Waking Up To The New Travel Normal, Scotland: The Big Picture

Once travellers are back on the road, there is hope that they will choose experiences that have a positive environmental impact. But what do those experiences look like and how easy are they to find? Holly Tuppen discusses how post-pandemic wanderlust could be a force for good.

For years I sang unfalteringly from the "tourism is good for the world" song sheet.

Travel provides one in ten jobs worldwide; creates economic opportunities; broadens horizons; opens minds and nurtures cultural understanding. A world without travel is narrow-minded, incomplete. But then one day, doubt crept in. It lurked around the corner of resorts banning straws while still serving bottled water, international hotel chains bartering for space on impoverished, remote islands, and the growing tales of locals being pushed out of their cities and homes by selfie-stick touting tourists.

It even lurked within me. Do I want to explore far-flung corners of the world, or would I be happier carving out micro-adventures on home turf? The lurking soon became a constant menace, and I almost packed the whole travel industry in.

People are what persuaded me otherwise. People who have spent their lives protecting ecosystems and species with funds from honest travel experiences. People with the magic of hospitality coursing through their veins, bringing nature and culture to life for lucky guests. People who are never happier, nor prouder, than when sharing their corner of paradise, wherever that may be. When tourism is genuinely sustainable, I’m often left awestruck, resolved to promote the heroes.

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