2017 marks the international year for sustainable tourism. In an earlier issue of the Saint Ange Report, we explained that tourism establishments that promote sustainable tendencies are fast becoming one of the most sought after enterprises by travelers. Sustainable development in the tourism industry is not only showing economic benefits, but also community and socio-economic linkages being formed, cultural preservation being established, and educational awareness to both local and international visitors.
As an international influence for travel in the continent of Africa, TourismTattler.com has joined global media in promoting the aims and aspirations of the UNWTO International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017 (#IY2017).
The aim of the UNWTO #IY2017 initiative is to promote tourism’s role in the following five key areas:
(1) Inclusive and sustainable economic growth
(2) Social inclusiveness, employment and poverty reduction
(3) Resource efficiency, environmental protection and climate change
(4) Cultural values, diversity and heritage
(5) Mutual understanding, peace and security.
Through a series of advertorial features published throughout this year, Tourism Tattler is profiling case studies of African destinations and Africa based tourism products and services which meet and in many cases exceed sustainable tourism practices.
We recently spoke with Mr. Des Langkilde, Executive Editor and Publisher of Tourism Tattler. He says that, “Environmental conservation is everyone’s concern, and the objective of this series is to raise awareness amongst eco-conscious travelers (consumers) and the international travel trade on Africa’s role in Sustainable Tourism, and to highlight the practical initiatives that these destinations and properties have implemented in their business operations.” We also asked Mr. Langkilde about the costs involved to be featured on Tourism Tattler, and he replied, “There is a nominal charge to be included in these advertorial features, but with the extended reach in excess of 300 million users across multiple media distribution channels, and with the inclusion of images, logo, contact details and social media hyper-links, it’s certainly worth the price”. He went on to say, “We’ve discounted our standard magazine rates by 75% to encourage as many Africa based destinations and tourism product owners as possible to participate in this monthly series”.
“Ultimately, we want to create a single, comprehensive list of Africa’s Eco-Friendly destinations and products, so all of the featured listings in this series will also be published in a special Travel Guide due for release in January 2018.”
As seen in previous issues of the Saint Ange Report, there are many establishments here in Seychelles that are leaders in sustainability, and we encourage them to look into the great work that Mr. Langkilde and his team is doing to showcase the concept on a global scale. For more information visit TourismTattler IYSTD2017 Initiative (http://www.tourism tattler.com/tourismtattler-iys td2017-initiative)
