As parts of the world shyly reopen for tourism, I read about two assassination attempts yesterday, one unfortunately successful.... They are, of course, totally unconnected, however if one starts thinking about it, there are similarities: two islands (or archipelagos), both well-known tourism destinations, and two victims involved in tourism, makin...
Overlooked by the vast majority of foreign travellers, who head for/are herded to, the more famous monuments (Acropolis, Theseion, Sounion), the ancient (2,300+ year old) fortresses and towers of Attica, hidden in near pristine natural surroundings, are unique monuments that can be easily discovered and enjoyed by discerning, independent travellers...
Confucius said that the man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life. All too often I am a fool for a minute, and again today, at a fascinating online event, celebrating Bookchin's 100th birthday (14 January 1921-2021) - I am referring to the great Green political phi...
Yesterday was one more anniversary, the 48th, of the November 17th, 1973 Athens Polytechnic students' uprising against the military Junta of 1967-1974. The key demands of the students back then were the triptych "Bread, Education, Liberty". 47 years later Athenians again, rightly or wrongly, defied an official ban, this time imposed for p...
An important lesson we should not forget, after the pandemic is over: it was proven beyond reasonable doubt during the great Lockdown that the world can easily survive with far fewer people going to work 9 to 5. Hopefully the lesson will be put to good use: Rather than massive redundancies and semi-permanent furloughs, we need far shorter hours and...
On May 7th, 2020 we held a Virtual Ecoclub Member Meeting to discuss 'Pandemic Adaptation Strategies for Ecotourism'. Our aim was to brief each other on local conditions and compare notes on what can be done during and in the aftermath of the pandemic so as to protect and support our businesses, our communities and Ecotourism. Due to the pandemic lockdown millions of tourism employees, professionals and small business-owners have suddenly been left unemployed or precariously employed by near bankrupt businesses. If international tourism recovers too slowly, many of them will need green (re)training and new green jobs and opportunities outside tourism. The pandemic itself can only be stopped if a cure is found, if the virus mutates into a less potent form (there are some indications in late May 2020) or if there is mass immunity. It is as if a huge earthquake has taken place (the disease) and we are now waiting for the tsunami (the economic impact). Depending on how long it will last and if there is a second wave in late 2020, it will either be a case of Darwinian 'survival of the fittest' (quickest, smartest, more flexible) for communities, employees and businesses, or a more...
The coro-doomsday has stunned the mainstream bringing various fringes to the limelight. In celebratory mood, tourism-haters, elitist pseudo-revolutionaries, agoraphobics and misanthropic degrowthists, to die-hard fans of the "dictatorship of the proletariat" to alt-right racist conspiracists, UFOlogists and so on, a pluralistic cacophony of "we told you so". Nope, you told us nothing and you still do not have anything to tell us. Your theories are "not even wrong", your thinking is unoriginal, self-defeating, pessimistic, malthusian and discounts the propensity of humans to evolve and progress in the face of natural adversity. Yes, Marx at 202 years old is always relevant, especially if we read between the lines, but so are all other great philosophers from A to Z, from Aristotle to Zizek (pun intended). But if miraculously reincarnated, none of these greats would last a week as pandemic-era prime-ministers. Aristotle would start wars by calling all our neighbours barbarians, Pythagoras would not allow anyone to speak (for the first 10 years), Plato would attempt to become a dictator, Marx would be lost from sight devouring epidemiological information on the Internet, and Zizek would just make everyone crazy. We do not have to worry too much about the cacophony, it will wither out...
Will Covid-19 (or SARS-2) have lasting effects? Is Ecotourism & Green Hospitality sheltered? Here are some initial thoughts (working draft): 1. Despite the hype of covid-19 webinars and the emerging adaptation cottage industry, It is likely that the pandemic will only have short-term effects, especially if there is not a second wave in Autumn 2020. 2. Most changes will be rolled back as soon as the cure has been found. It is not realistic to eat or to get a sun tan in plastic see-through cubicles. To wrap all foods in ecocidal plastic wrapping paper and packaging. Or to remove airconditioning units and halve bed capacity. Nor is it economic or ecological for a plane or a tour bus to travel half empty. The only lasting changes will be related to more meticulous room cleaning procedures (such as these) on the part of hosts, and personal precautions and hygiene routines on the part of guests. Masks, for example, may become a regular sight in crowded (hello anti-[over]tourists, where have you been lately?) tourism spots, as they have been in Asia following SARS-1. 3. Green hospitality is better positioned because of its small size, marketing flexibility and low overheads. 4. The sharing...
A plane is constantly losing altitude over the ocean. Some start praying. Others are frozen with fear. Some remain calm and also try to calm down their fellow passengers - "the pilots surely know what they are doing". Some are screaming or crying, hard to tell, something in between. Some are hugging each other and others are kissing. One is stealing an expensive smartphone. Some are texting their loved ones. A few are preparing to open the door and jump while others are just bracing for impact. A small group are trying to burst into the cockpit to check on the pilot and take control. The plane is the world. The fire is Covid, maybe 3 months from now. Who will you be? Who should you be? There is no easy answer. Looking at the bright side...hard but try: if we were to add freedom of movement with (green means of transport, for all) to the current mix of no work and free allowances (in some advanced countries) we could finally attain Utopia! Technological advances mean that this 'utopian' mode could actually be sustained around the world if (big IF) there was political will, if the very few who would stand...
Tourism communities, businesses and destinations, the world itself is now facing a quintuple or five-fold crisis: the Climate Crisis, the Coronavirus Crisis, a structural Economic Crisis, a sharp Financial Crisis and an ongoing Refugee/Humanitarian Crisis. It should be, but it is not always obvious to everyone that the five crises are interconnected. Habitat loss and a warming climate encourages infectious diseases. Diseases worsen the simmering, global, structural economic crisis, which brings about a sharp drop in financial exchanges. All these worsen the socioeconomic conditions in already-troubled and poor parts of the world with wars ensuing and new refugees and economic migrant streams created. This in turn gives rise to xenophobic political forces which puts pressure on the political class and sabotages progressive, green initiatives, the very ones we need if we are to combat climate crisis or at lease adapt to some of its side-effects. This is a vicious circle. To break this vicious circle, we must intervene at every block in this rusty, blood and oil-soaked, dangerous chain. Every country has a right to choose their system of government, however Human Rights and Environmental Rights are universal and should be universally respected. Low-cost and often low-quality, goods built on the broken back...
