Our Unique Approach
Conscious Travel takes a new approach to tourism development in eight key ways
1. We consider the whole picture and delve into root causes
We’re not satisfied to tinker. We want nothing less than transformation. So we engage hosts in a reflective process – delving beyond symptoms to root causes. We work from the inside out – from seeing to being and then doing – first with the individual and second with the community. Simply making our economy less unsustainable while continuing to expand won’t solve what is becoming a “wicked” problem. The good news is that since the flaws are systemic and structural and they are man-made, they can be unmade.
2. We tap into the deep and potent yearning of all humans to simply BE more.
Once our basic needs for food, shelter and belonging are met, it’s human nature to want to explore what’s out there and our own potential. Change is a constant feature of life because all life forms are intent on “becoming” – demonstrating more beauty, interdependence, reciprocity and resilience. So Conscious Travel is not just about survival, compliance and checklists but about possibility – about envisioning a tourism that delivers more fulfilling, regenerative, joyful, reciprocal, meaningful benefits to all stakeholders in a way that’s unique to the place and personal for the participants.
3. We start with the individual hosts because all change starts from within the individual
Our aim is to create a collaborative network of proactive Conscious Hosts who are leading their communities in co-creating Places That Care. Such places are home to individuals, businesses and associations each operating at peak and collaborating to generate maximum positive benefit for all its stakeholders in alignment with local biophysical capacity and cultural aspirations and priorities.
4. We focus on changing the system by changing its purpose...
… Because we have confused ends with means and because sustainability is not enough. The Conscious Travel approach proposes that, instead of pursuing numbers and spending without a full accounting for all impacts, we apply the concept of flourishing from positive psychology and ecology to individuals, enterprises and communities. The goal: a visitor economy that regenerates not extracts; that evolves and gets better over time instead of becoming over used and run down.
5. The shift from Extraction to Regeneration best occurs one place, one living community, at a time
Every place on Earth expresses nature’s unique beauty, power, and complexity in a unique way exhibiting a personality or essence that can be experienced and exists to be celebrated and revered. Because tourism is the vehicle whereby people of different places are connected, destinations can play a key role in the Regenerative Economy.
6. We return to the heart and hearth of hospitality
Given the preponderance of Big Data, analytics, and measurable K.P.I.s, it’s easy to overlook look the fact that the experience of inspirational hospitality is delivered by passionate people intent upon serving a guest with imagination and sensitivity. These characteristics are qualities of the heart not the mind and, when appropriately nurtured and shaped, are key to delivering greater benefit and value to both guest and host.
7. We harness collective intelligence by working in and for communities
The nature of our times calls for a new form of intelligence – the ability to build, contribute to and mange the power found in networks of people. This capacity is called Collective or Collaborative Intelligence.
8. We encourage full integration and inclusivity with other community/localist initiatives
As the visitor economy is just one thread in the rich economic tapestry unique to each place, it is vital that travel & hospitality hosts integrate more closely with with the many community-oriented organisations, consultancies and initiatives that are committed to nourishing local living economies and a diverse set of organisations structures and business practices. One example is the highly successful Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (see brief video to the right).