Presentation on Conscious Travel to Ministry of Tourism, Ecuador

Conscious TravelPresentation in Quito, September 10, 2012 reaching the peak one conscious host at a time 1

INTRODUCTION Background Passion Purpose www.linkedin.com/in/annapollock www.conscioustourism.wordpress.com Anna Pollockhttps://www.facebook.com/ConsciousTravel strategist www.slideshare.net/AnnaP educator change agent visionary

Visionto create learning communities of conscious hosts who work together to generate above average profits, deliver higher net benefit from tourism to their communities, while increasing their resilience and stability and..... 3

Why?? Breakdown or Breakthrough?Tourism is the biggest connecting activity on the planet Travel & Tourism has a unique role to play in helping us breakthroughTourism will either be part of the solution or part of the problem 5

FOUR KEY ASSUMPTIONS

The dominant model (industrial tourism)no longer works

The dominant model (industrial tourism)no longer worksA mindset shift is essential

AThe dominant model (industrial tourism) Change can’t & won’t come form the topno longer works A mindset shift is essential

AThe dominant model (industrial tourism) Change can’t & won’t come from the topno longer works Change will emerge from action-oriented A mindset shift is essential learning communities

Mass Industrial Tourism Started with Great Promise

But Is Now Producing a Different Reality

Industrial Tourism Grew Up In the Age of the Automobile & Mass Everything It borrowed its operating model from manufacturing

Based on Assembly Lines, Specialisation & HierarchiesFocus: efficiency & productivity - producing more for less

Standardisation, Order, PlanningEconomies of Scale - consolidation, vertical integration

Based on a mindset of boxes and lines

The Hotel Box

In summary, this is a box that.... Productizes Standardizes Homogenizes Commoditizes

Success?

Mass Industrial Tourism Hangs on the Edge Tourism now supports 1 billion international trips a year It can produce income, economic growth, jobs, foreign exchange, conserve wildlife, preserve cultures..but it doesn’t always Are we at a tipping point? Metaphorically speaking, we’re about to experience a tourism tsunami + galeforce winds + earthquake Will the tourism capsule hold out?

Mass Industrial Tourism Hangs on the Edge Industrial tourism is producing diminishing returns for nearly everybody This graph shows the fate of individual destinations - could it apply to industrial tourism as a whole? Are we at the inflection point? If yields decline industrial tourism can only succeed by growing in volume

Can we handle another 400 million tourists in just 8 years?How will we handle congestion?How will we handle waste?How will we handle emissions? Protest Sign Erected by Young BalineseHow will we manage our thirst for water The Queue to Climb Everest Source: Guardian Source: ABC They Paved Paradiseand land?How will avoid residents’ backlash?How will we protect vulnerable people andcultures? The Island Where Tourist Garbage is Stored in the Maldives Source: China Daily Source: Daily Mail• see: Can Tourism Change its Operating Model?

Does Industrial Tourism work for Providers?Do any of these issues apply to you?•declining margins,•greater income volatility,•increased risk,•more regulation,•higher input costs (energy, food, supplies),•disengaged employees,•more complexity - especially marketing, and•often more demanding guests

Is this you?in short, I bet many ofyou are working harderthan ever before andmaking less return.Do you ever feel like thehamster on his treadmill?

A Mindset Shift Is Essential•we need to think differently•see “Changing the Dream - WhyMindsets really, really matter!”•see: Can Tourism Change itsOperating Model?

A worldview or mindset acts like a lensThese lenses are made up of the values beliefs and assumptions that we use tomake sense of our worldWe’re often not aware of our lenses - live in a tranceThey are very powerfulWhen the lenses change, everything else changesMany are changing their lenses & waking up - becoming conscious

Mindsets Are Already Shifting•many customers are thinkingdifferently•emergence of the conscienceconsumer•On average just under 50% ofconsumers prefer to buy fromresponsible companies•In South America that average is75%•In Australia - 35%

Mindsets Are Already Shifting•other businesses are thinkingdifferently”•growth in “conscious business” and“conscious leadership”•“Business as Usual” is over•Huge opportunities for those whoadapt

Change Can’t and Won’t Come from the Top; real change will come from below Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has Margaret Mead

change is not just desirable it’s inevitable 30

Tourism is Human System Embedded in aBiological-Physical System 31

when our values and beliefs changeso does everything else 32

Where have we come from? OLD MODEL 33

Tourism Through an Industrial LensGuests are segments to be targeted and the prize is share of walletBoth parties (consumer and provider) attempt to win at the cost ofthe other. AdversarialGuests seek to get the best or cheapest deal; producers try to maintain their marginRugged independence + materialism creates a mindset of exploitation - animals,landscapes, plants are resources, then products that can be used to produce profitThe Industry is fragmented - each provider looks after his piece of the guest experience and larger agencies are divided into functional silos.Disconnect from nature - it’s the economy, stupid! Lack of appreciation of limits orconsequences.The tourism industry resists paying for the ecosystem services it has enjoyed for free inthe past 34

surely there has to be a better way? 35

Welcome Signs of Change

something new is emerging

blaze a trail and leavebreadcrumbs or markers 38

NEW MODEL MODEL Plenty enough, sufficiency implicit a sense of limits adequate - don’t need more implies that multiple Plenty stakeholders benefit focus on quality not quantity “wellth” and happiness vs wealth 39

NEW MODEL MODEL People encounters People relationship trust transactions only Plenty occur if trust is present 40

NEW MODEL MODEL Place each place is unique People unique places sustain value Plenty Personality of Place Living Presence - essence,spirit, soul Indigenous people Place understand places re sacred 41

NEW MODEL MODEL Purpose what’s the higher purpose of the business? People why should employees bring Purpose their whole selves to work? Plenty people seeking meaning conscious travellers seeking to be Place changed Higher purpose ignites Passion 43

NEW MODEL MODEL Pull power shifted to guest People challenge is to attract Purpose to be magnetic you have to be clear about Plenty who you are and send out strong signals Pull you need to master social technologies and media in order to Place sustain relationships and build trust 44

NEW MODEL MODEL Protection Hosts must become proactive champions & custodians People Compliance and CSRProtection Purpose programs not enough Plenty “Licence to Operate” will depend on minimal (preferable zero) Pull footprint Place 45

NEW MODEL MODEL Pace help guests learn the art of living People rediscover what it means to be a humanProtection Purpose being not a human doing Plenty learn to savour & Pace satiate the senses Pull increase length of stay Place and spend 46

Ecuador: The firstConscious Travel Destination 47

NEW MODEL •Encounters & relationships before transactions People •PLACES before productsProtection Purpose •PURPOSE & PASSION drive Profit Plenty •PROTECTION = zero impact & rejuvenation Pace Pull •PULL as in attract & support not Push Place PACE as in SLOW & SAVOUR 48

How Do We Midwife This Birth? A Mindset A Movement A creative e-learning programThere is no single blueprint on a shelf; no instantly available “how to manual” It’s up to you-us to create them 49

Four Key Elements• People• Program• Platform• Participation & Support 50

peer to peercollaboration curiosity self-direction commitment to collaborate capacity to experiment willingness to invest a year desire to build a better model 51

12 Step Transformation Programcore 12 step Conscious Host program 11. Community Outreach 12. Global Outreach 10. Social Marketing 9. Experience 8. Stewardship Design 7. Ideal Employee 6. Ideal Customer 5. Culture/Personality 4. Power of Place 2. Mindset 3. Values & Purpose 1. Where are We Now? Where Do We Wish To Go? 52

Four Key Elements peer to peer collaboration Community 12 Step of offline support &Transformation Conscious coaching Program Hosts online platform 53

Roles & ResponsibilitiesConscious Travel will supply resources Participants will determinepriorities, projects, methods and outcomes No imposition from external authorities The scope, scale and originality of solutions will be owned by participants 54

Imagine...... a network of host communitieseach exploring how to deliver net benefits from tourism, a good living for people, and transformative experiences for guests each in their own way? 55

In the same way that cells combine to form different organs of thebody, so will the collective output of these cells combine to create a new organic, ecological form of tourism - one that is environmentally sustainable, socially just and spiritually fulfilling 56

End of PART TWOPlease view Part Three: Steps towards Making Conscious Travel a Reality Do please send comments and feedback to: theconscioushost@gmail.com theconscioushost@gmail.com www.conscioustourism.wordpress.com www.conscioustourism.wordpress.com www.facebook.com/conscioustravel www.facebook.com/conscioustravel 57

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Presentation on Conscious Travel to Ministry of Tourism, Ecuador

by Anna Pollock on Sep 10, 2012

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