A kinder, more inclusive way to travel.
One in ten jobs worldwide is in tourism (UNWTO 2019). Leokadia (Leo) Bambe is one of only three professional end to end female safari guides in Tanzania. She is fiercely committed to conservation and is the future of East African tourism.
A call to action to grow back better.
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is calling for urgent and strong support to help the global tourism sector not only recover from the unprecedented challenge of COVID-19 but to ‘grow back better’.
The ‘Healing Solutions for Tourism Challenge’ by the UNWTO have called upon innovators and entrepreneurs to place tourism at the centre of future recovery efforts to mitigate COVID-19 impacts on tourism through health, economic and destination recovery solutions.
This white-paper is a summary of our response to the UNWTO challenge. A collaborative response with Takiwā Tourism, an indigenous tourism collective from New Zealand. Together, we explored an Indigenous Operating System (ISO) as a response to destination recovery.
Our goal was to demonstrate how a community-based tourism model, informed by kaupapa Māori principles is applicable for the UNWTO challenge. How indigenous wisdom is more relevant than ever before in guiding the way forward.
The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.
A U G U S T I N E O F H I P P O
The benefits of travel are evident; however, the collateral damage of travel is often hidden, from environmental and resource degradation to cultural decline, conflict, and economic imbalance.
Fig. 1. The benefi ts and collateral impacts of travel.
Make it stand out.
In our response to COVID-19, how do we avoid repeating the mistakes of the past? How do we access wisdom to move from a mindset of ‘sustainability as- an-add-on’ to enabling fully regenerative travel and tourism?
How do we accelerate and support the growth of mindful travellers who seek authentic interactions with their destinations while simultaneously minimising their disruption of the natural rhythms of their destinations
This seemingly inherent contradiction is the problem we seek to solve through an Indigenous Operating System. To champion for kinder, more inclusive travel.
Our approach can be broken down as follows:
An overview - why is now, the time to act?
The individual - how do we engage consumers to take action?
A theory for change - who is ready to take action?
A template for change - what can we learn from an indigenous approach?
Call to action - a platform for change-makers.
01 - An Overview.
01 - An Overview.
To move forward requires an understanding of the market dynamics pre, during and a vision for a world post-crisis. Using the triple bottom line framework of three intersecting parts: social (people), environmental (planet) and financial (profit), we can examine the impacts of COVID-19 on tourism.
Fig. 2. Our attempts at the triple bottom line.
Pre COVID-19 (normal)
Pre COVID-19, some efforts were made towards more sustainable and inclusive travel. What was required of the travel industry was defined within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), ratified at the United Nations in 2015. However, the rate of positive change was not enough to shift entrenched business models and prior investments by industry and governments alike.
Fig. 3. Market dynamics during lockdown.
During lockdown
In these unprecedented times, we’re seeing a temporary separation of profit (or industry) from the equation. Our mountains, forests and oceans are getting a brief reprieve from commercial activity as people are in lockdown and the tourism industry comes to a standstill.
Fig. 4. People are not hesitating to reclaim their right to travel.
As restrictions ease
As restrictions ease, consumers are reclaiming their freedom to travel. A new ‘norm’ is being set without safeguards for people and the planet as reported in recent media coverage. Large numbers of people flocking to popular tourist sites and major cities across China, despite warnings from health authorities that the risk posed by the coronavirus pandemic remains far from over (CNN Hong kong).
Fig. 5. On the 4th of April tens of thousands fl ocked the Huangshan mountain park in Anhui province, China. The park had reached its capacity of 20,000 before 8am. – South China Morning Post (7th April)
Fig. 6. We have the opportunity to reset, to build a kinder, more inclusive way to travel.
Post COVID-19 (recovery)
As we look towards recovery, we can seek conventional wisdom for a return to normality (profitable yet unsustainable and inequitable) or we can explore kinder, more inclusive approaches based on original wisdom.
Challenge Question
How do we engage consumers to take action?
02 - The individual
02 - The individual.
According to psychologist Abraham Maslow, our behaviour is motivated by a hierarchy of needs.
These needs are organised in a hierarchy of importance in which more basic needs must be more or less met (rather than all or none) prior to meeting higher needs. The order of needs is not rigid but instead may be flexible based on external circumstances or individual differences. Most behaviour is multimotivated, that is, simultaneously determined by more than one basic need (SimplyPsychology).
Our work with Takiwā Tourism revealed a hierarchy of needs specific to when we travel. We found when planning a holiday our ‘physiological’ needs broadening to include aesthetics and enjoyment as key qualifiers. Thereafter, meeting safety, belonging and esteem needs continued to play an important deciding factor in purchase decisions. Understanding the hierarchy of needs for travellers informed experience development for Takiwā Tourism.
Fig. 7. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs adapted to understand life under lockdown.
Fig. 8. Dressing up to take out the trash under lockdown.
Similar to experience development, understanding the shift in our needs under lockdown is critical in knowing how to motivate change. Self expression and creativity are clearly in play as people dress up to take out the trash during lockdown. This is a good sign people are reaching self fulfillment needs under lockdown; thus indicating some people are also ready for hope and change to occur.
Challenge Question
How do we engage consumers to take action?
03 - A theory for change.
03 - A theory for change.
The law of diffusion (E.M. Rogers, 1962) tells us, mass-market success or the mass adoption of a new idea requires 15% to 18% market penetration. Regarded as the tipping point, this is a social phenomenon where a series of small changes becomes significant enough to cause a larger, more important change.
The power of early adopters
To reach this tipping point requires a focused effort to engage and connect with the consumer segment that is most receptive to change; the early adopters. Regarded as thought leaders for other potential adopters, this consumer segment is influential and is heavily active on social media. Early adopters tend to be less price sensitive, less risk-averse and have high levels of formal education.
Fig. 9. Innovation diffusion theory adapted travel needs.
Early adopters and cultural tourism
Our work with Takiwā Tourism revealed the purchase decisions of early adopters are highly motivated by values; in other words, driven more by ‘needs’ than ‘wants’. As travellers, they tend to be authenticity seekers committed to sustainability and social justice; thus an ideal cohort for cultural tourism. (further details on our social feed)
Don’t worry about sounding professional.
Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Challenge Question
What can we learn from an indigenous approach?
04 - A template for change.
04 - A template for change.
There are several paths to achieving kinder, more inclusive ways to travel. Our goal is to share one such pathway based on our experience of the Indigenous Operating System (IOS) used by Takiwā Tourism.
Takiwā Tourism is a cultural tourism collective based on Manaakitanga, the duty of care of New Zealand’s’ indigenous people (Māori). Takiwā Tourism was formed in 2017 to support a collective of community based Māori adventurers and entrepreneurs of Ngāi Tahu (tribal group) descent.
The Takiwā IOS takes a systems approach mirrored in nature to building a tourism ecosystem which is transformative for local communities, the environment as well as life changing for travellers.
The Takiwā IOS is built on four guiding values which are informed by mātauranga (universal wisdom) and the intergenerational commitment of the iwi in their role as kaitiaki (custodians) of the mountains, rivers and oceans. The IOS also recognises the interconnectedness of all living things, therefore, the systems and processes used by Takiwā Tourism are developed with the entire ecosystem in mind.
The Takiwā values are a decision making framework.
Manaakitanga
The duty of care.
Care for all things, people and planet. Our way of being enhances another’s way of being. As Māori we do this inherently, as Takiwā Tourism we ensure this is at the forefront of all we do and how we do it.
Whanaungatanga
Meaningful connections lead
to a sense of belonging.
Connecting through shared experiences and working together enables positive change in the world.
Kotahitanga
Working together for the
greater good of all.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Tikanga
Our culture is the foundation on which we build our identity, how we approach life.
Honouring our culture through being authentic, honest and respectful is essential for Takiwā Tourism.
The IOS is comprised of three interdependent operational functions specific for community-based tourism. These are designed to enable and empower self determination for whānau (families) and communities through regenerative tourism.
Product excellence: Systems, processes and business tools to build and grow a community of profitable Māori adventurers and entrepreneurs delivering manuhiri-centric (visitor-centric) and sustainable tourism.
Service ecosystem: A values-driven customer experience to make it easy for visitors to discover and access unforgettable experiences.
Not-for-profit sales channel: A direct to consumer sales strategy which ensures more of the profits reach the communities and initiatives that safeguard the environment.
The Takiwā IOS takes a systems approach which is mirrored in nature.
A keystone in an arch’s crown secures the other stones in place. Keystone species or foundation species play the same role in many ecological communities by maintaining the structure and integrity of the community.
The term keystone species was first coined by Robert Paine (1966).
“The species composition and physical appearance [of an ecology] were greatly modified by the activities of a single native species high in the food web. These individual populations are the keystone of the community’s structure, and the integrity of the community and its unaltered persistence through time.
“ Paine went on to describe the criteria for a keystone species. A keystone species exerts top-down influence on lower trophic levels and prevents
species at lower trophic levels from monopolizing critical resources, such as competition for space or key producer food sources.
Keystone species play a disproportionately large role in the prevalence and population levels of other species within their ecosystem or community. Emulating, species like the Saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) in desert environments and palm and fig trees in tropical forests, the Takiwā Tourism business model is based on being a keystone host by providing habitat for a variety of other species (tourism businesses).
Wagner, S. C. (2010) Keystone Species. Nature Education Knowledge 3(10):51
We recognised 5 attributes that qualify
Takiwā Tourism as a benchmark for the future of travel.
Tahi (one)
Takiwā Tourism takes a systems approach where everything is interconnected, interrelated and interdependent. Where people and the environment are inextricably linked.
Rua (two)
A well-articulated set of guiding values was used as a decision-making framework both for all aspects of the business.
Toru (three)
Takiwā Tourism takes an intergenerational approach to growth and sustainability.
Whā (four)
Their community-based approach to service delivery sees an economic trickledown effect within rural communities.
Rima (five)
Takiwā Tourism is built on the power of collectives. Forming a collective creates and holds a space for individual businesses to feel a sense of belonging.
It enables us to be part of and contribute to something bigger than ourselves/or any one of us individually for the greater good of all.
Challenge Question
How do empower and engage consumers to take action for a better tomorrow?
We welcome you to share your vision for the future of travel. What are the other pathways we must explore so that we can continue to travel, discover and connect?
Whangaia kia tipu.
Your input determines your growth.