Shifting into a new direction
A revamp and a blending of my experience and interests into a newsletter that let's me continue some of my work from my master's program and keeps me writing regularly.
Travel and yoga…you ask?
As I mention on my About page, it was once a travel goal of mine, to visit forty countries before I turned forty years old. Then the pandemic happened and I am now 41 and I’ve visited 30-something countries. Nevertheless, the spirit lives on but with a wiser and more educated perspective. I am okay that it has not happened because I grew up a little, I’ve got different travel goals and life goals now, and I am not just visiting new places to check off a list. I am not here to shame those who do, I simply have a different lifestyle and perspective now.
During the pandemic, I moved from the US to Canada and started and completed a master’s degree in tourism management. My main passions involve tourism are now sustainable tourism, slow tourism, and how tourism impacts the communities that receive tourists, no matter the size. I can’t wait to expand upon these topics in a newsletter form.
During my master’s program, I researched and wrote several papers about the impacts of tourism on communities and I am a firm believer that tourism should benefit a community rather than harm it. In this newsletter, I plan to write about tourism, share excerpts from my research papers and expand upon them, share links that are relevant to the topic and to tourism in general in order to start a discussion and promote sustainable tourism principles and guides.
The content!
This week’s newsletter will be brief (3 nice links). But, going forward it will be sent out about twice a month. That could change at some point in the future and be more or less frequent. I don’t want it to be light on content and I know that will be a manageable schedule so that I can ensure quality. Starting in January I’ll be publishing on the 15th and the end of the month.
I enjoyed this brief article by WeTravel about female entrepreneurship in the tourism industry. The company I work for empowers female guides and tourists in the adventure tourism sector and I want to highlight female entrpreneurs any chance I can.
White Lotus is so buzzy and hot since the show’s second season just wrapped and Afar has some tips for you on where to go in Sicily if you liked the show. I have mixed feelings on this. It is great when a shared pop culture moment introduces a destination to the general population. Not to say that Sicily and Italy were not already known, but there is so much more to Sicily than being an HBO set, you know? That said, I have not watched the show and really want to. But I already had a yearning to go back to Italy. This excerpt from the article in particular summed up my thoughts…“As a Rome-based journalist who has traveled all over Italy, I happen to love Sicily, but I worry about the effect that The White Lotus will have on tourism to the island. Lorenzo Maraviglia, the general manager at the San Domenico Palace, told me that the local shopkeepers in Taormina welcomed The White Lotus cast and crew because they understood what powerful publicity the show would be for the town. The thing is, Taormina doesn’t really need more publicity—it’s been one of Sicily’s most well-trod destinations since the era of the Grand Tour.” So, let me know if you agree or what your thoughts are regarding promotion of destinations via tv/movies/etc. Overtourism and community impacts come to mind as do the inflation of property prices that make it too expensive for locals employed in the lower paying sectors to continue to live there. Differences of opinion are always welcome and let’s keep it kind and respectful around here.
On a completely different note, this link from Visit Greenland educates readers on the cultural significance and meanings behind Inuit tattoos in Greenlandic culture. Greenland is a destination that has fascinated me for a while and I am hoping to get there in 2024 by hosting a cultural yoga retreat of my own. If you peruse Visit Greenland’s website you’ll see how much the country has to offer. Stay tuned and let me know if you’d be interested!
A little bit more about me
I am also yoga teacher in Victoria, BC, and a runner, aerialist, hiker, and casual cyclist. I practice yoga to complement all of those activities because I want to do them well into my old age. Thus, I teach yoga to any other runners, cyclists, hikers, or anyone else who needs a complementary practice or just wants to feel good! If you want longevity in your sports and some good yoga and stretching tips and knowledge, subscribe and check out my virtual offerings.
I also try to live by the yoga principle of ahimsa. Ahimsa (non-violence), the first and foremost of the five yamas (restraints) described in the Yoga Sutra, entreats us to live in such a way that we cause no harm in thought, speech, or action to any living being, including ourselves. Ahimsa is also something I’d like to explore in application to tourism and tourism communities.
When I’m not doing something active I am probably reading, knitting, sewing, painting, or spending time with loved ones.