Interview and Story Opportunities

The Responsible Tourism Conference programme at WTM London can be found here:

https://responsibletourismpartnership.org/responsible-tourism-at-wtm-london-2023/

The conference programme has been curated by Harold Goodwin and he is moderating the panels.

Why taking responsibility for sustainability makes business sense.

Two leading tour operators can explain why their companies take responsibility.

Sharon Guihan of The Travel Corporation
Garry Wilson CEO of easyJet Holidays

Countering Green Washing, Positive-Impact Tourism

Greenwashing undermines the travel & tourism sector in the eyes of travellers and destination communities. Misleading claims have resulted in prosecution, and the EU is tightening the regulatory framework requiring companies to disclose information on the risks and opportunities arising from their social and environmental impacts,

The leading companies are moving away from certification to transparent reporting of positive and negative impacts.

Julie Cheetham, Founding Member and Managing Director at Weeva
Turn your sustainability data into a transparent story. Weeva's sustainability management platform helps tourism properties track, measure, and report on their sustainable operations in one central platform. So you can finally tell the world your sustainability story, grounded in data and facts.

Shannon Guihan, Chief Sustainability Officer & Head of TreadRight for The Travel Corporation,
Inge Huijbrechts, Global Sustainability Security Senior Executive, Radisson Hotel Group
Rochelle Turner, Head of Sustainability at Exodus Travels

Engaging Communities in the Business of Tourism

There are two examples of how this can be achieved being showcased at WTM, so there are practitioners in London who are rarely here.

From South Africa Transfrontier Parks Destinations will be in London with two representatives of the communities for whom they manage lodges which were built as part of post-apartheid land restitution. Both were closed when the communities engaged Transfrontier Parks Destinations to operate them, training and employing people from the community and purchasing as much as possible locally while returning rental and profit to the community owners.

Glynn O’Leary, Chief Executive, Transfrontier Parks Destinations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1askfcz4jb0
Hendrik Mathys from the Mier Community co-owners of !Xaus Lodge with the Khomani San Community, a director of the !Xaus Lodge Development Trust
Principal Traditional Leader Morena Montoeli Mota of Batlokoa ba Mota Traditional Community owners of Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge in the Drakensberg

From India, we are showcasing Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.

Both state governments have successfully brought together local communities and tourism businesses to ensure that local people benefit from employment, supplying locally produced goods and services to tourism businesses, and developing SMMEs selling directly to tourists.

Biju K IAS , Secretary of Tourism, Government of Kerala
Sheo Shekhar Shukla IAS Secretary of Tourism, Government of Madhya Pradesh

Managing Destinations: Overcoming Overtourism WTM Site Innovate Stage

We live in a finite world. Our world looks infinite on Earth as we look across the sea, a forest, or a rolling landscape. From space, we see the Blue Marble, our planet, first photographed fifty years ago. Destinations are not infinite. Our planet looks infinite when we look up into the night sky or out across the sea. It isn’t. Destinations cannot simply accept more and more people. Growth at 3% per annum results in a doubling in 23 years. Over the last decade, concern about overtourism has grown, and communities, politicians and commentators in the media have highlighted the issue. How can destinations manage and reduce the negative impacts and enhance the positive?

Emanuele Moggia, Mayor of Monterosso and VP Cinque Terre National Park
Miquel Rodriguez Planas, Manager of the Economic Promotion Area. Barcelona City Council
Vincent Nijs, Chief Strategist, Visit Flanders
Silvia Moggia, Data Storyteller & Strategist, The Data Appeal Company. O the data source available to hear what tourists are saying about  the destination

Decarbonising Aviation - Is hydrogen part of the Solution? WTM Site Innovate Stage

The problem is not flying; the problem is the greenhouse gas emitted from burning fossil fuels. There are many destinations with no prospect of domestic tourism and few if any, alternative ways of earning foreign exchange. They are aviation-dependent. The aviation industry forecasts rapid growth and promotes SAF from waste, biofuels and power-to-liquid, but what part will hydrogen play?

Just last week it was announced that UK green hydrogen energy services company Protium is heading a project designed to create a hydrogen infrastructure for hydrogen-powered aircraft. Haskel’s hydrogen compression system with Nel Hydrogen’s electrolyser, provides hydrogen for fuel cell-electric propulsion aircraft trials. Project HEART is particularly focused on regional airports, aiming to develop a refuelling solution tailored to aircraft carrying nine to 19 passengers and covering a range of 500 miles.

Jane Ashton, Sustainability Director, easyJet PLC

James Cox, Public Affairs Lead, Bristol Airport

Jenny Kavanagh, Chief Strategy Officer, Cranfield Aerospace Solutions Ltd

Jessica Kennedy Project Executive Hydrogen Demonstrator at Rolls-Royce

Andy Reynolds Head of ZEROe Hydrogen Storage and Distribution Systems, Airbus