The USAID/Developing Sustainable Tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Turizam), in partnership with Solimar International and UNWTO Academy, organized a joint webinar entitled ‘Introduction to UNWTO TedQual for universities with tourism programs in Bosnia & Herzegovina Webinar’.

The virtual event was held on June 30^th, 2021, providing expert insight on collaboration for enhancement of BIH’s competitive advantage by upgrading the quality of the tourism industry workforce through professional tourism training/ education. There were 11 higher education institutions (HEI) from Bosnia & Herzegovina invited to attend this virtual event.

Solimar is currently expanding and updating its benchmark data for 10 Bachelors programs and 23 Masters Programs in North America and Europe. Turizam Staff has been benchmarking HEI tourism related programs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The benchmark data currently being updated include curriculum structure, study plans & courses offered, concentration/specialization options, tuition/fees, use of digital media, UNWTO Certification status, admission requirements, use of on line/remote learning, student and faculty characteristics, student retention rate, average salary of graduates, mandatory internships, use of advisory councils, and other relevant information, all of which will be analyzed and shared with all the institutions who are interested at pursuing the TedQual Certification.

The webinar featured a panel of speakers from different institutions and organizations. Solimar International is proud to have an active partnership with the UNWTO Academy to assist HEIs who wish to pursue TedQual certification.

Rivers and their surrounding areas are the main geographic features of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. Learn about conservation, storytelling, and outdoor adventure along some the largest water arteries in the United States – the Ohio River, the Missouri River and the Columbia River.

The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Experience uses a Geotourism methodology to build sustainability inside riverside communities and to conserve the history of The Lewis and Clark Expedition. As part of this strategy, Solimar hosts monthly expert seminars to create a knowledge-sharing forum for partners of the program. The latest seminar centered around conservation, storytelling and outdoor adventure on the Trail’s great rivers.

For this month’s expert panel, Solimar and the National Park Service were thrilled to welcome:

• Lily Hart, Digital Manager for the Confluence Project
• Brent Mortensen, Professor of Biology at Benedictine College (We will be working together to implement a wetlands restoration project for his students in the spring semester.)
• Brewster Rhoads, Convenor of the Ohio River Recreation Trail

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Experience November Seminar: Rivers Along the Trail

International Women’s Day deserves to be celebrated every day, especially in an industry that is comprised predominately by females. Inside the travel sector, women make up the majority of the workforce and earn almost 15% less. Solimar International knows first-hand how critical women are in pushing travel to new heights. The women in our organization have a wildly unique skillset that helps us to remain as a world leader in sustainable tourism consulting. These women – Natalie Sellier, Chloe King, and Jenny Lundt — collectively bring two Fulbright scholars, two Master’s degrees, a Marshall Scholar, and numerous fellowships to our virtual offices day-in and day-out. 

Led and inspired by these women, each member of the Solimar community considered their own individual travel anecdotes in remembering these barrier-breaking women that champion tourism around the world and personify leadership, dedication, and forward-thinking.

Natalie Sellier

In 2011, I had the privilege of serving as an on-site assessor for the World Tourism and Travel Council’s Tourism for Tomorrow awards. Intrepid Travel was up for the Global Tourism Business Award and I joined a group for their Classic Peru tour to evaluate how are they are putting their sustainable tourism philosophy into practice with local communities.  We were led off the beaten path by Alejandrina Punel, a wonderful and fearless Peruvian guide with over 10 years of experience in tourism. She taught our group words and common phrases in Quechua to facilitate communication and was committed to showing us the real Peru—including navigating local tuktuk mototaxis, shopping in local markets, sampling traditional foods, meeting local people, challenging them to volleyball games, and joining them as guests in their homestays. We visited recipients of the Intrepid Foundation (such as Escuela Wiñaypaq and the Living Heart Foundation) and ate a number of restaurants that donated a percentage of proceeds to these projects. Alejandrina would later explain that Intrepid empowers their local staff to complete the application process on behalf of organizations to be considered for support by the Intrepid Foundation. While a large travel company such as Intrepid can have all of the right policies in place on paper, Alejandrina made me realize just how critical having dedicated guides like her is to making it all work within the local communities—and for travelers to have a truly unforgettable experience.

Chloe King

Seven years ago, when I set out for Thailand at 18 with a bag full of dive gear and a heart full of uncertainty and thrill, I had no idea just how the next year would utterly alter the trajectory of my life, throwing me head first into the world of sustainable tourism development without ever having strung those three words together in a thought. After training to become a certified PADI Divemaster in Thailand, I moved to Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, home of the Komodo Dragon and a fast growing dive and ecotourism industry that had quadrupled in size over the past decade. I learned and absorbed every detail of an array of dangerous dive sites from local dive guides, born and raised on fishing boats to know the direction of every current, the hiding places of the strangest fish, and the depths and layers to each and every reef. I was in awe of their intuitive and nuanced understanding of hundreds of dive sites, and began working with a dive company on their program to train young local fishermen as dive guides and instructors. Walking into the shop one day, I met Sary. She had just turned 17, was shy and soft-spoken, and had just come to inquire about joining the training program, which up until then had certified only young men in the village. I watched as Sary began to uproot and rewrite the rules of what women could do in her community. Becoming the first local female divemaster certified in Labuan Bajo, she was every customers favorite guide, her eyes attune to the most minute colors and patterns that many of her male colleagues overlooked. She went on to mentor and train more young women in the community, proving to them that the industry was not just for men, and that it had the power to transform the lives of so many others. Sary would go on to become a certified Open Water Scuba Instructor, and challenge one more norm: she had her first child and, within months, returned again to the sea.

Stephanie Romero

In honor of Women’s History Month, Nellie Bly’s contribution to the tourism industry should not be forgotten. Inspired by the Jules Verne classic Around the World in Eighty Days, the premise behind the challenge was simple. Could Verne’s fictional race be outdone? Sponsored by journalism pioneer Joseph Pulitzer in the hopes to break the record for fastest trip around the world and gain notoriety for his newspaper World, Nellie Bly began her adventure. What was fascinating about Nellie Bly’s quest was how soon it captivated an international audience. A rival magazine publication soon sent their own envoy, a woman by the name of Elizabeth Bisland, to race against Nellie. And while her contributions to the travel industry are remarkable on their own merits, the focus of this paragraph is on Nellie Bly and her trailblazing story. Everything about Nellie’s own story is what speaks to the soul of a patriotic narrative that Americans are inspired by when constructing their own paths. Born and raised in the working class coal country of America, Nellie Bly was the image of pulling oneself up by their own bootstraps. She broke through the male dominated scene of the journalism world and gained a name for herself with sensationalist and investigative articles for well reputed publications. When it came to embarking on her journey, she packed nothing more than a single suitcase and a small toiletry bag and soon ventured off. Nellie traveled the world on her own, without the presence or assistance of a chaperone. She had done so with an already established career, having decided to forgo the societal expectations of marrying and having children. At a time when a woman’s narrative seemed determined to make women like Nellie comply with the passive and meek image, Nellie’s contributions shattered barriers. Accomplishing the race and having completed the race ahead of schedule on her own proved that women are more than capable in any era. 

Shelby Amato

Kellee Edwards is a pilot and travel journalist with years of adventure experience under her belt. She is also the first black woman to host her own show, Mysterious Islands, on the Travel Channel. Towards the start of the pandemic in 2020, she interviewed with the Washington Post to discuss the future of travel. Edwards reflected in this interview on what a privilege it is to travel, as well as voice her concerns about the impacts of overtourism once lockdowns have lifted. As a trailblazer in the tourism industry, she hopes to continue acting as a model for respectful and mindful travel practices going forward.

Abrafi Ahmed

Milena S. Nikolova is an expert and researcher in behavioral economics in tourism with a global professional network and experience gained across four continents. She has worked on projects covering various aspects of sustainable tourism development, business/market development, and policy planning, as well as entrepreneurship and innovation. She is a co-founder of BehaviorSMART, a boutique consultancy that assesses the recent advances in behavioral sciences into actionable solutions that can be applied to daily operations by professionals in tourism and sustainability. She is an author of the Behavioral Economics for Tourism and has vast travel experience having worked in over 20 countries on a variety of sustainable tourism initiatives. Nikolova has been a lecturer at the Central University for over 15 years and holds a PhD in Consumer Behavior and Sustainable Tourism form the George Washington University School of Business.

Anastasia Vepkhvadze

A recent article in Wander-Lush highlights the top 10 women who are changing the tourism industry and breaking gender barriers. One of the women led tourist companies that stood out was 5Bogota.  This organization puts forward the importance of women in the recent development of tourism in Colombia.  The company, founded by a mom and her two daughters, is a prominent organization in the capital of Bogota with an all-female team. The women broadcast the importance of culture in Colombia with offerings centered around cultural activities like cooking and dancing. This business has influenced other companies to hire women in leading positions and has created a new environment in women in tourism.

Diana, one of the cofounders of 5Bogota stated in an interview that building a tourism company in Colombia was not an easy task in a country still facing gender inequality. 5Bogota is a shining example in the tourism industry for other women with entrepreneurial passions.

Maddy Hraber

Featured in the article 10 Female-Focused Travel Companies That Empower Women is Evolution Treks, a tour company based in Peru. Evolution Treks works to supply guides to take tourists through Peru’s biggest tourist attractions: Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail. Where the company differs, however, is in the fact that it was the first in the country to employ women as porters for the tours. By doing so, women are given an opportunity at pursuing new sources of income in Peru’s tourist industry.

While on the trips, Evolution Treks not only provides guests with an optimal experience and resources, but also makes sure to take great care of its employees. Both female and male porters are equipped with lightweight, high-quality camping gear to keep with them throughout the trips, and the company chefs who provide for guests make sure that the porters are well fed as well. All of these combined efforts make Evolution Treks stand out as a role model, and hopefully, other local companies will follow suit.

Nino Chkhaberidze

Every industry needs wonderful women like Ia Tabagari. I met Ia this year when we went with Sight Georgia to shoot her inn, ranch and brewery. I had always heard wonderful things about her, how she was pioneering in sustainable tourism development in Georgia and cheering for the industry, but listening to her was absolutely amazing.  Ia is a chairman of the Georgian Tour Operators Association, founder of the agro-tourism complex Lost Ridge Inn, Brewery & Ranch and founder of Geofilm Production. She is an ethnographer and an expert in sustainable tourism development in rural communities. Back when tourism was still very new in Georgia, Ia started to work as a tour guide and then soon established her own tour operating company. She has also handled the logistics for multiple documentary film crews working in Georgia. She is also one of the first people who started wine tourism in Georgia, which is booming now and is considered one of the main attractions in the country.

One can go on and tell so much about this amazing woman, but I will finish my section with her words from an interview that beautifully displays her passion and dedication: “I never take part in projects that do not serve the least interest of the country. Experience has taught me that the team and idea are inseparable, business does not exist without loyal people. Having a clear purpose in life is a challenge. It is this quality that empowers us to create and develop an idea. The main thing is to never forget the people who worked with us day and night to create and evolve.”

Daniela Mastronardi 

For International Women’s Day, World Footprints published an article celebrating some of the women in tourism actively engaged in improving the tourism industry and empowering local women in their communities. Two of the women featured are Carmen Portela and Mónica Pérez, who run a San Juan based and women-led travel company that working with their local community to create sustainable tourism practices. Portela, with over 10 years of experience in tourism, and Pérez, founded Local Guest as a direct response to the economic crisis in Puerto Rico. Local Guest provides unique tourism experiences in less visited parts of Puerto Rico. These “community based” experiences are curated in partnership with local community leaders and local business owners, many of whom are women and fall under one of seven categories: Adventure Nature, Artsy Scene, Body & Soul, Community Love, Foodies Galore, Party Vibes, and Water Escape. According to their website, Local Guest’s experiential tourism is done, “for the benefit of the locals, their empowerment and their growth. The benefit of the environment by looking for eco-friendly solutions or mitigating impact. And fair-trade to bring true economic development of our region.”

Derek Schimmel

Everything inside me felt out of whack. I had been away from home for 8 months when I plopped down at the bar of a guesthouse in Otres Beach, Cambodia. Though the rainy season was coming to an end, the lethargy of living out of a backpack had begun to take its toll. The joys of endless gallivanting were somehow, and unexpectedly, wearing off when Carrie, the owner of the establishment, appeared from behind the bar. Seeming to sense my dismay and state of disarray, Carrie slid a Cambodia Beer in front of me without so much as saying a word, allowing me to nurse my pint to completion before opening the dialogue. The conversation progressed quickly between us– I, a homesick traveler, she an expat business owner. I remember everything about that conversation like it was yesterday. Carrie moved to Cambodia some years before from North Carolina, and it wasn’t long after her arrival that she was offered to buy this beachfront guesthouse/bar/restaurant. Carrie employed only local Khmer women, many of whom had been forced from their nearby village by a Cambodian government making space for a new Chinese-run casino. These women had lost everything, and Carrie had given them an outlet to provide for their families and preserve their way-of-life. As the local lager flowed, Carrie explained everything to me about her mission: building an enterprise that shows western-travelers the warmth and hospitality of the Khmer people, creating an outlet for the staff to cook local dishes and offer tours of their community, and donating a portion of all proceeds to fund a soccer team for local-area children. Carrie explained her role as a volunteer at a nearby school where she taught English to Khmer children, and she offered to bring me there the next day to meet some of her students. The next day, I took up residence at the guesthouse after Carrie set me up with a volunteering gig at the English/Khmer school and with a job at a neighboring bar. She provided everything I needed to build a home away from home. October passed quickly. November and December felt like a dream. Before long, four months had gone by, and it took everything I had to pry myself from the beach and return home. Those sunsets were hard to leave. Looking back, I’m reminded that it was here where I learned of the unique power of travel, a force that links unbridled joy with a master class in patience and cultural understanding. In hindsight, my time in Cambodia shined a light on everything I didn’t know I was looking for when I set off backpacking 8-months prior, and it left my wandering spirit full of hope and with a vision of which direction to point my professional life. I also learned that only days prior to me planting myself at Carrie’s bamboo covered bar, she had changed the name of the guesthouse. Atop the bar read a sign signaling the new name: Everything is Everything Otres.

Chris Seek

I remember the exact day when I realized how underrepresented women are in tourism leadership.  I was attending the World Travel and Tourism Council’s annual Global Summit in 2013 in Abu Dhabi where the CEOs of the 100 leading travel and tourism companies come together and network with Ministers of Tourism and other high-level government officials. While watching another all-white male panel discussion, I noticed a tweet from an audience member and old friend Malia Asfor, the Director of the Jordan Tourism Board in North America, pointing out the lack of women on these panel sessions. That tweet opened my eyes to a growing disconnect, one where many of the people who run tourism companies and destinations are women despite the leadership is still dominated by men.  While some people may accept this, I quickly learned that Malia was not one of them.  I watched in admiration over the years as Malia has lead not only Jordan’s tourism marketing efforts in North America with incredible passion and effectiveness, but also as she stepped into leadership roles of industry associations like Tourism Cares, Adventure Travel Trade Association, National Tour Association, and the US Tour Operator Association.  Malia is not only an inspiration for women in travel, but also for working in tourism.  She refused to accept the status quo, and I guarantee that if you are fortunate to hear her present at an industry event you will notice that she is there because she deserves to be there. Jordan is lucky to have her as a tourism ambassador.

Marco Ramazzotti

Among those that are actively contributing to the discussion around gender equality in tourism, there is the founder of Gender Responsible Tourism (GRT), an organization born to empower women through tourism. Iaia is a freelance journalist who choses to use her voice to amplify that of the often-overlooked female tourism workforce. GRT is trying to keep an open conversation about women in tourism and showcase the huge number of responsible tourism projects around the world that are run by female entrepreneurs. As they state in their vision, “We want more tourists to visit places where women are deservedly the ones who receive them, sell artisan products, cook, offer tours, educate them about their culture, manage, and are involved in decision making at all levels of tourism processes.” Iaia also co-edited the second edition of The New Independent Women Travelers Guide which displays destinations, itineraries, stories and experiences around the world of female entrepreneurs for female travelers. The guide is currently only in Italian, but an English version is on the way.

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Social inclusiveness has become a foundational pillar of Solimar’s sustainability strategies, and one of our missions is to remain committed to building strategies that facilitate more opportunities for women, and especially women-owned small business enterprises. Follow us on Facebook to continue learning about these strategies, as well as the glass-ceiling shattering women of tourism.

Understand the industry’s newest buzz word with examples of how tourism can improve upon the places we love to visit

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For nearly a year, the travel and tourism industry has been grappling with the fallout from Covid-19. With the pandemic raging, borders shut, and air travel at an all-time low, it seems impossible to envision a post-pandemic world where travel will resume once more. But envision we must—using this crisis as an opportunity for reflection and transformation. For decades the tourism industry has embraced economic determinism, growth and profit, and consumption as measures of its own success; this has often led to exploitation of natural resources and cultural heritage while ignoring alternative means of economic exchange. The fields of sustainable tourism, eco-tourism, and community-based tourism have been viewed as distinct disciplines within the tourism industry, reflecting that sustainability and conservation is an objective separate to that of travel and tourism. As an entire industry was forced to pause overnight, we as sustainable tourism practitioners have been grappling with the question: what was being sustained in the first place? For whom and by whom? Regenerative tourism may be the new way forward.

Here are few travel tales from the Solimar team that exemplify regenerative travel, and our vision for how it can transform our new world order.

Chris Seek

Ever since my first introduction to sustainable tourism, I committed my life’s purpose to ensuring tourism minimizes negative impacts and maximizes positive impacts. I am fortunate to have a job that lets me travel around the world and work with destinations that are embracing the concept of regenerative travel so it’s hard for me to pick just one example to share. When I think of destinations that are implementing successful tourism development strategies to transform their communities, the one that stands out is the town of Rocky Mount, NC where my wife grew up and her extended family still lives today.  What is known to most as a highway stop on the way North or South on I-95, the community had very little to offer visitors beyond roadside chain hotels and fast-food restaurants.  But then something changed.  The local government decided that tourism development could stimulate their local economy and improve the lives of their residents.  As they looked around the destination, they realized that the 82-acre abandoned Cotton Mill located on the banks of the beautiful Tar River could help regenerate the community’s spirit and preserve the history of the town while also breathing new life into this abandoned historical asset. Watch this short video below to see how the Rocky Mount Mills is regenerating travel and the community of Rocky Mount.

Chloe King

Dipping our faces beneath the waves, the extent of the crisis emerged before us: hundreds of meters of vibrant coral reef suffocating beneath a thick ghost net, discarded some time ago by a vessel fishing illegally off Indonesia’s coastline. A dozen of us bobbed along at the surface as several descended below on scuba gear, knives and scissors clutched in our hands. Heeding the call from a local fisherman the day before, we had gathered our crew: dive shop managers, an eclectic group of resident expats, and a team of local dive guides who used to spend their days fishing atop the reefs before guiding guests along them. We knew then that the task before us would take until sunset, just as the sun’s first glow emerged over the horizon; in reality it would take us four days, two dozen scuba tanks, and a handful of passionate divers and freedivers to extract nearly one ton worth of discarded fishing net from the fragile reef. We moved like cautious caretakers along the coral, painstakingly extracting parts of the reef that had been newly restored by some among our team, freeing creatures large and small from the thick web, assured that our actions would give this one patch of life a chance to thrive long after our bubbles had cleared the surface.

Daniela Mastronardi

When I think of regenerative travel my mind immediately goes to my first experience at an argiturismo, also known as a farm-stay, in Italy. Agriturismo is one of the growing trends in Italian tourism – emerging as a response to decades of slow economic growth in small towns – and has brought tourists into rural Italy to support local communities. They’ve popped up all over Italy, and the one I stayed in with some friends in the summer of 2019 is in Umbria. This farmhouse from the late 1800s was restored and maintained to the original architecture and run by a couple who purchased the farm in the early 2000s. Think of it as a bed-and-breakfast, except tourists are invited to work on the farm alongside locals who were hired to handle the agriturismo operations. The experience allowed us to rediscover nature through old and local traditions, like collecting olives for olive oil production. It was a truly unique experience. Not only were our meals at the farmhouse prepared with ingredients grown on the property, but we able to explore a small town that we would have otherwise overlooked, all while connecting with locals in numerous shops, restaurants, and vineyards. Our destination revitalized and kept the rich history of their property alive while also providing unique sustainable practices that supports the local community.

Stephanie Romero

I witnessed regenerative tourism on a trip to Scotland in the summer of 2018. While in the packed city of Edinburgh, almost every public trash bin had companion bins for recycling according to glass, aluminum and cardboard. Outside the capital during our visits to small towns in the Scottish Highlands, instead of visiting crowded restaurants, my friends and I were invited to try smaller locales like seafood shacks and hole-in-the-wall pubs. While many tourists visited Stirling Castle, I wandered away from the crowd for lunch at a small pub with locals. Another opportunity that also presented itself was a visit to the Wallace Monument. The entrance is at the base of a small hill, and while the site offers trams for tourists to get to the top many visitors opt for walking the trails up to the monument. Despite the mass tourism taking place, Scotland is taking steps toward responsible travel they can have visitors engage in on their trip. 

Shelby Amato

One of the best, if most unassuming, features available to vacationers to Edisto Island is its weekly Bay Creek market. Gullah and Geechee crafts, particularly woven sweetgrass baskets, are the star of this event which includes a wide variety of crafts, food stalls, and local produce. Located just outside of the commercial strip of beachside restaurants and the marina, the market draws locals, tourists, and vendors together to relax and browse the shops. Free from third party vendors, artisans and farmers stand proudly among their products and share their features with customers. Each stand is truly local and represents a broad range of economic activity when taken all together. It is one of the many ways that the community on Edisto Island work to build their biodiversity and cultural heritage into the tourism industry, which remains the most important economic force on the largely undeveloped island. As a visitor to Edisto, there are many ways to contribute to the local economy and remain respectful of the delicate ecosystem. The island is also small enough to make biking a cheap and fun way to get around, while reducing your carbon footprint. Conscious tourism makes possible the preservation of Edisto’s beautiful beaches, ponds, marshes, and forests. In turn, visitors have consistent access to a huge variety of marine and land-based species.

Cailey Heffley

When I think of a sustainable destination that prioritizes the needs of locals and the environment, but welcomes tourists with gusto and heartfelt smiles, I think of Ireland, and specifically the west coast of Ireland. This wild, untamed, and breathtaking landscape is unlike anywhere else I’ve experienced and embraces the newly emerging concept of regenerative travel. While studying for my masters in tourism in Ireland I learned that, in an effort to combat overtourism, the National Tourism Development Authority developed a marketing strategy to re-package the west coast and drive visitors to lesser known areas. The resulting product was the Wild Atlantic Way, a 1,600 mile corridor along the Atlantic Coast that links destinations and attractions. The effective destination marketing scheme promotes existing infrastructure by spreading the economic benefits of tourism throughout the country and encouraging low-impact exploration by foot, bike, and kayak for an immersive cultural experience.

A must-see along the route, and for anyone visiting Ireland, is the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark – an internationally recognized area of geological fascination. A highlight of the Geopark is the Burren EcoTourism Network, a collaboration of over 70 local businesses that has transformed the area into a leader for community-led sustainable tourism development. The enterprises in the network adhere to a Code of Practice for Sustainable Tourism which encourages people and organizations to work together to ensure a cared-for landscape, a better understood heritage, vibrant communities, strengthened livelihoods, and more sustainable environmental practices. Taking a holistic approach that ensures community, destination, and environmental well-being are not compromised in exchange for economic benefit is a staple of regenerative travel. Transport yourself to Ireland with this video to get a sense of the people and views along Wild Atlantic Way. 

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As the travel industry replants its regenerative roots, restrictions are being lifted little-by-little and the pent up travel demand is becoming palpable. Destinations that implement the responsible practices mentioned above – practices that uplift and enhance their culture, environment and economies – will be well positioned to welcome back visitors in a fashion that remains cognizant of their local residents and enhances their heritage and the land they call home.

Be sure to check out part 2 of our regenerative tourism travel tales.

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