NEWS
TOURISTS URGED TO ‘BE LIKE A FINN’
Charlotte Flach
Visit Finland (EU1840) is doubling down on sustainability initiatives with a new marketing campaign. The tourism authority is inviting visitors to “be like a Finn” by signing an online pledge of sustainability to help conserve and preserve Finland’s natural environment and protect its lifestyle. “Tourists are encouraged to take the
Sustainable Finland Pledge, promising to respect and treasure Finnish nature, its inhabitants and culture during their visit,” said Liisa Kokkarinen, manager regional partnerships for Visit Finland. The pledge aims to educate travellers on how to behave in a more responsible way and to get them to share the pledge across social platforms to show they are committed to responsible travelling. Lines from the pledge include:
“[Finland’s] forests and lakes should remain plastic-free, so I will not leave any rubbish behind me” and “Long before humans the wildlife’s been there, so I won’t set up camp just anywhere”. Although there is no numerical target
for signatures, the goal is to share and grow the pledge as much as possible, and many marketing organisations across the country are already sharing it on their channels. “Tourism is a fast-growing industry, and with increasing numbers of tourists come negative impacts if tourism is not well managed and governed. The pledge is one of the tools in our strategy for better managed, sustainable and smart growth,” said Kokkarinen.
PEAK DMC DOUBLES NUMBER OF FEMALE TOUR LEADERS
Madeleine Barber, Official Event Dailies editor
Peak DMC (AF569) has reached its 2020 goal of doubling the number of female tour leaders it employs six months early. The organisation – which is made up of more than 20 destination management companies across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, and is an operational arm of the Intrepid Group – increased its number from 153 to 314 between March 2017, when it set the target, and June 2019. Zina Bencheikh, regional general
manager EMENA at Peak DMC, said: “Globally, we have dozens of employees who started out working as tour leaders and are now in managerial positions. However, hardly any are female because in many countries tour leading is seen as ‘unsuitable’ for women.”
ECO SCHEME HELPS ECUADOR RESERVE
The target for Metropolitan Touring (LA12) to protect more than 15,000 of the world’s hectares by 2040 has seen Ecuador’s Mashpi reserve double in size. The protected area has increased
from 1,200 to 2,500 hectares, thanks to the DMC and operator’s partnership with Fundacion Futuro, an organisation
“Unless we took proactive steps to support women to become tour leaders, it just wouldn’t happen,” she added. But reaching the goal has had its challenges. In Morocco, Bencheikh had to lobby the government to make tour guide licence tests available to women, and, in countries where women needed permission from parents to take the test, the Peak DMC team contacted the families directly to assist in the process. Bencheikh is “incredibly proud” of the female-focused expansion and feels it is “changing attitudes” in-destination. Peak DMC is also working towards a
more equal gender split in its supply chain of locally owned businesses by giving preference to those owned by women. “Brands want to work with us, as they can see our commitment to gender equality is genuine and for the long- term,” concluded Bencheikh.
designed to fund cultural, educational and ecological projects. A haven for rare birds and frogs, Mashpi reserve will now benefit from two “biological corridors” designed to improve migration paths, increase mating and offer a wider scope for scientific research. Metropolitan Touring has also pledged
to go carbon neutral, beginning by adopting a process to measure, reduce and offset the carbon footprints of its customers travelling through Ecuador.
05.11.2019 WTM OFFICIAL EVENT DAILY 15
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
