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Showing 9 of 96 news items in Tourism & Remote Work

Tourism & Remote WorkNovember 6, 2024

How Digital Nomads Can Experience The Nordic Winter For Free

Digital nomads—remote workers who leverage technology to live and work from anywhere—are mostly associated with warmer climates and countries with a low cost of living. The Nordic region, with its cold, dark winters and notoriously expensive prices, rarely features on the hit-list of traveling online entrepreneurs. But all that could be about to change thanks to an initiative known as the [Arctic Digital Nomads Grant](https://www.arcticdigitalnomads.com/). Coworking spaces and communities in the Norwegian fjord village of Geiranger, the settlement of Vágur in the south of the Faroe Islands, and Iceland’s rugged westfjords region have banded together with support from the Nordic Atlantic Cooperation ([NORA](https://nora.fo/?_l=en)) to launch the program. Successful applicants will receive free accommodation and office space for between one and three months between January and April in 2025, together with opportunities to embrace everything that’s great about Arctic culture—from local traditions to outdoor experiences.

Tourism & Remote WorkOctober 25, 2024

Thousands protest against over-tourism in Canary Islands

Excerpt and Photo from euronews.com Around 30,000 people took to the streets of the different cities and towns of the archipelago on Sunday under the banner “The Canary Islands have a limit.” In 2023 over 16 million tourists visited and it’s likely that number will be higher when 2024 is over. Tourists spent more than 20 billion euros in 2023, but it comes at a price. And whilst the protesters concede that tourism provides crucial jobs, they say most of them are low-skilled and badly paid. As many properties are owned by second home-owners who don’t live there all the time, buying a property to live in has become prohibitively expensive – and renting an affordable apartment has long been a struggle. Tourism grew by five percent last year and the protesters say it’s too much, as the islands have become overcrowded. Many suggest the answer lies in attracting fewer, wealthier tourists as other countries have successfully done.

Tourism & Remote WorkOctober 25, 2024

UNESCO promotes sustainable tourism and heritage conservation in Socotra Archipelago

Excerpt and photo from unesco.org UNESCO, in collaboration with the Arab Regional Center for World Heritage (ARC-WH) and the UNESCO Chair for World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Management in the Arab Region (UNESCO Chair GUTech), successfully concluded a five-day training program in the Socotra Archipelago from September 25-29, 2024. The program gathered 45 participants from various stakeholders within the tourism industry to equip local tour guides and relevant authorities with the knowledge and skills necessary to support conservation efforts, enhance visitor experiences, and build partnerships with local communities. The Socotra Archipelago, renowned for its rich biodiversity, is home to many endemic species. Socotra Island, the largest in the Arabian Peninsula, symbolizes the region’s natural heritage. Protected by Yemeni law through the Socotra Conservation Zoning Plan, the Archipelago has earned international recognition for its exceptional natural value. It was designated a UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) Reserve in 2003, Yemen’s first Ramsar Site in 2007, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. Despite its natural beauty, Socotra faces significant challenges, such as environmental degradation, socio-political unrest, and the impacts of climate change. The ongoing conflict in Yemen further underscores the urgent need to safeguard Socotra’s heritage and promote sustainable development. The island’s inhabitants, deeply connected to their environment, rely on traditional practices such as dragon’s blood extraction and Socotri music, both integral to their cultural identity. Local civil society organizations (CSOs) play a crucial role in conservation efforts, despite limited resources and capacity.

Tourism & Remote WorkOctober 17, 2024

‘We learned from Iceland’s mistakes’: The Faroe Islands’ hopes and fears about tourism boom

Jorgen Niclasen never imagined that one day thousands of tourists would land on the Faroe Islands. Or that, on this archipelago lost in the North Atlantic, where fine weather is rare and there is often thick fog, he would come across groups of Americans hiking around the cliffs of Kalsoy, photographing the grass-roofed houses of Gjogv, or watching puffins on the rocks of Mykines. “For us, waterfalls were just water. Fjords, just fish stocks. Rocky spurs, just stone. We couldn’t see the beauty of it all,” confided the 55-year-old Faroe Islander. In summer, he accompanies tourists by boat to the Drangarnir Arch, one of the Faroe Islands’ most famous postcard locations. “Many decide to come after seeing photos on Instagram. Social media has made us exist,” admitted Jens Eystein i Lodu, co-founder of Bluegate, the agency that organizes sea trips. He started his business in 2017, with a single motorboat. He now owns three, and soon a fourth. A one-hour trip costs €90 per person.

Tourism & Remote WorkOctober 11, 2024

Tourism that does less harm: Lanzarote away from the big beach resorts

The sky is clear as I sit sipping coffee in the sunny courtyard of an 18th-century house – now a boutique hotel – in the small Lanzarote town of Teguise. But Óscar Cubillo, my host, sees something different. Looking up, he says: “The planes are always there. They never stop.” Lanzarote, an island shaped by volcanoes, salt and wind, feels like an otherworldly outpost, but it has recently been wrestling with an influx of tourists that residents fear the island cannot handle. Lanzaroteños are concerned that mass tourism, particularly on the south coast, has driven up house prices and caused environmental damage. Earlier this year, [tens of thousands of protesters](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/20/thousands-protest-canary-islands-unsustainable-tourism) marched at rallies across the Canary Islands demanding a rethink of the mass tourism model that has been a mainstay of the archipelago for decades. Their slogan? Canarias tiene un límite – the Canaries have a limit. The protesters were careful to point out that they aren’t against all tourism – they just want limits on its growth. Cubillo, who hails from the neighbouring island of Tenerife, is committed to a smaller-scale, more sustainable approach. Several years ago, while living in Madrid, he and his partner, designer Gigi de Vidal, came looking for an apartment in Teguise, a village off the beaten track in north-central Lanzarote. Cubillo had fond memories of visiting his grandmother there when he was a child.

Tourism & Remote WorkSeptember 26, 2024

Economy Versus Ecology: Tourism Quandary Vexes Lakshadweep

“One of the main concerns that we are flagging is that there is no scope for consultation with the panchayat on these developments,” said Misbah Ashiyoda, president of Lakshadweep ST welfare association, Kavaratti. “If lagoons are given over to private corporations, then how will fishermen access these areas? In a way we are being told that these areas are beyond our reach now. Fishermen are already suffering because they cannot go to the Bangaram lagoon,” said BA Jaleel (75), former deputy collector, Agatti. Some other are quite certain that lagoon villas are impractical and will not last. “The monsoon has become unpredictable. These villas will not last in the monsoon. One big wave can demolish everything,” said P Abu Salem (72), a retired government school teacher. The concerns of islanders have mounted since the administration advertised it plans promote Maldives-like tourism in Lakshadweep. These concerns began when in 2021, the Administration issued the draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation (LDAR) 2021 to change land ownership in the Union territory to facilitate development and tourism. It empowered the administration to constitute planning and development authorities for the development of any area identified as having “bad layout or obsolete development”. In response to an RTI filed by HT, the home ministry said that LDAR 2021 was not presently under consideration. It said that the Lakshadweep Town and Country Planning, 2024, is under consultation with stakeholder department and ministries.

Tourism & Remote WorkSeptember 19, 2024

Koh Lanta’s war on waste hailed as breakthrough for green tourism

Excerpt and Photo from nationthailand.com A groundbreaking community waste management programme on the island of Koh Lanta in Krabi province is being hailed as a game-changer in the fight against environmental damage caused by overtourism in Thailand. Launched by the Thailand Environment Institute (TEI) in 2021, the initiative is setting a new standard for sustainable tourism and preserving the island’s natural beauty for generations to come. Koh Lanta’s mangroves, coral beaches, and jungle-covered hills have faced increasing pressure from tourism development over the past few decades, with nearly 300,000 tourists visiting the island in 2019 alone. The island’s economy is now almost entirely dependent on tourism, which is taking a heavy toll on the environment amid limited waste-management infrastructure.

Tourism & Remote WorkSeptember 6, 2024

The Fight to Save a Precious Pointbreak in Tobago

“They don’t have to worry about the next meal because their trust fund is good, and them spend their time surfing,” the Prime Minister of the tiny southern [Caribbean](https://www.surfer.com/news/environmental/puerto-rico-north-coast-new-marine-reserve) nation of Trinidad and Tobago said in June about a group of surfers fighting to protect a precious right point break on the island of Tobago. “And if the hotel is built at Rocky Point it would affect the waves in the sea, so they wouldn’t enjoy the surfing, and they go and smoke marijuana there and ‘meditate to your God’” he continued. The surfing that is said to be affected is a warm water right point that breaks over a pristine reef, home to the biggest turtle nesting site in the country and surrounded by rainforest. On the waters edges are indigenous burial sites and the ruins of a Latvian fort that has stood since eastern Europeans colonized the island in the 1600s. The proposed hotel development is seeking to tear it all down and replace it with a large luxury Marriott. Trinidad and Tobago is made up of two islands – Trinidad and Tobago. Tobago is the smaller of the pair, with a surface area of just 300km2 and sits just north of the coast of Venezuela. Rocky Point is a wedge of land that juts out into the shimmering blue Caribbean Sea on the west coast and is hugged by a reef called Mt. Irvine. This coral structure is home to a large food source on the island, a fishing spot that local fishermen depend on to survive. When winter swells pulse down from the North Atlantic the reef shudders into life – a right hander appears from the depths and reels off down the bay. Surfers fly in by the dozens from other islands in the Caribbean and a cluster of die hard Brits rush to board flights from Cornwall and touch down in warmer waters.

Tourism & Remote WorkAugust 29, 2024

El Hierro: How the youngest Canary Island escaped mass tourism

El Hierro’s population hovers around just 11,000, and its dramatic topography doesn’t lend itself to sprawling resorts or skyscrapers. In addition, the island has no direct flights from outside the archipelago, which means it receives only a handful of visitors compared to its neighbours – approximately 20,300 visitors in 2023, while Tenerife, the largest Canary Island, saw more than 6.57 million. During my visit, I zigzagged up and down vertigo-inducing volcanic stone paths and trekked through forests of soaring Canary pines, fields of fiery red poppies and past plots of pineapples. And I crunched over black lava sprinkled with vivid green succulents then swam in a luminous-blue natural rock pool – all with barely another soul in sight. El Hierro’s aim was always to grow visitor numbers gradually. The forward-thinking island has been committed to a wide-ranging sustainable development plan since 1997, including creating [museums and visitor centres](https://elhierro.travel/en/what-to-do/points-interest) (there are seven now) that promote its culture and traditions, focussing on activities with limited environment impact and improving the island’s infrastructure while preserving nature (it didn’t get its first paved road until 1962 and there’s famously only one traffic light).