Let’s reinvent travel.
Leisure Lab is a think tank and media lab to promote sustainable tourism, or as we like to call it BREAK-EVEN TOURISM. In this LAB REPORTS section we publish news articles and create inspirational travel stories to help bring about positive change in the way we travel.
Undertourism: These destinations want your attention
In the age of overtourism, the world’s less-visited places are seeing a new opportunity.
Flying green – This new Dutch airline offers green flights
Silver Flight, a brand new Dutch airline, will soon operate the greenest commercial aircraft in Europe.
Sustainable travel can be budget-friendly
‘When you think of sustainable travel, what comes to mind? Gorilla trekking in Uganda, perhaps, or a sojourn in a remote yet well-appointed eco-lodge in the forests of Costa Rica […]. If these high-cost trips are what pop into your head, your picture of what qualifies as sustainable tourism is not necessarily wrong – it’s just incomplete,’ says Lucas Peterson, a columnist for The New York Times.
The future of managed tourism
Doug Lansky, author of 10 books, including 2 for Lonely Planet and 3 for Rough Guides is rethinking tourism on his Youtube channel ReThinkingTourism. In this episode he discusses some of the possible tools required for a high-tech tourism solution that can help DMOs take control of the visitor experience. Laura Aalto CEO, Helsinki Marketing explains how the future of tourism is much more about destination experience than just seeing things.
Creative Tourism – Experiencing a destination through creativity
Break-even tourism shows many similarities to Creative Tourism. This concept was coined in the early 2000s and built on ‘the realisation that the creativity of both hosts and tourists is an important potential resource for the sustainable development of tourism’. In this article we’ll further investigate the merits of Creative Tourism – and, thus, traveling the break-even way.
Travel mindset – Do you travel to show off, or to change?
According to Emily Thomas, a philosophy professor at Dunham University, there are two types of travelers: those who travel to show and those who travel to change. In this article, she’ll briefly explain the crucial difference – within a philosophical context.
The Maasai school teacher using tourism to empower women
Giving girls an education—instead of being sold as a bride for 10 cows—is what motivated Hellen Nkuraiya, herself a child bride, to start a school in Kenya’s Maasai community—even amidst public and family disapproval. Lisa Scott meets her.
Can Venice turn the tide on mass tourism?
In recent years, mass tourism in Venice has driven up rents and driven out locals, leading some to call the city a “historical theme park”. However, some believe that coronavirus is offering an opportunity for change, and Venetian residents are campaigning to protect the heritage of their city. Watch BBC’s The Travel Show episode here.
The New Normal of Tourism
Doug Lansky, author of 10 books, including 2 for Lonely Planet and 3 for Rough Guides is rethinking tourism on his Youtube channel ReThinkingTourism. In this episode he interviews Dorji Dhradhul, General Director of the Tourism Council of Bhutan and Geerte Udo, CEO of Amsterdam & Partners. Especially for the city of Amsterdam the Covid pandemic was a realitycheck. Will this result in a completely new approach towards tourism…?
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7 innovative projects making cities more sustainable
It’s estimated nearly 70% of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050. Creating safe, resilient and sustainable cities is right at the top of the green agenda. Andy Dunn, who’s a contributing writer at the World Economic Forum, points out some of the innovative ways cities are rising to the challenge.
Reflection – The art of being present (whilst travelling)
Living in the present allows you to genuinely soak up your destination. Instead of being bummed out about the places you haven’t been able to visit, you’ll learn to appreciate the places that you have been able to visit – whether it’s that spontaneous encounter or that local coffee place that you went to over and over again.
Article NRC: ‘Mass tourism is dead’
Mark Duursma interviewed Els Doets for the Dutch newspaper NRC about the future of her travel agency Doets Reizen. Since the Covid pandamic, she embraced a new course with her company: "Deep" holidays and European destinations. Her words: “Mass tourism is dead. Passive travel - beach holidays in Spain and Turkey, cruises - no longer returns to its old form. We are going to travel with a purpose, to do something ”. We at Leisure Lab totally agree with Els Doets! The article is in Dutch.
Overtourism – The case of The Netherlands
Most of the tourism efforts [in The Netherlands] are [geared towards] places like Amsterdam, Zaanse Schans, Giethoorn and Keukenhof. But many places in the Netherlands are equally as nice and promoting those lesser known areas will help spread tourism across the whole country.
Overtourism – What can we do to avoid it?
[T]he solution can be to travel as a responsible tourist; to travel in ways which maximise positive impacts and minimise the negative ones. Two things to think about are the place [and] time.
Overtourism – What is it, and what caused it?
Tourism’s potential benefits are clear. However, the mistake is to think that it can only bring good. […] In summer 2017, the media and the travel industry finally began to turn their gaze to the negative impacts of the holiday industry, and the term ‘overtourism’ was coined.