February 20, 2018

032 – Kelly Louise of Impact Travel Alliance – Global Goals

34 minutes

Utilizing tourism as a force to solve United Nations global sustainability goals…

The decisions travelers make on their trips have a lasting impact on the global community. Whether an elephant wrangler added to an Instagram story, or the hotels travelers choose to stay at, how can travelers align travel itineraries to align with the UN’s goals for sustainability. Kelley Louise, Founder of Impact Travel Alliance (a non-profit organization and community for travelers and travel professionals interested in improving the world via travel and tourism) joins hosts John Matson and Nick Vivion (tnooz) in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser.

In this episode:

Louise discusses the nature of the global goals for the UN, and how, while many doubt the travel industry can solve them, the travel industry can be a significant force of meeting those goals

Global goal number one, no poverty, and using tourism as a force to solve that

Launching an initiative last year of hosting a multi-chapter event, with several cities at the same time, themed with addressing a global goal (currently: innovation)

Impact Travel Alliance as a non profit, and a community for travel and travel professionals interested in improving the world via travel

Launching the first chapter less than 3 years ago, now some 30 chapters worldwide

What is cool about improving the world through travel, and how it is universally appealing

Sustainable tourism focused on business and leisure travel, small pivots that make a big difference, such as donations to charity resulting in discounts on hotels

Why sustainable tourism/travel doesn’t have to be only budget or luxury

How The Culture Collective started as blog, became a creative agency, with Louise landing a job in Uganda, then traveling all around and learning a lot about sustainable tourism

The challenge and opportunity of helping brands identify demographics

Vegan donuts

What sustainable travel really means

The power of immersive experiences in changing travel behaviors and priorities

How the Impact Travel Alliance is eager and open to collaboration, sharing best practices with one another

The three parts of Impact Travel Alliance: global conferences, local chapters, and a media network

How Louise learned to plan events, and how her personal drive to do so is wanting a place in the community that felt like a home in the travel industry

Seeing something in tourism that is negatively impacting the world, such as elephant tourism in places like Thailand, and a “paradise” that is surprisingly polluted

Thinking about what one’s long-term impact on the environment is when traveling, and how some things feel good but don’t have a positive long-term impact

Sustainable experiences are empowering and often the most memorable experiences

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