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    News

    Curated stories and analysis from islands and sustainability leaders worldwide.

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    Showing 9 of 101 news items in Tourism & Remote Work
    Discover Saba: The Sustainable Jewel Of The Caribbean
    Tourism & Remote WorkSeptember 18, 2023

    Discover Saba: The Sustainable Jewel Of The Caribbean

    Photo by M.Torres GETTY. Retrieved from forbes.com Tucked away in the Caribbean Sea, the five-square-mile island of Saba is arguably the region’s best-kept secret. Home to just four villages, a singular road that was dug out by a local with nothing but a shovel, pristine hiking trails, impeccable dive sites, breathtaking villas and locally-owned boutique hotels, the tiny but mighty island will take any well-traveled visitor by pleasant surprise. As the peak of a dormant volcano that pokes out from the ocean below, Saba appears to be just a speck on the map. But don’t be fooled It’s packed with loads of unexpected character. The smallest commercial runway in the world? Check. A field of solar panels that powers the whole island for 8-10 hours per day? Check. A population of 2,000 family-like residents that welcome all visitors with open arms into their close-knit community? That’s Saba. As more regions and countries develop their tourism industry, it produces significant impacts on natural resources, consumption patterns, pollution, and social systems. The island of Saba, also known as The Unspoiled Queen, has a goal to be a sustainable destination so tourism can live on and more visitors can enjoy what the hidden island has to offer. This year’s the island[Sea and Learn Foundation](https://www.seaandlearn.org/) will be turning 20 years old and there will be an event this October to commemorate the occasion. The Sea & Learn program has been able to make a slower tourism month into one of the busier times of year and it kicks off the “high season” on the island. Through its engaging programs and educational initiatives, this remarkable foundation has not only enriched the island’s high season but has also raised awareness about the importance of marine and environmental conservation.

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    The Faroe Islands is doing tourism on its own terms
    Tourism & Remote WorkSeptember 12, 2023

    The Faroe Islands is doing tourism on its own terms

    Photo: Visit Faroe Islands. Retrieved from positive.news At first glance the Faroe Islands don’t seem to have much tourism to speak of. Single track roads, sheep and floating fish farms, yes. Waterfalls and towering mountains that wouldn’t look out of place in an action film? Again, yes. But tourists? The airport welcomes direct flights from Paris, Copenhagen, Edinburgh and a handful of other cities in Europe, but with its single grassy runway and compact terminal, it’s hardly Heathrow. Chances are, you haven’t visited the Faroe Islands. You might struggle to pinpoint them on a map. This handful of windswept volcanic rocks erupts out of the North Atlantic Ocean about 300km north of Scotland and 700km southeast of Iceland. But its status as an emerging tourist nation that has allowed the Faroes to do something unique in travel terms: it closes to tourists once a year. “The Faroe Islands had been successful in increasing tourism for a number of years, giving them a positive challenge,” says Rune Hørslev, a partner at Mensch, the Danish creative agency that came up with the ‘[Closed for Maintenance](https://visitfaroeislands.com/en/closed)’ concept. “On the one hand, tourism was up, but on the other, they wanted to manage tourism in a sustainable way so the local community would benefit not just in economic terms, but as a society. We came up with the concept of closing down for a weekend.” During weekends when the islands are closed, 100 places are available on a volunteer scheme where, in exchange for bed, board and a locally-made woolly hat, volunteers will come to work. Their tasks include repairing paths, building cairns, making signs, gates and ladders and creating easier and safer ways to navigate between towns and villages. It has taken off. The scheme is heavily oversubscribed, with only around 3 per cent of those who apply are accepted. When it launched in 2019, the World Economic Forum named it one of the world’s most innovative initiatives for tourism. Since then it has won multiple tourism and communications awards. The Faroes aren’t the only place to try out this kind of approach. On the other side of the globe In New Zealand, tourists come to take part in replanting programmes, organic farm work and native bird breeding programmes. And in the Pacific Island nation of Palau, the [Ol’au Palau](https://olaupalau.com/) app rewards positive tourism decisions like using reef-safe sunscreen with access to nature-based initiatives usually reserved for locals.

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    Revitalised Boracay island in the Philippines faces next challenge – the return of mass tourism
    Tourism & Remote WorkSeptember 5, 2023

    Revitalised Boracay island in the Philippines faces next challenge – the return of mass tourism

    Photo: CNA/Jack Board. Retrieved from channelnewsasia.com The sunset in Boracay has a certain wonder to it. As the horizon starts to burn with colour, crowds are drawn out from their afternoon malaise to the shimmering foreshore in time for an inevitably spectacular show. Streaks of lilac and magenta fill the dusk sky, casting new shades on a beach that blinds with the whiteness of its powder-like sand throughout the day. Children splash in the shallows and couples pose for photos, silhouetted by the fading light. Further out, blue-sailed boats criss-cross the calm sea. These are the picture perfect moments that this tourist island has promised for decades. For much of the past five years though, the number of visitors on Boracay has been greatly reduced. Locals have watched the sun set and rise on their own. The Philippines’ holiday jewel has lurched from crisis to crisis. Its environment has undergone a radical revitalisation and its economy derailed by closures and evaporating tourist numbers. In 2018, then-president Rodrigo Duterte labelled the island a “cesspool”, a reaction to the island’s overcrowded beaches, wastewater being pumped into the sea, green tides of seaweed, congested roads and sprawling infrastructure. He ordered the island abruptly closed for a period of six months to allow it to be rehabilitated.  It was a controversial and radical option that shocked business operators, airlines and locals alike. The tap that brought millions to Boracay every year was switched off.It was just over a year after the island re-opened for visitors when the COVID-19 pandemic struck another blow to tourism here.

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    The mills and fountains on the island of Porto Santo brought back to life for visitors to enjoy
    Tourism & Remote WorkAugust 8, 2023

    The mills and fountains on the island of Porto Santo brought back to life for visitors to enjoy

    Photo: Retrieved from euronews.com Porto Santo, nicknamed the “Golden Island”, is now seeing its treasures of yesteryear revived thanks to an ambitious European project. Its windmills and old public fountains, emblematic symbols of its cultural identity, have been neglected for too long. Now, however, these traditional architectural features are being restored to offer locals and visitors alike a glimpse into the island’s past. Porto Santo was the temporary home of the famous navigator Christopher Columbus. Throughout its history, the Portuguese island played a key role as Madeira’s granary, which led to the construction of its famous windmills in the 19th century. Today, these restored mills allow visitors to step back in time and relive the era when grain was ground to meet the region’s food needs. The restoration project is not limited to the windmills. The municipality of Porto Santo has also taken the initiative to restore more than a dozen public fountains, water basins and drinking troughs. These water sources, which were once vital to the local population, are now back in use, offering residents and visitors the chance to reclaim their cultural heritage. Schoolchildren who came to discover the island were able to learn about the history of the fountains and mills and their importance to the local population.

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    Unlocking Gender Equality and Empowerment in Cabo Verde’s Tourism Sector: A Path to Sustainable Development
    Tourism & Remote WorkAugust 2, 2023

    Unlocking Gender Equality and Empowerment in Cabo Verde’s Tourism Sector: A Path to Sustainable Development

    Photo: Mangue de Sete Ribeiras – Beach in the north of Santiago Island. **© Marco Medina Silva, World Bank. From worldbank.org** Gender equality and women empowerment are essential for inclusive and sustainable development. In Cabo Verde, significant progress has been made in gender-related policies and programs, yet challenges persist in achieving gender equality and women empowerment, particularly in the tourism sector, representing approximately 25% of GDP. [The Report on Gender-Responsive Tourism in Cabo Verde](https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099444104172396828/pdf/IDU0ef6f7bfd082c4040310a9ef068c9d8d0f2d7.pdf) analyzes the barriers and opportunities for women’s participation, access to better jobs, control of assets, and voice and agency within the tourism sector. The report proposes recommendations and actions to be considered under the [Resilient Tourism and Blue Economy Development in Cabo Verde Project.](https://projects.worldbank.org/pt/projects-operations/project-detail/P176981) Integrating gender equality in tourism will be key to improving the sector’s resilience in Cabo Verde, especially amidst COVID-19. Despite comprising 60% of the workforce in accommodation and restaurant businesses, women in these sectors earn 50% less than men and over half of them work in informal and short-term contract arrangements. Women-owned businesses make up 30% of all businesses, but they face significant barriers in education and training, particularly in advanced business planning and management skills.

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    Pilot program empowers this Hawaiʻi Island community to manage tourism themselves
    Tourism & Remote WorkJuly 26, 2023

    Pilot program empowers this Hawaiʻi Island community to manage tourism themselves

    Photo: Kuʻuwehi Hiraishi/HPR. Retrieved from hawaiipublicradio.org The coastal community of Keaukaha on Hawaiʻi Island has been flagged as a tourist “hotspot” by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority. Residents there say they have been feeling the pressure for years. A new pilot program aims to empower the Keaukaha community to manage the impacts of tourism themselves. Lehia native ʻĀinaaloha Ioane’s family has been coming to Waiuli Beach Park for generations. “So kēia, this loko iʻa is Honokea. The ocean is Waiuli, our lae over there is Puakahinano. Then after Puakahinano, we hit Lehia,” Ioane said. Ioane is the project coordinator for the [Keliʻi William Ioane Legacy Foundation](https://www.hawaiipeoplesfund.org/keli%CA%BBi-william-ioane-legacy-foundation/). The organization is the community lead for the Keaukaha Stewardship Program. “The intent of the stewardship program right now is to first identify what’s happening. And once we can understand what’s happening then we can have discussions with our community about, ‘Okay, how do we feel about what we see is happening?’” Ioane said.

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    The wild, remote island at the heart of a billion-dollar industry
    Tourism & Remote WorkJuly 3, 2023

    The wild, remote island at the heart of a billion-dollar industry

    Photo: NELL LEWIS/CNN. Retrieved from edition.cnn.com The rain-lashed isle of Islay off Scotland’s west coast is not always easy to get to. Temperamental ferries run three times a day from the mainland port of Kennacraig and frequent sea mists can****disrupt the small passenger planes that fly daily from Glasgow. Even so, the island attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world each year. What do they come for? Whisky. Despite its small size and a population of just 3,000,****Islay is home to nine – soon to be 11 – of Scotland’s 145 active distilleries. The distinctive smoky flavor of its single malt has won it fans globally.****A single page from the visitors’ book at Ardbeg distillery on the south of the island lists addresses from the UK, US, Australia, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Taiwan. Part of the reason is that when it comes to an Islay single malt, the place and the taste are so deeply intertwined. The salty breeze that blows in from sweeping white sand beaches settles in ancient peat bogs, which are harvested to fuel the kilns that dry the barley, giving the whisky its smoky, earthy flavor. “It’s a liquid that runs through people’s veins,” says Thompson. “It’s very much part of the lifeblood and the real beating heart of Islay – you just have to go to the pub on a Friday or Saturday night and you’ll feel that very strongly.”

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    Rum bidding for Dark Sky Island status to boost astro-tourism
    Tourism & Remote WorkJune 1, 2023

    Rum bidding for Dark Sky Island status to boost astro-tourism

    Photo: STEVEN GRAY. Retrieved from bbc.com A Scottish island where stargazers can view the Milky Way with the naked eye is bidding to protect its clear night skies and boost visitor numbers. Residents on Rum are hoping it will be recognised as a Dark Sky Island. They have been preparing an application to the International Dark Sky Association. It combats light pollution worldwide, and grants official recognition to areas which implement policies which reduce artificial light. Scotland currently has two dark sky parks – Galloway Forest and Cairngorms. Moffat in Dumfries and Galloway and the islands of Coll and North Ronaldsay are also certified as dark sky communities. In recent years, the community of just 30 people on Rum have made efforts to overhaul the island’s lighting system. There are no streetlights and this is combined with hardly any buildings and no traffic. When the sun sets, locals and visitors alike can experience a naturally dark sky, and enjoy views of the meteors, shooting stars, and twinkling planets.

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    RMI latest Signatory of the Pacific Leader’s Sustainable Tourism Commitment
    Tourism & Remote WorkMay 25, 2023

    RMI latest Signatory of the Pacific Leader’s Sustainable Tourism Commitment

    The Republic of the Marshall Islands has become the 18th signatory of the Pacific Leader’s Sustainable Tourism Commitment. RMI’s Minister of Natural Resources and Commerce, John Silk, emphasized the importance of advancing sustainable tourism development in the Pacific, in an inclusive and collaborative manner. He says they’re inspired by the ambitions of the Pacific Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework (PSTPF) the SOC works as a tool to support collective action on PSTPF implementation, with the backing of SPTO’s Council of Tourism Ministers. Silk adds that as we try to rebuild tourism in our region, we have the perfect opportunity to also reframe our approaches with sustainability and resilience at the fore. The Pacific Leader’s Sustainable Tourism Commitment provides us with a high-level pathway to regional collaboration on this important issue. SPTO Chief Executive, Christopher Cocker, also acknowledged the importance of collective action, in support of SPTO’s regional tourism mandate. The 18 signatories are the Federates States of Micronesia, New Caledonia, Samoa, Niue, Vanuatu, Timor Leste, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Cook Islands, American Samoa, Fiji, Wallis & Futuna, Nauru, Tuvalu and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

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