While tourism may offer many of us breathtaking sights and unforgettable experiences, its social and environmental impacts can also be devastating. It's high time to travel differently, but how? 

Becoming more critically aware of the diverse challenges posed by contemporary tourism, travel and hospitality behaviors and practices can be really frustrating and even overwhelming. This is what co-creator and co-host Alejandra Guijo Bermejo, Education Community Developer at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, experienced when she was doing her masters degree in Tourism, Society & Environment in Wageningen. 

Meghann Ormond, an associate professor in Cultural Geography at Wageningen University & Research, has been long fascinated by how tourism shapes our social interactions, economies, and landscapes in ways that are truly profound and yet often overlooked. She really started to recognise what Alejandra experienced among many of the students she was working with - and she herself also started to feel overwhelmed. 

But then both Alejandra and Meghann started trying to do something about it - by applying their critical tourism knowledge and channeling their creative energies into developing responsible tourism initiatives themselves. Alejandra started Leap Colombia and Meghann co-founded Migrantour Utrecht. Doing tourism differently has been far from easy, but these experiences have taught them a lot - and they're more motivated than ever before to keep working to bring about the change they want to see in the world. They're motivated to support not only students but also diverse folks involved in the tourism sector see that it is possible and to provide them with some of the tools they need to really get started. 

And that’s why we’re doing this podcast: to showcase an array of inspiring real-life examples and role models in this field - entrepreneurs, consultants, policy-makers, NGOs and activists - that are working to make a genuine difference in the fields of tourism, travel and hospitality. 

But it’s not enough to simply highlight best practices! To really learn from them, we need to unpack what these changemakers do and how they do it – and what kinds of knowledge, philosophical approaches and values inform, drive and guide them as they inevitably face the many challenges that come with navigating one of the world’s largest and trickiest sectors. 

In this podcast, we ask tourism changemakers about what kind of world they feel they are living in, what they think the world's future looks like, and what role they want to play in that future. We learn about their tourism, travel and hospitality initiatives, and then go behind the scenes to explore the core values and philosophical approaches that have inspired and guided their work. Where do they turn for wisdom when things get hard? And what do they realise they still need to learn?

In our first season of the podcast, we’ve put together a great line-up of inspiring changemakers ready to help us unpack the philosophies and values that underpin the work towards progressive, sustainable tourism practices. In a world where tourism often prioritises convenience and consumption, it’s crucial to spotlight the alternatives that honor our planet and its people. 

So, let's get started!

• Hosting, production, editing and research: Meghann Ormond and Alejandra Guijo Bermejo 

• Opening and closing music: Kristina Mau Hansen

• Studio support: Teaching & Learning Centre at Wageningen University & Research

• Financial support: Wageningen University’s masters programme in Tourism, Society and Environment

• Are you working in the field of sustainable and regenerative tourism, and are you keen to reflect on what you're doing with us? If so, contact Meghann Ormond (meghann.ormond [at] wur.nl) with responses to the questions below:

  • How would you describe your initiative to someone who has never heard of it before?

  • What is a common approach/assumption/misconception that you'd like to challenge?

  • What does the world's future look like? What role do you personally/your initiative want to play in that world and its future?

  • What core values and beliefs have inspired, and form the foundation of, your initiative/work in the field of tourism/travel/hospitality?

  • Where do you seek wisdom and knowledge to guide your initiative’s practices? What sources of information do you find most reliable and why?

  • Do you have a behind-the-scenes story of a particularly challenging or rewarding aspect of the initiative you've worked on where you encountered - and had to engage with - knowledge systems and cultural practices different from your own?

  • What guiding philosophies and principles shape your decision-making processes in designing/structuring and managing (different aspects of) your initiative? 

  • How does your initiative negotiate its economic/commercial goals in relation to its social and environmental values and objectives?

  • Can you recall a moment when you realised you needed additional/different knowledge, skills and resources? And, right now, what might you currently be working on learning/developing/acquiring?

  • What moments in your involvement in this initiative have brought you the deepest sense of fulfillment and joy? 

  • If you could share one piece of wisdom with people aspiring to get involved in the tourism/travel/hospitality field, what would it be?