
#StayHealthy
#BeHappy
