Edition 144 · May 2020

In this extraordinarily confronting and damaging time in the tourism industry we will continue to publish Tourforce monthly. However, we will not seek to offer advice or updates on COVID-19, as industry bodies and government bodies are best equipped to do this – with destination specific information.

We welcome short stories on innovations, and success stories and stories that reflect the positive things that the tourism industry is doing to ensure that the industry returns and re-builds. Submit stories to editor@tourforce.com

We want to place on record our thanks to those in business, government, research and the not-for-profit sectors who are working to get us through this challenging time.

Global Eco Asia-Pacific Tourism Conference, the premier event of Ecotourism Australia, will be held 1-3 December 2020 in Margaret River, Western Australia.

The 2020 Conference comes at a critical time for the industry.

“With the massive disruption to tourism through the bushfires of 2019 followed by the universally devastating impact of COVID-19, there has never been a more important time to come together, draw on the collective strengths of industry, government and academia to re-assess, reflect and recover”  said Tony Charters AM Convenor of the Global Eco Asia-Pacific Conference.

The Board of Ecotourism Australia took the decision to maintain its commitment to a physical conference. The timing, in the first week of December, will be in a period when domestic tourism and limited international tourism will have been re-opened.

The theme for the 2020 Global Eco Conference is: Revolution, Driving Evolution.

The 2020 conference will give voice to the diversity of players that can contribute to a revolution in the tourism world that can take a fresh look at the industry.

The deadline for the submission of offered papers is COB Friday 31 July 2020.

Submit your paper now at https://globaleco.com.au/call-for-papers

The World Travel and Tourism Council has launched a new marketing campaign, #TogetherInTravel aimed at galvanising the global travel and tourism community. The campaign encourages travellers from around the world to share the hashtag along with a video simultaneously uniting everyone in solidarity. The marketing campaign comprises a highly visual and emotive video, hashtag to stimulate the conversation across social platforms and a microsite to host the video and user generated content and stories.

Further information: http://www.togetherintravel.com/

Accor Australia, the largest hotel operator in Australia and New Zealand, has transformed itself from providing a luxury service to working with government authorities and community organisations to provide accommodation and services to those most in need including sheltering front-line health workers, homeless and disadvantaged, vulnerable families and returning residents during the COVID-19 crisis. Many Accor brands are being utilised including SO/, Sofitel, MGallery, Art Series, Pullman, Swissôtel, Grand Mercure, Peppers, The Sebel, Mantra, Novotel, Mercure, Tribe, BreakFree, ibis, ibis Styles and ibis Budget.

Further information: https://press.accor.com/covid-19-mobilization-of-accor-group/?lang=en

Airbnb has launched a new global initiative to provide healthcare professionals and first responders fighting coronavirus access subsidised or free accommodations provided by hosts. The home-sharing platform aims to house 100,000 healthcare professionals, medical support staff and emergency personnel worldwide. Airbnb has also launched a donation tool to help secure more accommodations for health workers with 100% of the proceeds going directly to non-profits helping with coronavirus relief efforts.

Further information: https://www.airbnb.com.au/openhomes/covid19relief

Banyan Tree Holdings marked Earth Day 2020 with the launch of a commemorative book traversing the groups 25-year sustainability journey. Rooted in Sustainability is a story of transformation, a promise that became a commitment, turning an idea into an ideal and impacting many lives made better by the organisation’s core philosophy. Recognised for its commitment to environmental protection and community development through its Banyan Tree Global Foundation, the Group’s efforts are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Through the biography, Banyan Tree provides a sustainability roadmap for other businesses wishing to adopt or expand their scope of responsibility.

Further information: http://investor.banyantree.com/PDF/SR/Rooted-in-Sustainability-BT25-Book-2019.pdf

The Whitsundays has received support from business and government to help the region become the next Great Barrier Reef climate change refuge as part of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s $14 million Reef Islands Initiative. The initiative is a 10-year program of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation supported by funding from Lendlease, the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, the Queensland Government and the Fitzgerald Family Foundation.

Further information: https://www.barrierreef.org/what-we-do/projects/reef-islands

Elenium Automation has developed a contactless, self-service airport triage system that can detect a passenger’s temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate. The technology can be placed at any airport touchpoint such as check-in, bag drop, security or immigration. The touchfree technology works through voice recognition and is currently in the prototype phase with airports and airlines. Elenium has more than 700 check-in kiosks in use by 30 airlines across 13 airports globally including Hong Kong, Auckland, Avalon, Bangalore and Sydney.

Further information: http://www.elenium.com/products/touchless-self-service/

The Pacific Island of Niue is the world’s first country to become an International Dark Sky Place. It received formal accreditation as an International Dark Sky Sanctuary and International Dark Sky Community covering the whole country deeming it a dark sky nation. The International Dark-Sky Association is the globally recognised authority for night sky protection and identifying the negative impacts of artificial light at night on human health, wildlife, and climate change.

Further information: https://www.darksky.org/niue-is-worlds-first-country-to-become-a-dark-sky-place/

The Reef Beat 2020 education poster series is based on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authorities Outlook Report 2019. It encourages teachers and students to explore the threats, the health and resilience and the people who are working together to help protect the Reef for tomorrow.

Further information: http://elibrary.gbrmpa.gov.au/jspui/handle/11017/3572

G Adventures is encouraging agents to tune into its podcast Anything To Declare which talks about how travel can change your life. They have searched the world for the most amazing stories which are worth a listen.

Further information: https://www.gadventures.com/podcast/

The winners of the annual ‘Best Sustainable Tourism Films’ competition have been announced by GLP Films. More than 100 short films were submitted by travel trade organisations and filmmakers from around the globe supporting the overall theme of sustainable tourism. The five categories represent all sectors of the travel industry including travel brands, production companies, media, destinations, and tour operators. The top videos span five continents and cover diverse themes from community tourism, wildlife conservation, local food, women empowerment and cultural heritage.

Further information: https://www.glpfilms.com/sustainable-tourism-films-2020

To mark Earth Day, Intrepid Travel announced more than 100,000 trees have been planted in Kenya as part of its Offset Earth project. The company is also matching trees planted with every subscription through its Offset Earth page.

Further information: https://offset.earth/intrepidreforest

Three purpose-driven organisations, Green Destinations, BookDifferent and Fair Voyage, have launched the Good Travel Alliance to make sustainable travel easy. They have taken the lead to establish sustainable travel role models, avoid greenwashing and create more transparency for travellers – Green Destinations for destinations, BookDifferent for accommodations, and Fair Voyage for tour packages.

Further information: https://fairvoyage.com/good-travel-alliance/

Natural Habitat Adventures a conservation travel partner of World Wildlife Fund has released a comprehensive guide of best practices designed to challenge travel companies to improve their own waste management procedures. Natural Habitat’s 12 Lessons for Less Travel Waste is a first-of-its-kind free resource which contains a collection of effective waste-minimising strategies tour operators can integrate into their own programs and lessen the guest’s impact on the planet.

Further information: https://www.nathab.com/sites/1724/design/uploaded-files/pdfs/NatHab_ZWA_Lessons.pdf

The Adventure Travel Trade Association has surveyed adventure travel industry members to monitor the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on adventure businesses globally to understand the experience, concerns, opportunities and needs of all industry members. The Adventure Travel Business Impact Monitor Survey – COVID-19 (March 2020 Snapshot) report offers valuable insights into how adventure travel businesses are being affected by the pandemic, what they are doing to mitigate these impacts, and how they plan to cope in the future.

Further information: https://www.adventuretravel.biz/research/adventure-travel-business-impact-monitor-survey-covid-19/

Tourism New Zealand is leading a piece of work alongside other government departments and industry stakeholders to reimagine and rethink the way they approach tourism in a post-COVID-19 world. It is an opportunity to rethink the approach to tourism and deliver a sector which is financially self-sustaining in the longer term. This includes reviewing the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy investment plan.

Further information: https://www.tourismnewzealand.com/news/planning-for-the-future-of-tourism/

Tourism Australia has created a page on their corporate site which provides information about Federal, State and Territory Government funding and relief assistance for businesses impacted by coronavirus. This is a work in progress and will continue to be updated as more support measures are announced and confirmed.

Further information: https://www.tourism.australia.com/en/events-and-tools/industry-resources/resources-for-industry/government-support-and-assistance-for-tourism-industry.html

The Australian Government will inject an extra $49.8 million into the Export Market Development Grants program in the 2019-20 financial year allowing exporters and tourism businesses to get additional reimbursements for costs incurred in marketing their products and services around the world.

Further information: https://www.austrade.gov.au/Australian/Export/Export-Grants

Go with Tourism has launched a new service to offer free support to tourism industry workers and businesses affected by the spread of COVID-19. It is an initiative developed by Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development to build New Zealand’s tourism workforce and aims to assist with redeploying displaced tourism workers and providing guidance to businesses in need of advice.

Further information: https://www.gowithtourism.co.nz/

The World Indigenous Tourism Summit will now be held at Crown Perth on 2-5 November 2020. The summit allows participants to impart and gain knowledge on the vital intersections among tourism, community and earth stewardship. Participants will learn more about the values that make Indigenous tourism special and unique.

Further information: https://www.wits2020.com.au/

The Global Sustainable Tourism Conference will be held in Kelowna, Canada from 19-22 November 2020. The conference brings together over 500 delegates from around the world to discuss key challenges and opportunities surrounding sustainable tourism development and management via a series of panels and presentations.

Further information: https://www.gstcouncil.org/gstc-2020-global-sustainable-tourism-conference-to-be-hosted-in-kelowna/

Ecotourism Australia’s 28th annual Global Eco Asia-Pacific Tourism Conference will be held in Margaret River, Western Australia from 1-3 December 2020. The conference is being supported by the State Government through Tourism Western Australia and The Department of Biodiversity and Attractions, together with Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association, Augusta Margaret River Shire and the South West Development-Commission along with Business Events Perth .

Further information: www.ecotourism.org.au/about/global-eco/