Ford and a local Falconer at the American Women ’ s Association Annual Bahrain National Day Celebration
TRACEY FORD
BERNELL KING
King at a cooking class with Aurora Angulo Valencia and Eduardo Angulo Velasco pillars ,” she said . “ One is visiting local places , contributing to local economies and interacting with locals from those communities as much as possible to really get an authentic experience . Another is ensuring that the travel is not harming the environment or the ecosystem . That ’ s a little bit hard with travel sometimes , but at least minimizing that harm or that kind of eco-footprint when you visit a place , using sustainable hotels as much as possible and prioritizing farm-to-table cuisine . And then third , sharing that experience with people when you get home .”
“ On a more macro level , it ’ s making sure we ’ re contributing to the places we ’ re visiting rather than just taking as much as we can . I mean , we want souvenirs , and those are things that help local economies , especially if they ’ re produced by local artisans or craftspeople , but it ’ s about reducing our impact on a place we ’ re visiting .”
Clients Want Meaningful Travel Experiences
She said that while clients don ’ t use the terms “ responsible tourism ” or “ meaningful tourism experience ,” many do want that .
“ I just had a client today who wants to do an ancestral tour to Italy with their matriarch , who ’ s 88 and whose family comes from there . That ’ s meaningful travel , too . It ’ s connecting
to a place that has great meaning to you as a family .”
Chauny starts working with a client through a discovery call , when she asks about interests and needs in detail . Like King , she ’ s arranged trips to places she hasn ’ t been before by keeping up with self-education , webinars , tour operator events and other professional development .
“ I also belong to Virtuoso , which has a sustainability community I ’ m a part of . It ’ s a global network of people I can call on if I don ’ t know a place , and I know the network is vetted and verified by a trusted network ,” Chauny said .
She says travel agents need to go that extra mile to ensure the properties they send clients to hire local people and honor local cultures and communities . “ We have enough resources at our fingertips to be able to do that extra homework for our clients ,” she said .
Chauny thinks this is the direction that travel is headed : “ I think , as travel advisors , we have a huge opportunity to make travel a unique and beneficial experience for everybody involved , both the travelers and the host communities .”
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