The Sustainable Travelogue

Well, this is the final episode of season 1! A huge thanks to everyone – the amazing people from GSTC and all the interviewees, and you, podcast listeners – for your support during these past few months. This week, I talk with Dr. Mihee Kang, Asia-Pacific Program Director at the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. She's one of GSTC’s globetrotting trainers whose focus is on the Asia-Pacific region, and is one of the organization’s female team members. The GSTC was created by UN agencies and conservation NGOs in 2007 to develop global standards for sustainable travel and tourism. There are two sets of these standards, or criteria: Destination Criteria for public policy-makers and destination managers, and Industry Criteria for hotels and tour operators. The Sustainable Tourism Training Program is one of the many resources about the criteria that GSTC provides tourism stakeholders. The program involves in-person, hands-on guidance in improving sustainability practices within organizations, businesses, and across destinations.I caught up with Dr. Kang at the tail end of the GSTC sustainable tourism conference in March to talk about her experience as a female leader among the predominantly male communities with whom she works across the region, from Vanuatu to Thailand. Learn who her role models are, how she’s received in her home country of Korea, and why she believes greed is good.Incidentally, GSTC was recently recognized by Equality in Tourism International, a charity dedicated to ensuring that women have an equal voice in tourism and hospitality and an equal share in its benefits, for its equal representation of men and women on its board. Visit www.gstcouncil.org for more information.You can revisit all episodes by searching for The Sustainable Travelogue in Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or by visiting http://sustainabletravelogue.buzzsprout.com.  Don't forget to tell your friends! Thanks for listening.

This week, lawyer turned sustainable tourism advocate Koko Tang gives us some insight into sustainable tourism in China. Koko and I met at the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s Asia-Pacific conference in Chiang Mai last month, and this interview continues our conversation about Vinetree, the innovative ecotourism company she helped create that takes glamping to a whole new level.Listen as Koko talks about how an unintended consequence led to the creative idea of sharing the Vinetree experience with the local community, the driving philosophy behind the company, and how sustainable architecture was a key component to the development of one of Vinetree’s products.Ready to book your trip?  Visit http://www.vinetreetents.com/ for more info. To learn more about the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and its sustainable tourism criteria, visit https://www.gstcouncil.org/.Be sure to tune in next week for a special episode featuring a leader within GSTC, Dr. Mihee Kang, GSTC’s Asia-Pacific director. We sat down to talk about the challenges and opportunities she faces as a woman working in predominantly male environments throughout the Asia-Pacific region, and how GSTC is achieving gender equality across the organization.As always, you can find all episodes by searching for The Sustainable Travelogue in Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or by visiting http://sustainabletravelogue.buzzsprout.com.  And tell your friends!Thanks for listening!

One billion people worldwide live with some form of disability, a number that is projected to increase as the Baby Boomer generation continues to age. Each and every one deserves to travel regardless of their disability.A few years ago, Neha Arora left her corporate job in India to build Planet Abled, one of the first tour operators dedicated to helping people living with disabilities travel. Today, she and her team have made travel possible for 500 participants from 15 countries.Listen as she tells us more about her work and the wider movement toward “barrier-free travel” for all. Learn more about Neha and Planet Abled at www.planetabled.com. And to access a transcript of this interview, visit sustainabletravelogue.buzzsprout.com, or send me a message on Twitter at tst_pod, or on Instagram at sustainabletravelogue.Next week, I talk sustainable architecture in tourism in China with Koko Tang, CEO and co-founder of Vinetree tent resorts in Yunnan. You can catch this and all episodes by searching for The Sustainable Travelogue in Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or by visiting the website at sustainabletravelogue.buzzsprout.com. And don’t forget to tell your friends!Thanks for listening!

37 million international travelers visited Thailand in 2018. That’s the population of the country of Canada, according to Wikipedia, and roughly half the population of Thailand itself. In this episode, Dr. Chuwit Mitrchob, Deputy Director General of DASTA, the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration, tells us about his vision and strategies for a more sustainable Thailand in the wake of this “army of international tourists” to his country. Hear what he means by the 5 Co’s: Co-Thinking; Co-Planning; Co-Acting; Co-Responsibility; and Co-Benefit, and his very generous offer that I just couldn’t refuse.For more information about DASTA, visit www.dasta.or.th/en. And to learn more about GSTC, visit www.gstcouncil.org.Next week, join me for a fun conversation with Neha Arora, founder of Planet Abled in Delhi. Hear how a “mob fight” led to the birth of Planet Abled, and how she is truly making tourism accessible to all. Catch this and all episodes at Apple Podcasts (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sustainable-travelogue/id1456872790), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMMbiwLRtq8MStc_w1UKT8A), or by visiting the website at http://sustainabletravelogue.buzzsprout.com.  And don’t forget to tell your friends!

For some travelers to Southeast Asia, riding an elephant is the one activity we make sure we do – and the one activity we think twice about having experienced. Even after researching and choosing the most ethical elephant camp to visit, in retrospect, we’re left with a gnawing sense of doubt: should I have done that? But what if we’re asking the wrong question?Host Kathy Eow sits down with Dr. Pakkanut Bansiddhi of the Center of Excellence in Elephant Research and Education at Chiang Mai University in Thailand to talk about the science behind this complex and confusing topic. This conversation continues an earlier discussion about her research on elephant welfare in camps across northern Thailand that she presented at the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s Asia-Pacific conference in March. Listen as Dr. Bansiddhi tells us how elephants react physically and emotionally to work activity such as riding, her own surprise at what she found throughout the research, and who inspired her to dedicate her life to these extraordinary animals. Dr. Bansiddhi’s presentation at the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s Asia-Pacific conference was live-streamed on the GSTC’s Facebook page. To watch the panel discussion, visit www.facebook.com/GlobalSustainableTourismCouncil/.Tune in next week to hear from Dr. Chuwit Mitrchob, Deputy Director-General of DASTA, the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration in Thailand. Stay up-to-date with new episodes by subscribing to this podcast on Apple iTunes, Spotify or the website at http://sustainabletravelogue.buzzsprout.com.

Developing a skilled and knowledgeable tourism workforce is critical to the industry's sustainable growth. ChoCho Mar, Swisscontact’s head of Hospitality Training, Vocational Skills Development program in Myanmar, talks about tourism workforce training in Mawlamyine, an emerging destination in Mon State. In this episode, you'll learn more about the region’s “brain drain” problem, how tourism is challenging it, and what inspires ChoCho to keep working toward a sustainable Myanmar. And as a bonus, check out how host Kathy Eow massacres the Burmese word for "thank you."Want to know more about ChoCho’s work at Swisscontact? Visit www.swisscontact.org. And for more info about the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, check out www.gstcouncil.org. 

Sustainable tourism. We’ve all heard of it but how many of us – industry insiders included – actually know what it means, let alone how to do it?The Sustainable Travelogue tackles this very question to understand what sustainable tourism is, and why it matters. Join world traveler and tourism professional Kathy Eow as she talks with industry leaders and unsung trailblazers from around the world about their work helping us travel better, forever. Season one kicks off with conversations from The Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s 2019 Asia-Pacific Sustainable Tourism Conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand in March. The GSTC was created by UN agencies and conservation NGOs in 2007 to develop global standards for sustainable travel and tourism. Visit www.gstcouncil.org for more info about their work and how you can become a member.