Hi everyone, As a biologist with a long standing background in tourism (my parents ran two campsites in Greece over 30 years), I have been working on a scientific tourism concept for the past months. Although I got positive feedback from International organisations, plus an offer to start my project small in Greece, I am having massive self-doubts whether it is a good idea to start anything in tourism. I cannot seem to understand the basic - how would I gain my salary from my activity - which honestly blocks me :-( Would any of you have recommendations, feedback, experience in the field of scientific tourism? I would love to hear more about the topic here. I wish to build a network of individualised tours/ projects in the Mediterranean region, starting by Greece that will work together with some Internationaly important initiatives, as well with smaller established NGO´s and initiatives. All activities will be coordinated with the necessary academic/ institutional support and ...

The Accessible Tourism Podcast speaks with people with disabilities and people from the tourism industry about what its like travelling with a disability and what industry is/could be doing. Travelling with a disability can be very challenging. We explore the constraints people with disabilities experience as they travel away from home. Real life experiences from people with disabilities are shared to provide an accurate picture of what it’s like to travel with a disability. People from the tourism industry also share their experience and knowledge of providing accessible experiences to people with disabilities. Each conversation finishes with an outlook on the future for people with disabilities in the tourism industry.

Sharing a short essay that arrived in my inbox today, courtesy of Dense Discovery — a newsletter about design, tech, sustainability and urbanism curated by Kai Brach, based in Melbourne, Australia. Do we travel for transformation or validation? It's always interesting to hear what thought leaders "outside" the travel industry have to say about the state of tourism, so I'm sharing Kai's article with his permission. There's a few good points in this piece, including how touristic travel (e.g. mass tourism) can import more culture to a destination than it exports. I also agree that seeking validation on social media is drowning out good quality travel content. There's some truth to Kai's point about escapism. Consider this: the biggest competitor to a travel agent is the electronics shop, where consumers can instead buy a new 50" flatscreen TV. In this scenario, which "escapism" is worse? Buying a new TV or booking a trip on a cruise ship? 😅 However, I don't believe that all trave...