Travel Beyond

“It really comes back to ?iisaak. It comes back to respect.”  To create a more balanced and inclusive future for tourism, it’s essential to understand and honour Indigenous culture and history. In this episode, Timmy Masso and Hjalmer Wenstob explore the deep connections between language, art, and land, sharing their vision for respectful tourism, the power of education, and the role of story...

On this episode of Travel Beyond, sustainability leader Auden Schendler shares a bold vision for tackling the climate crisis, revealing how the tourism industry can use its influence to drive systemic change, inspire global action, and transform token efforts into scalable, impactful solutions. For more resources, see the show notes on our website at destinationthink.com. Hosted on Acast. See acas...

Travel’s full impact on society – both positive and negative – is not often fully understood or discussed. But that’s starting to change. Today’s leading destinations are charting a future with strategies that help places navigate complexity and make sure communities and the environment benefit. This episode is a condensed version of a live webinar presented by Destination Think. Rikke Holm Peters...

In a world where the old playbooks no longer work, biologist and environmental professional Veronica Woodruff explores how adaptability, collaboration, and community action can reshape leadership, tackle complex challenges, and inspire meaningful change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2019, a living history museum in Barkerville, British Columbia began incorporating First Nations perspectives into its storytelling, largely due to the efforts of Cheryl Chapman (Sunrise When the Salmon Come) from the Xatśūll First Nation, who spent 26 years advocating for the shift. In this episode, Cheryl speaks with us about the powerful role storytelling and tourism can play in reconciliati...

When highways wash out, tourism stops—highlighting the deep connection between travel and the environment. In this episode, biologist and environmental professional Veronica Woodruff explores how cross-sector collaboration can strengthen tourism's resilience against extreme weather while supporting environmental restoration in the face of climate change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

Leonard Ellis knows more than most tourism operators what it means to pivot a business. Over his 50-year career, and as the owner of Bella Coola Grizzly Tours, he has transitioned from hunting big game to viewing them instead. But his motivation to bring balance to nature through guided tours is unchanged. Leonard has worked to re-introduce grizzly bears to an area where prior hunting outfitters h...

She’s a CEO by day and a farmer by night, but in both roles, Amy Thacker is working to help people connect with the lands where they live and visit. Amy leads the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association to support the tourism industry in inviting visitors to see this vast, diverse region for themselves – and experience the positive culture shock of living off the grid. In this conversation, sh...

Chris Harris, a renowned photographer and adventurer, shares his deep connection to British Columbia’s Cariboo Chilcotin Coast region and his efforts to document the Chilcotin Ark, one of the most biodiverse wilderness areas in the temperate world. He explores how the Ark’s unique geography positions it as a potential refuge for life in the face of climate change, and how tourism can be a powerful...

How can the private sector work for public good? Rod Drury is a serial entrepreneur and Founder of Xero, a successful tech company based in Aotearoa New Zealand. Since stepping back from his roles as CEO and Director, Rod has been involved in some of the most exciting innovations taking place in Queenstown related to electrification – areas like energy production, public transport, and marine tech...

How can travel contribute to creating more equitable communities? Ben Lyman, Head of Communications at the Travel Foundation and Bernadette Papp, Senior Researcher at the European Tourism Futures Institute discuss new research on equity in tourism. Developed by a consortium of researchers and sponsoring organizations including Destination Think, they share case studies and strategies for travel in...

What can travel businesses do to make a substantial impact in their climate actions? Shannon Guihan, Chief Sustainability Officer at The Travel Corporation, discusses moving beyond carbon offsetting to achieve genuine decarbonization. As the parent company of many tourism brands including Trafalgar and Contiki, The Travel Corporation has committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions. In this ses...

Launched on World Tourism Day, 100 Travel Innovations is a collaborative effort among destinations worldwide to spotlight existing solutions to our most pressing challenges in tourism. By bringing together insights from 35 countries and six continents, this initiative demonstrates that solutions for critical issues like climate resilience, biodiversity, and cultural preservation already exist. Wit...

Travel has the capacity to create positive change, and in many places around the world, it's already happening. The team at Destination Think has been researching the travel industry’s greatest innovations to some of the world’s biggest challenges, uncovering countless ways tourism leaders are stepping up and making an impact. In this episode, get a behind-the-scenes look at our upcoming event, 24...

If it was your job to invite the world to visit one of Canada's most famous travel destinations while also working fiercely alongside the tourism industry and community to protect its incredible environment, how would you do it? You'd need to find alignment on what matters most. Leslie Bruce and her team at Banff & Lake Louise Tourism collaborated with the Town of Banff, Parks Canada, and more...

“When we travel, we pause.” Callandra Caufield knows travel can be transformative. She also knows it can transform communities for better and for worse. As Executive Director at Explore Cochrane, she’s working with residents to bring tourism’s greatest benefits to town while creating visitor experiences that match local values. In this episode, she reflects on her role in shaping a tourism economy...

For hockey fans, the Zamboni has long been a fixture at arenas for treating ice surfaces before games and in between periods. And for just as long, these vehicles have needed fuel to get around. But the City of Vernon in British Columbia has begun electrifying its Zamboni fleet alongside other city vehicles. In this episode, we talk with Torrie Silverthorn, Tourism Manager at Tourism Vernon and Jo...

Today, we turn toward travel’s role in supporting carbon removal. For Tito Jankowski of AirMiners, travel doesn’t have a future without this climate solution. Today’s airline CEOs and industry leaders have the chance to invest in carbon removal early. And wouldn’t it be nice to know that the offsets you buy from an airline are actually working? All this and more in today’s episode. Hosted on Acast...

Is carbon removal about to take off? What is its potential for large-scale impact as a climate solution? As the Co-Founder and CEO of AirMiners, Tito Jankowski is leading a global community of over 2000 scientists, entrepreneurs, engineers, policymakers, and others dedicated to reversing climate change. In part 1 of this episode, he shares why carbon removal is so important, why it’s an industry o...

Under what circumstances would change be possible? Questions like these fuel the work of Paul Cubbon, whose leadership at the University of British Columbia’s Creative Destruction Lab enables early-stage businesses to scale their innovations and impact in a variety of interrelated fields affecting the health of humanity, the planet, and economies. Paul has a view of some of the world’s most exciti...

Dr. Susanne Becken has been studying sustainable tourism for more than 20 years and is an experienced science communicator. As a researcher and Professor of Sustainable Tourism at Griffith University, she brings a clear perspective about the future of the travel industry in light of current climate forecasts, and what we might need to do next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inform...

Let’s reflect on why we care about using travel to make the world a better place. It’s something Ewout, a strategist with the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (and a new father), has been thinking about a lot. In 2023, we sat down with him to learn about his perspective on the current state of tourism and how that has impacted NBTC’s new vision going forward.   In this upda...

People are going to explore, and it matters how they do it. Bend’s Wanderlust Tours guides visiting explorers is a way that preserves the lands and waters everyone relies on. Co-owner Jared Garfield shares several solutions related to visitor education and advice for tourism businesses seeking to make a positive community impact. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“All we’re doing is building relationships.” Pine Mountain Sports is a solar-powered bike shop with a commitment to making Bend a better place to live. Owner Dan McGarigle talks about the impact his business makes as a community resource, and how Bend influences visitors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Around 50% of Bend’s visitors arrive by travelling through the nearby Warm Springs Reservation. Local artist and radio producer Marge Kalama discusses how tourism impacts Warm Springs, emphasizing the importance of care for the land, the continuation of her community’s cultural practices, and the opportunities for collaboration with organizations in the Bend area. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pr...