#TourismStrong Video Series and Industry Report
#TourismStrong is an uplifting video series celebrating the resilience of the travel industry through positive tourism stories amidst the COVID-19 global pandemic. As people worldwide mark the one-year anniversary of global lockdown and reflect on the personal and professional losses incurred by so many, we build on our commitment to bring the travel industry together at a time when it’s most needed.
Watch select episodes of the #TourismStrong video series below and sign up to receive the free report with key takeaways from our travel industry peers—#TourismStrong: Lessons and Solutions for a Sustainable Tourism Future.
Watch the trailer:
GLP produced a film on Rafael (Rafa) Gallo, owner of Rios Tropicales, a white water rafting company in Costa Rica in 2010 during our film expedition across Costa Rica. Fast-forward a decade later, and Rios Tropicales has been forced to shut down and reduce staff by nearly 90% after 35 years in the business. In this heartwarming conversation with GLP, Rafa compares the situation to a first descent of a Class VI rapid. It's scary and unpredictable, but with a strong team of family and community behind you, and a lot of perseverance and creativity, we can get through this. Together. #TourismStrong
Learn more about the conservation and sustainable tourism efforts of Rios Tropicales.
Community first with family-owned restaurant in Portland, Maine
Partner: Mami Restaurant
Location: Portland, Maine
How do you pivot from communal to community in times like these? For Austin and Hana, co-owners of Mami restaurant, the buzz of a crowded restaurant fueled their creative, delicious Japanese street-food menu. How do you survive...or thrive...when all that suddenly stops?
After a reset, Mami reopened for take-out only. It isn’t easy. But the satisfaction of feeding their community while being able to feed their own family has brought new rewards. And the support of grateful customers, new and old, has made it clearer than ever, that we are in this together and together we thrive. #TourismStrong
Check out Mami’s take-out menu during COVID-19.
Anti-poaching in Kenya’s Maasai Mara
Partner: Angama Mara & Adventure Travel Conservation Fund
Location: Maasai Mara, Kenya
“It came from nowhere. It could have been a bushfire. It felt that catastrophic,” describes Nicky Fitzgerald, owner of Angama Mara safari lodge, on how the pandemic struck Kenya’s Maasai Mara. Wildlife preserves were hit with a one-two punch—tourism came to a sudden halt while communities that rely on tourism struggled to feed their families. With a dire need for bushmeat and a lack of rangers to protect wildlife, the pandemic has sadly led to increased poaching.
Sustainable tourism is essential for wildlife conservation. It provides revenue to protect and maintain the wild spaces and jobs vital to support local communities. Additionally, “poachers don’t like people,” so the presence of tourists and workers suppresses poaching activity. Until we can travel again, what can we do? Organizations have united globally to direct resources to feed communities and fund wildlife rangers where they are needed most. “My appeal is that every dollar counts in Africa. Five dollars goes such a long way.” #TourismStrong #AngamaMara #wildlife #conservation #Kenya #antipoaching
You can make a direct impact on anti-poaching efforts by supporting the Fund a Ranger campaign.
Food and family with Chando’s Tacos in Sacramento, California
Partner: Chando's Tacos
Location: Sacramento, California
“When there’s a crisis we have to be together, we have to work hard.” That is a lesson Chando Madrigal wanted to teach his children in this crisis. When the pandemic hit the Sacramento area, Chando said the easy thing to do would be to shut down his family’s taco business. But the right thing to do would be to come together as a family, a team and a community to work hard and emerge even stronger in the future. “We’re here for them and because of them,” Chando says of their Sacramento community. By appreciating their roots and innovating for the future, they are Chando Strong. #ChandosTacos #VisitSacramento #TourismStrong
Visit or order online from one of the Chando’s Tacos locations, or tune in every Tuesday for live “Cooking with Lali and Xio” presented by Chando’s Enterprises.
Remote but not untouched in Brazil’s Amazon
Partners: Cristalino Lodge
Location: Alta Floresta, Brazil
The pandemic is global with its effects reaching as far as the remote Amazon jungles of Brazil. Cristalino Lodge is a destination that celebrates the experience of well-being in nature. But when flights stopped, tourism disappeared and their region went from remote to completely cut off from the rest of the country.
Vitoria da Riva Carvalho, founder of Cristalino Lodge, had to pivot and find creative solutions to fund her business and support her community who rely on tourism to sustain their local economy. She started “I Am Cristalino,” a creative campaign where people can purchase future travel to support the lodge and the conservation work right now. In turn, Cristalino is providing food, supplies and even toys to support and nurture their local community.
Although Vitoria is struck by the magnitude and impact of the pandemic, she sees a positive outcome. “We are all going to be different after this virus, in our heart.” #TourismStrong #Brazil #Amazonia
Visit Cristalino Lodge to learn more about sustainable tourism and conservation in Brazil.
Thailand elephant crisis in pandemic
Partners: Into the Wild Elephant Camp & Thailand Insider
Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand
“Elephant camps have been largely impacted by COVID-19 because we survive on tourism, on foreign tourists.” That is the stark reality that Siwawut Munesane, owner of Into the Wild Elephant Camp, and other elephant camps and sanctuaries in Thailand have faced during the pandemic. Elephant experiences are one of the most popular activities for tourists in Thailand. With the absence of travel, elephant camps have no money coming in, which is vital to provide food and care for the elephants, and income for the mahouts (elephant caretakers) and owners. Despite pay cuts or even without pay, mahouts have remained with their elephants to care for them. It is a unique bond. “Elephants are my life, elephants are my family, ” explains Siwa.
The pandemic has shed a light on the need for innovation and change to improve elephant welfare and the sustainability of elephant tourism. Simply stated, “It’s something we’ve never needed to consider. Every elephant camp needs to adjust their thinking.”
For more information on supporting elephant camps in Thailand, please visit: www.thaielephantalliance.org/en
#TourismStrong #SustainableThailand #WorldElephantDay #dontletthemdisasppear