Tourism Stories

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My Story, My Community, Our Future

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Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the big numbers. Especially when thinking about the tourism sector, a sector that moves over one billion tourists a year across borders, accounts for nearly 10% of the world’s GDP, generates exports of 1.5 US$ trillion annually and provides directly or indirectly for one in eleven jobs in the globe. For this very reason, it is all too easy to forget the most important number of all: one. This is the number that remains at the heart of our sector. Chefs, sommeliers, artisans, attendants, tuk-tuk drivers, tour guides, guest house owners, hotel gardeners, travel app developers, dive masters or traditional dance instructors, every day each of these people, and millions more, engage with tourists from around the globe, advancing tourism development and making a difference in their communities.

This book invites readers to enter their worlds, gaining a personal insight into how their lives and that of their communities have been shaped by tourism. Inspired by the first book Tourism Stories – How tourism enriched my life, this second book Tourism Stories - My Story, My Community, Our Future is dedicated to all those impacting their communities through their work in tourism. It shows us how one person’s work has the ability to creatively unlock community value chains, proudly inspire the empowerment of women and revitalize history and traditions of the past to set the foundations for the future.

Created by UNWTO to remind us of the heartbeats behind the tourism numbers, the book captured 28 voices of tourism from countries across the globe – the people who, each and every day, woke to work in the sector, playing their part, making their impact, and sharing their story.

We invite you to join us on this journey and live each story with each storyteller, celebrated, one by one.

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Tourism

Stories

My Story, My Community, Our Future

A book by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

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Contents

Content Page Foreword Acknowledgements Tourism stories Ali Heydar Keeping history and community rock solid / 12 ‘Mama’ Anna Pallangyo Tourism protecting people, predators, prey and place / 16 Anthony Rahayel Serving up local customs and cuisine on a global table / 20 Asadsho Zoolshoev Building a new tourism destination, naturally / 24 Benedicta Alejo Vargas From Benedicta to pope Benedict, with love / 28 Dadash Aliyev Lahij’s languages of opportunity / 32 David Ahadzie A true passion for preservation / 36 Giovanny Rivadeneira A community of custodians / 40 Hamoudi Hassan Al – Abayagi Stitching together tradition and tourism / 44 Jean Baptiste Hortere Tourism innovation with island spirit / 48 Josefina Klinger Zúñiga Mano Cambiado / 52 Juan Melendez Brewing up tourism opportuniy / 56 Khaled Al Took Sharing the love for sands and spirit / 60 Landing Jatta Turtle hunter turns into turtle savior / 64 The Makey family Building a new future / 68 Manuela Hrvatin The spirit of Istria / 72 Martina Plesnik A jewel box of rich possibilities / 76 Medardo Hipólito López Taking pride in our heritage / 80 Memory Ganuses Conservation protecting all lives / 84 Milutin Prascevic Sowing the seeds of tourism opportunity / 88 Na and Yai Creating opportunity over a cup of coffee / 92 Pasquale Ricchiuti Historical trails on two wheels / 96 Regina Martinez Turning a home into hope / 100 Rusaila Derat On the Palace doorstep / 104 Sokhem Kuon The elephant’s friend / 108 Swarna Chitrakar Art and tourism painting a new future for women / 112 Tihamér Horváth From natural water flows opportunity / 116 Virginia ‘Virgie’ Deocareza Negrite A home for tourists / 120

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About this book Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the big numbers.

Especially when thinking about the tourism sector, a sector that moves over one billion tourists a year across borders, accounts for nearly 10% of the world’s GDP, generates exports of 1.5 US$ trillion annually and provides directly or indirectly for one in eleven jobs in the globe. For this very reason, it is all too easy to forget the most important number of all: one. This is the number that remains at the heart of our sector. Chefs, sommeliers, artisans, attendants, tuk-tuk drivers, tour guides, guest house owners, hotel gardeners, travel app developers, dive masters or traditional dance instructors, every day each of these people, and millions more, engage with tourists from around the globe, advancing tourism development and making a difference in their communities.

This book invites readers to enter their worlds, gaining a personal insight into how their lives and that of their communities have been shaped by tourism. Inspired by the first book Tourism Stories – How tourism enriched my life, this second book Tourism Stories - My Story, My Community, Our Future is dedicated to all those impacting their communities through their work in tourism. It shows us how one person’s work has the ability to creatively unlock community value chains, proudly inspire the empowerment of women and revitalize history and traditions of the past to set the foundations for the future.

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Created by UNWTO to remind us of the heartbeats behind the tourism numbers, the book captured 28 voices of tourism from countries across the globe – the people who, each and every day, woke to work in the sector, playing their part, making their impact, and sharing their story.

We invite you to join us on this journey and live each story with each storyteller, celebrated, one by one.

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Foreword Tourism is shaping our world. Every day over three million tourists cross international borders creating millions of opportunities for understanding, social transformation and development. The remarkable ability of travel and tourism to make genuine connections amongst people and mindsets is what makes our sector a true force for good.

In 2013, UNWTO launched the book Tourism Stories: How Tourism Enriched My Life shining a light on the people who every day create memorable experiences for travelers from around the world. The response to the book was overwhelming.

Across the global tourism community, people were interested to hear more of these voices and share more of these stories.

For this reason, UNWTO is proud to launch volume two of the celebration of the voices of tourism – Tourism Stories: My Life, My Community, Our Future. Capturing the stories of 28 champions of tourism across the globe, this new book goes further and show us how all those working in the sector are changing their communities, magnifying the benefits of the sector beyond one home to so many others.

My utmost appreciation and admiration goes to all those who shared their stories with us and to all the other millions who each day use the power of tourism to transform their communities.

I trust these voices will continue to serve as an inspiration to all of us in the tourism sector and to the billions of travelers crossing the globe every year. At a time when the world so deeply needs security of place and peace of mind, these inspiring stories remind us of the opportunities tourism brings to change lives and communities.

Taleb Rifai Secretary-General, World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

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Acknowledgements The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) would like to express its utmost appreciation to all those who played a part in the creation of this project and the continued amplification of the voices of tourism across the globe: Alejandro Villamizar (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism, Colombia), Alessandra Priante (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Italy), Ali Y. Abudalredha (Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities, Iraq), Amreen Choudhury (Tourism Advisor for Committee of Youth Affairs, Sports & Tourism under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan), Basmah Al-Mayman (Saudi Commission for Tourism & National Heritage, Saudi Arabia), Blanka Belošević (Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Croatia), Carlos Alberto Vives Pacheco (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism, Colombia), Cecilia Gala (Velo Service), Cedrian López Bosch (Secretariat of Tourism, United States of Mexico), Christian Lingat (Department of Tourism, The Philippines), Cynthia Molina (Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador), Daouda Niang (University of The Gambia), David Rodriguez (Ministry of Tourism, El Salvador), Debbie Mantzur (Ministry of Tourism, Israel), Divine OwusuAnsah (Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Creative Arts, Ghana), Dr. Klaus Schwettmann (Green Discovery Laos), Edgardo M. Afanador-García (Puerto Rico Tourism Company), Eli Barillas (Ministry of Tourism, El Salvador), Elirehema Maturo (Tanzania Tourist Board), Fadi Kattan (Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Palestine), Glynn Burridge (Seychelles Tourism Board), Goranka Lazovic (Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism,

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Montenegro), Inthy Deuansavan (Green Discovery Laos), Irena Milinkovič (Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, Slovenia), Jasna Radić (Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, Slovenia), Javid Abdullayev (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Azerbaijan), Ladan Tehrani Jafari (Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization), Lorena Arevalo (Ministry of Tourism, El Salvador), Marlene Coussa (Ministry of Tourism, Lebanon), Michel Agrippine (Seychelles Tourism Board), Morena Milevoj (Istra Inspirit), Nestor Noguera (National Tourism Secretariat of Paraguay), Neth Vibol (Wildlife Alliance), Nilda I. Luhring Gonzalez (Puerto Rico Tourism Company), Nildamarie Diaz (Puerto Rico Tourism Company), Nóra Pataki (Ministry for National Economy, Hungary), Om Sophana (Mlup Baitong Organization), Phonemaly Inthaphome (Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism Lao PDR), Rafic Bazerji (Ministry of Tourism, Lebanon), Renolda Jossob (Ministry of Environment & Tourism, Namibia), Rita Gay (Seychelles Tourism Board), Rosa Sanabria (National Tourism Secretariat, Paraguay), Roxana Ashtari (Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization), Sandra Howard (Vice Minister of Tourism, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism, Colombia), Sandra Naranjo (Minister of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism, Ecuador), Sherin Naiken (Seychelles Tourism Board), Sieng Neak (Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia), Steve Felton (WWF Namibia), Thok Sohom (Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia), Timor Hodin (Belarus) and Tith Chantha (Secretary of State of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism, Cambodia).

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Appreciation is also extended to colleagues within the UNWTO who contributed to make this book possible: Ahmad Reza Sheikhi, Alberto G. Uceda, Alejandro Varela, Alissa Barton, Amr Abdel Ghaffar, Andrea Garcia, Beatriz Cano, Beka Jakeli, Carlos Vogeler, Clara Mendez, Daniela Urcuyo, Esther Ruiz, Gabriele von Hagen, Ghada Ahmed Khalil, Hae-guk Harry Hwang, Hanane Louzari, Igor Stefanovic, Isabel Garaña, Isra Magdi Taha, Kelly Ko, Klara Nordström, Marcel Leijzer, Marina Diotallevi, Maria Soledad Gaido, Marie-Alise Elcia Grandcourt, Milena Lukic, Musallim Afandiyev, Natalia Diaz, Sandra Carvao and Xu Jing.

In addition, sincere thanks to our partners in this project, in particular, the Tollman family, founders and leaders of The Travel Corporation, without whom this project would not have been possible, and to our editor Anita Mendiratta.

“At the heart of The Travel Corporation’s global efforts in creating truly enriching experiences for travellers is our desire to unlock the transformative power of tourism, helping enhance the lives of communities and trying to protect some of the wildlife (through our Treadright Foundation) into which our award-winning portfolio of brands and businesses operate. We are proud to be partnering with the UNWTO in this important project amplifying the voices to the precious people of these communities.” The Tollman Family.

Finally, and most importantly, to the true champions of this book – the voices of tourism from across the world, who continue to keep us focused on the hearts and hopes of the people that make global travel and tourism a force for good, at so many levels: Ali Heydar – Islamic Republic of Iran, Anthony Rahayel – Lebanon, Asadsho Zoolshoev – Tajikistan, Benedicta Alejo Vargas – Mexico, Dadash Aliyev – Azerbaijan, David Ahadzie –Ghana, Giovanny Rivadeneira – Ecuador, Hamoudi Hassan Al – Abayagi – Iraq, Jean Baptiste Hortere – Seychelles, Josefina Klinger Zúñiga – Colombia, Juan Melendez – Puerto Rico, Khaled Al Took – Suadi Arabia, Landing Jatta – Gambia, Makey family – Belarus, Mama Anna Pallangyo – United Republic of Tanzania, Manuela Hrvatin – Croatia, Martina Plesnik – Slovenia, Medardo Hipólito López – El Salvador, Memory Ganuses – Namibia, Milutin Prascevic – Montenegro, Na. and Yai – Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Pasquale Ricchiuti – Italy, Regina Martinez – Paraguay, Sokhem Kuon – Cambodia, Swarna Chitrakar – India, Tihamér Horváth – Hungary and Virginia “Virgie” Deocareza Negrite – Phillipines.

Their lives and work are what make our sector a source of inspiration and possibility like no other.

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Tourism Stories Around the World

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Ali Heydari

Keeping history and community rock solid

Entrance gate into the historical ancient complex Chogha Zanbil, Iran

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I am Ali Heydari, fifth and last child of my family, and this is my story‌.

The building is unique in the province, its construction having been ceased long ago in southwest Iran.

In fact, we are three families living together. I am from Iran, Khuzestan province, Dasht Azadegan, Bardye village. I am a member of the Iranian ecology network and active in tourism.

So much of who we are is reflected in the buildings around us.

This is why this place matters to me.

Our activities include providing lodging for tourists, local food, traditional music and dance and Arabic coffee. We do what we can to make their visit to this area comfortable, wishing them to stay as long as possible, to learn as much as possible. Cup custom, which is unique and complex, is also presented. We prepare Arabian coffee with traditional equipment and serve it to our visitors.

The type of structure called Mozif dates back to Sumerian age.

Unfortunately, this is the last exact construction. It was destroyed thirty years ago. For the past eight years we have thought of rebuilding it. It was built by residents of this area so long ago, and until today, and it has been visited by many people.

Knowing it had a special meaning, we prepared it as a tourist attraction. We worked hard to make sure that the stories of its history, its traditions, were preserved. Slowly, we started to introduce it to our countrymen and people from abroad and make them familiar with an old structure.

Besides all of this, we can arrange for visitors to visit three international wetlands Shadegan, Hour-al-Azim and Houral-Hoveyzeh. We can also have bird watching tours and ecotourism tours in the desert and protected area.

Our greatest challenge is the skies. There is no specific problem that we face except the weather. It is hot with high humidity five months a year. For this reason, in that period we cannot serve our visitors inside Mozif.

Ali Heydar inside the famous Mozif, Iran

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The unique Mozif in Dasht Azadegan, Bardye village, Iran

The Mozif has revived as a place to see, and has become one of the greatest tourism destinations our country has to offer. Mozif is listed as a national site.

We are happy that we introduced it. It is because of Mozif that I am a tour guide.

ways of life. Many tourists from abroad prefer to find residence here instead of five star hotels. We are glad that sustainable tourism is developing in this area.

Tourists’ satisfaction is our best happiness. Our goal is to be friendly to them so that they can rest and enjoy their visit.

Tourists are conscious of change after they visit our area.

They get better and clearer ideas about the locals and their

Visitors of the Mozif, Iran

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Islamic Republic of Iran Across the Islamic Republic of Iran, the nation and region’s rich history has been told through its remarkable architecture. Yet time has had its impact, with stories held in stone falling to the ground as rock crumbles. In the southwest province of Khuzestan, the people of Dasht Azadegan, Bardye village are working to safeguard their past, through the creation of an ecology network, the village is able to apply experience and expertise to their surroundings, ensuring that their heritage stands tall and proud for the over 125,000 residents of the village, and the growing number of tourists travelling to see and feel the historical beauty warm hospitality of the village.

Zoroastrian site, Yazd, Iran

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Mama Anna Pallangyo

Tourism protecting people, predators, prey and place

Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area, Tanzania

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My name is ‘Mama’ Anna Pallangyo, and this is my story…

It all started with micro enterprises initiatives by the local not for profit organization FAIDA opening their door to my predicament in 1994 then grappling with a life full of disadvantages and lack of meaning. They sponsored me to train in entrepreneurship skills and milk processing.

I then proceeded, with the help of FAIDA, to be introduced to the idea of promoting cultural activities in my village. It encouraged an integrated approach to cultural tourism in which I convinced seven other women to join and we founded the Agape Women’s group, and later developed income generating projects, through the Mulala Cultural Tourism Enterprise.

With the help of SNV and the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) in facilitating our promotion we finally received a first group of 20 tourists in the first quarter of 1998. Life has since grown in leaps

and bounds; I have found a meaning in life and living, enabling me to pay for school fees for my three children up to the university level, including building a new house, owning a motorcycle and a small car.

Seeing the great need there was in pushing the education agenda further in the village, I was able to raise funds and donations to support the kindergarten, primary and secondary schools with critical items meant to add value to the quality of education. In addition, I have pioneered the setting up of a school with four classrooms and drilled a bore hole to supply water initially to the school and later to the whole village.

Today, all the stress of life has passed and my family and I are happy that several partners came on board to help me change my family’s lifestyle, other group members and our village.

‘Mama’ Anna Pallangyo with a tourist, Tanzania

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Lions lying on rocks on savanna at sunset. Safari in Serengeti, Tanzania

Zebra standing in dust, Serengeti, Tanzania

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Tanzania The land of Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti, Zanzibar, the great migration and the Ngorongoro Crater - few countries across the world possess such overwhelming abundance of natural wealth as Tanzania. Tourism is working to protect not only the environment and its thriving animal kingdom, but the people of Tanzania, creating invaluable opportunities for work, wellbeing and a sense of pride in who they are, naturally.

From 2008 to 2014, UNWTO collaborated with the Tanzania Tourist Board to implement a STEP project to enhance and diversify the cultural tourism offer in Tanzania, and increase visitor spending and benefits for rural communities.

The project was implemented with support from the UNWTO ST-EP Foundation and the Netherlands Development Organization SNV. Through successful marketing activities the number of tourists visiting the cultural tourism enterprises, like the enterprise managed by Mama Anna Pallangyo, grew from 35,000 in 2007 to 70,000 in 2013. By 2014, an estimated number of 3,000 local people generate a direct income from the cultural tourism enterprises, with each enterprise ensuring that a part of the income is used for community development.

Baboons in Tanzania prairie

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Anthony Rahayel

Serving up local customs and cuisine on a global table

Bread baking in an open firewood oven traditional

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My name is Anthony Rahayel and this is my story…

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I was born in Beirut in 1983, a time when Lebanon was going through a period of intense political struggle and turmoil. For much of my youth there was always something happening in the country that affected people’s wellbeing, from violence to political deadlock or war.

As we emerged from crisis after crisis we Lebanese proved to the world that we are survivors and no matter what happens we will always be looking forward, looking to the future. We

continue to face challenges, but I have faith that the Lebanese will soldier on and survive.

As I grew up something inside me kept calling… I wasn’t satisfied with what I was doing and I only realized what really inspired me after I graduated from university and started my day job as a dental surgeon.

I woke up one day and thought… Lebanon is a survivor and we Lebanese are always coming up with new things, new places, new restaurants, importing new franchises, creating

Anthony Rahayel at one of the many restaurants in Lebanon

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our own and exporting them to other countries… But then I thought, OK, this is all great, but are we experiencing the very best food available to us… I came up with the idea for www.

NoGarlicNoOnions.com, a gateway to express my thoughts, how I feel and what I taste every time I go out for a meal… I became a representative for the average person, people who enjoy going out and want their money’s worth. As a result of the great feedback I receive I feel I represent many Lebanese, and not just myself. I never expected the blog to pick up so fast.

What started as a simple blog developed into something bigger. For the past three years, NoGarlicNoOnions has been scouring Lebanon and beyond, to discover and share the very finest culinary creations with its audience.

However, I still wasn’t satisfied.

I realized with time that we as Lebanese, especially my generation, have lost touch with ourselves – our diverse culture and what makes this country special. I wanted to get acquainted with my own country, to learn to love its details, its variety of people, culture and so on. I realized I could do all of this through food.

I started travelling around different parts of the country from Tripoli, to Sidon, Tyre, Beirut and beyond. With a video camera in hand I started roaming around the country’s alleys and streets, meeting amazing people making amazing food. I discovered various ways of preparing the same food in different regions, starting with the simplest thing as the thyme mankoushe…

I wrote reviews about my tasty discoveries and my videos became a huge success as people travelled around the country with me discovering cities, towns, and delicious bites.

NoGarlicNoOnions allows me to bring people together in a divided country. Lebanon isn’t an easy place to live in, but creating something like NoGarlicNoOnions has brought all sorts of issues to my mind. Prices are high, so people really want value for money, businesses come and go, so we have to support the good ones and, put quite simply, people want to be able to relax and have fun whenever they get the chance. It’s

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important to help people explore their own country, to tell them the very best it has to offer, in a country as stressful as Lebanon helping people get out and about, helping them to forget their troubles for a while, that’s a service.

I am now part of a huge community, one that continues growing where we live, who we are.

We’re from all walks of life, from all religious and political backgrounds, and that’s really important in Lebanon.

We don’t discriminate; we’ll travel anywhere, anytime.

I’m amazed by the conversations I have with my community, the NGNO family, we discuss cuisine, talk about new places and learn from one another, the feedback is so inspiring. I love knowing that I’ve touched people, that they understand what we’re trying to do and that they enjoy hearing our stories.

Most of all, I love that people love food.

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Lebanon Anthony Rahayel is the founder of www.NoGarlicNoOnions.com, the most popular food and drink website in Lebanon. A dental surgeon, Anthony spends his spare time travelling Lebanon and the world gathering reviews on the very best restaurants, cafes, street food joints and more. www.NoGarlicNoOnions.com currently has a readership in the tens of thousands and a vibrant social media following of the same scale.

A community of food lovers, Nogarlicnoonions. com brings people together over mouthwatering dishes.

Beirut at Sunset

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Asadsho Zoolshoev

Building a new tourism destination, naturally

The Mountains of Tajikistan

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My name is Asadsho Zoolshoev, and this is my story‌

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I am from Tajikistan, and am now living in the eastern part of the country in a beautiful mountainous town of Khorog, the administrative centre of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO).

Currently, I am the Executive Director of Pamir Eco-Cultural Tourism Association (PECTA), a non-profit organization aiming at promoting and developing sustainable and responsible tourism in the mountainous areas of Tajikistan.

Tourism is a new and promising sector of the economy of Tajikistan. Sustainable tourism development brings benefits to the region not only in economic and social terms, but it also brings ecological efforts to protect the mountain environment for future generations.

PECTA was established in 2008 with great support from the Mountain Societies Development Support Programme (MSDSP), a project of the Aga Khan Foundation. Currently PECTA has 21 members: 13 Tour operators and eight services providers. In addition, PECTA is working with home-stays

owners. In total up to 86 home-stays are operating in the region; 90% of the home-stay owners are women, who can generate some income for their families from this business new to the region.

Bringing local people to business has been among our main challenges. Because of the lack of knowledge in market economy it has been a very challenging task to adapt local people to the hospitality business. Therefore, it took quite a time to attract local people to the tourism business. Nowadays we are focusing on capacity building for all tourism stakeholders on such topics as quality of the services, marketing and promotion.

As PECTA’s Director, I liaise with the local and central government to lobby the promotion and development of tourism in the region and nationwide. I try to promote an understanding of how this sector of the economy, which has not been promoted in the region for long time, has become very important for the local economy.

Tajikistan lacks in natural resources, such as oil and gas, hence tourism presents the only real immediate profit generating sphere. I have been attending various workshops and conferences in and outside Tajikistan, where I present my

Asadsho Zoolshoev, Director of the Pamir Eco-Cultural Tourism Association (PECTA), Tajikistan

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A typical PECTA home-stay house, Tajikistan

organization, my region and my country. I recently participated in the International Tourist Fair annually held in Berlin, where I had the honor to represent Tajikistan. There were many tour operators in the Fair, who expressed their interest in responsible tourism and approached me with various questions about our country and region.

Bringing more tourists to Tajikistan is our end goal, since this not only improves the lives of individual persons working in this sphere, but also will develop the overall economic situation of our beautiful mountainous country, our Tajikistan.

One of the many women participating in the PECTA home-stays, Tajikistan

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Tajikistan The concept of responsible tourism has become a global phenomenon. As travellers across the world become increasingly sensitive to the impact of their footprints on the people and places they visit, the desire to do the right thing is making particular travel destinations increasingly appealing for certain types of travellers. Protecting the future has become a part of purposeful living today. The nation of Tajikistan is looking to its future with a strong commitment to protecting all that it has as its natural assets. For the just over eight million people of the country, the need to rebuild livelihoods in a way that offers security in all forms is vital, and has become a source of inspiration for thinking of new ways to renew the nation. This has created a strong focus not just on tourism as a means of growing the nation’s re-emerging economy and society, but responsible tourism. Putting principles into practice, Tajikistan is becoming a showcase of holistic tourism development, for the long run.

Culture and tradition in Tajikistan

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Benedicta Alejo Vargas

From Benedicta to Pope Benedict, with love

San Francisco parish, Uruapan

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My name is Benedicta Alejo Vargas, I’m from San Lorenzo, in the municipality of Uruapan, and this is my story…

My father´s name was Domingo Alejo Amado. He died. My mother is Esther Vargas Reyes. She is still alive. My dad was a farmer and my mother used to wait for my dad to return from the field with rabbits, mushrooms, quelites, coal and wood. My mother waited happily to make rabbit stew, or fungi or quelites – or to prepare a atápakua, or make a mushroom dish from those that we rescued from the ashes.

My grandmother taught me how to cook. Her name was Maximina Amado Cruz. I was three when my father died, and my mother had to start working longer selling pork and animals. I didn´t like that. I didn´t like it because my mother always prepared meals from pure meat, sometimes atápakua or meat churipo, she loved all of that.

My mother was selling barbecued meat often. She would say to me “Benedicta help me and go for water”. San Lorenzo has a spring, and with a bucket I went to get water, and there I met my husband. He is also called Lorenzo. He stole my heart and I stayed with him ever since. My husband is a farmer and helps me work.

I have gone many times to the USA. The first time was scary getting on the plane. I thought, ‘where am I going? It´s so far’.

Today it´s for work that I go to the USA, but I wanted to get to know the place before. I didn´t have any money. When they asked me if I wanted to go I said yes.

I thought a lot, alone. Well not alone, because I always talk to God, I speak with my flowers and my trees and I talk with my herbs when I go to the hill. I tell my quelites not get mad at me when I cut them because I’m needing to cook, I tell them I cut them to let people try their taste, to see that they are beautiful, so tasty. I ask them to not be angry with me when I cut them because it helps me move forward with my children.

Today I bring you flowers, because I am a cook, and I always have something to distinguish me, because I’m so used to it, I feel like my heart could be a flower.

When I get up at five in the morning, I say “Dear God, I am getting up by your great power that you are giving us at this time and this morning, here I give you these eyes, hands, everything that I have is not mine, it´s yours. I am nothing, it is all yours, now help me and bless me nothing more than today, not in the evening or tomorrow, only today.”

Benedicta Alejo Vargas preparing one of her traditional dishes, Uruapan, Mexico

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Benedicta Alejo Vargas preparing one of her traditional dishes, Uruapan, Mexico

For me it is a blessing of God, and because God never leaves anyone. He sees how our hearts feel, and how it dawns.

God sees everything and if there is no money, no one suffers, because God is great, and God gave me the gift to work. He gave me the gift of knowledge.

My grandmother taught me ten or 15 dishes and today I have added more meals, more stews, more atápakuas, and everything is God, because he never leaves me. He has never let me go without food, I have corn, cilantro, mint, my tomatoes, and from there I do my dishes.

It was thanks to Roberto that I was invited to the Vatican to cook. When I met Roberto, Roberto told Cynthia: “Are you ready for the Vatican?” And you’re taking Benedicta ...

I thought who knows where the Vatican is, but then Cynthia said yes, I’m taking Benedicta. Thank God he thought of Roberto and thank god he had me in mind.

When I realized this is where the Pope was, I felt faint and I said to my husband, “Robert and Cynthia told me that I will go to the Vatican, where is it?” And my husband said “Who knows”, because he doesn´t know much because he also grew up on the hill.

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There I was sitting in an office of the Pope in the Vatican, I was with my daughter Elvira, when some men arrived with helmets and a swords. They grabbed me, one on each side, and I thought “who knows where they are taking me”. Elvira was crying because she wanted to go with me. But they only led me to go up there to greet the pope with Roberto.

Roberto said to the Pope “she’s your namesake, also called Benedicta”.

I don´t want to lie, I almost didn´t hear them. I wanted to cry. I felt joy, nervousness, trembling, and with great emotion I felt, as if I no longer had bone strength. I felt well and I blessed the Father and all the rosaries I had.

My family works together, we are a chain. I am the pillar of my family, the woman in my home is the most important element, in a community where man is the traditional head of the household.

I am a brave Purepecha woman who is moving forward, thanks to God who gives me strength to move forward with my children, doing what I love from my heart.

http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284417186 - Friday, September 25, 2015 5:52:07 AM - IP Address:37.122.175.154

Mexico Calling the second city in Mexico’s state of Uruapan ‘home’, a place where avocado’s grow in abundance, all her life Benedicta Alejo Vargas has been cooking her favourite, traditional Mexican food. Taught by her mother and grandmother, her love of food has brought an array of great dishes to life, connecting tourists to her village, tastebuds to her art.

Her culinary art is a perfect complement to the city’s richness of history, culture and art.

A growing tourism destination for travellers seeking the joys of local tastes and textures of a traditional Mexican town, each day she is aware of the blessings in her life. Never, however, did she imagine that success in creating a food business for tourists would lead her from Mexico to the Vatican to receive a blessing from His Holiness the Pope.

San Francisco parish, Uruapan

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Dadash Aliyev

Lahij’s languages of opportunity

Streets of Lahij, Azerbaijan, home to the Tourism Information Center

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My name is Dadash Aliyev, and this is my story…

http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284417186 - Friday, September 25, 2015 5:52:07 AM - IP Address:37.122.175.154

I am married. I have two beautiful children. Currently, I mainly spend my time in Lahij, working as a teacher. I’m teaching the Azerbaijani and Russian languages. This is my work, what I do each day to take care of the needs of my family.

But this is not my only work. I also work in tourism. Tourism is an additional source of income for my family. But I also enjoy it as an amazing pastime. Using my language skills, I guide excursions in the Azerbaijani, Russian and English languages, and host guests at my home.

Lahij is one the most beautiful parts of Azerbaijan. Although I was always aware of tourism, I didn’t have any particular interest in tourism. When I learned what tourism is all about at a workshop in Georgia 13 years ago, that is when my whole life changed.

After I came to my country, I started to talk to some people about issues related to tourism and the benefits. Soon, we decided to establish a public union to revive the tourism sector, together with the local authorities. The union was registered two years later. Representatives from the ministry and authors of famous tourist guidebooks began to show interest in our work.

I fell in love with tourism. In addition to working as a school teacher, I made sure I participated in workshops where I received very important information that I needed about tourism and how to build a tourism business. I love tourism and learning how to do it right.

The creation of the Tourism Information Centre in Lahij was one of the most challenging periods of my tourism career. It was very difficult to convince local people of its necessity. Although the first project was approved by the World Bank, we couldn’t find a place for the Centre. There were many people, including

Dadash Aliyev with visitors during the winter season, Lahij, Azerbaijan

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A tourist exploring the surroundings of Lahij, Azerbaijan

my relatives, who created obstacles to our activities. People did not understand the value.

In spite of all those challenges, the Centre was opened in 2006.

In a very short period, tourism companies and guests interested in visiting Lahij learnt about our information Centre. The success of the Centre was remarkable, capturing the attention of the ‘Lonely Planet’ guidebook, describing and praising our Centre as the most effective Tourism Centre of Azerbaijan.

We have worked hard to create as many opportunities possible for others in Lahij. Our work has shown others how they can benefit from tourism.

This is some of the work we have done: we created a database on Lahij, entering information on guesthouses, hotels, restaurants, tourist routes, guides and other services. The Centre has its own webpage and advertisement board in place.

We placed signs indicating its location all over Lahij. We offered high quality and affordable services to guests addressing to our Centre. We received small interest fees on guests referred to services by the Centre. That income was sufficient to sustain the Centre.

Tourism has utterly changed my life. Lahij, which is one of the most beautiful places not only in the region, but also in

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the whole Azerbaijan, is experiencing a real tourism life. If our initial focus was on mobilizing people and explaining them the benefits of tourism, now we try to further improve the level of services provided and attract much more tourists in the region.

It’s impossible not to be excited with the development of tourism in Lahij. We help poor families offer accommodation to guests visiting Lahij, make regular conversation with them, and provide recommendations on how to improve conditions for guests. This increases their income.

Searching for accommodation for guests visiting Lahij, guiding, horse riding, transportation, picnic and other such kind of services led me to meet many new people, while considerably adding to my income. That was the part of the work that I liked the most.

Tourism helped me to make many friends in Azerbaijan, and from different parts of the world. I continually try to contribute to earnings of poor and underprivileged families, bearing in mind that every person should do his/her best to further promote Lahij and satisfy each guest. Tourism makes this all possible, for me and for my community.

http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284417186 - Friday, September 25, 2015 5:52:07 AM - IP Address:37.122.175.154

Azerbaijan Home to less than 1000 inhabitants, the Azerbaijani village of Lahij is located on the southern slopes of Greater Caucasus. With roots reaching back to the Medieval Ages, the village became an important centre for skilled craftsmen, their creative hands forming a community of artisans of leather, metal, stone, wool and other materials used to create everything from shoes to fine works of jewel art. Today a thriving centre of traditional handicrafts, cuisine, copper and carpets, drawing the attention of tourists from across the world, Lahij is a shining example of local communities coming together to build the future by carefully preserving the past. As one of the most ancient human settlements of Azerbaijan, the village of Lahij has evolved with an acute sensitivity not only to history, but also geology, having to contend with frequent earthquakes. As a result, the village has developed innovative construction techniques that offer richness of character over and above their stability of community infrastructure, both physical and social.

Forests of Lahij, Azerbaijan

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David Ahadzie

A true passion for preservation

Sunset at the beach, Ghana

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My name is David Ahadzie and this is my story‌.

http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284417186 - Friday, September 25, 2015 5:52:07 AM - IP Address:37.122.175.154

I was born at Feyito a village that is about 14 km from Ada Foah in Ghana. I have ten siblings, two kids and a wife.

When I was young my dream was to become a pilot because I love traveling. But as I grew up, that dream faded and I instead wanted to be an entrepreneur. The entrepreneurial spirit grew stronger and became inevitable after schooling. I searched for jobs in Accra and other cities in Ghana for over seven years, but could not get anything permanent.

In June 2010, I relocated from Accra to Ada Foah where there are many tourism offerings. It is one of the holiday destinations in Ghana where I could work as a tour guide in order to enhance visitors´ experience and earn some income.

Using my entrepreneurial spirit, I designed ecotourism packages, produced a local tourist guidebook, and started guiding visitors. I began to earn income in a less stressful manner. I also networked with the tour operators union of Ghana to sell more tour packages.

More local guides were needed especially during the holidays, so I began to form a team of tour guides under the name Island Tour Services. We were initially six in number. Now we have a total of 28 tour guides.

They are trained by the Collaborative Actions for Sustainable Tourism (COAST) Project and Tour Guides Association of Ghana.

We guide visitors to about 16 communities around Ada and even beyond where natural attractions are and tourists buy local products like mats, local drinks, fruits and other souvenirs from the rural folks.

David Ahadzie, co-founder of the Ada Tourism Stakeholders Association, Ghana

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Watering of planted coconut trees at the beach of Lolonyakorpe, Ghana

After adding value to myself through workshops, learning more about what tourists wanted and how my work could make their holiday in Ghana even more interesting, I begin to attract extra income from visitors. I remember I used to get GH¢20 from one trip but after eight months I was getting not less than GH¢70 per an hour and half trip in my first year of tour guiding.

As we grew, we formed an association called Ada Tourism Stakeholders Association made up of local boat operators, hotel/guest house operators, local gin and vegetable growers, culture dance group and tour guides. The activities of the association, such as organizing clean up exercises or regulating prices from a common office, enable us to address concerns and interests of various groups for mutual benefits.

I have acquired a new sense of direction, a change in attitude from littering to treating my surroundings with care as I know that our visitors are coming to us mainly because of the unique natural and cultural attractions, and are concerned about the safety of the environment in general.

I fully participate in awareness creation and conservation activities to protect our culture and natural heritage. Already, some women, children, visitors, staff from wildlife division and myself have planted 600 coconut trees over one season at the

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beaches of Lolonyakorpe and Azizanya villages to serve as source of income, windbreaks and to check erosion, thereby giving back life to mother earth.

I love tourism. Tourism gives me real opportunity to prove my creativity and innovativeness. Besides, it opens wider doors to the world for me as a tour operator and a tour guide through continuous meeting and interaction with different people from different places, with different cultures and academic disciplines – making me more sociable and flexible than I used to be.

My community largely benefits also as tourism has created hotel chains where many youth work for secured income.

Thanks to volunteer tourism we are able to grow even stronger.

Some volunteers even financially support school building and toilet facility projects, and teach practical ICT in the schools, to bridge technological gaps in addition to exchanging good cultural practices in Ada. My dream of having my own business is becoming a reality.

Now I can hear people say “Thank you, David”. Some years back it was almost the reverse, as I had not much to offer.

http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284417186 - Friday, September 25, 2015 5:52:07 AM - IP Address:37.122.175.154

Ghana The African nation of Ghana, positioned on West Africa’s coast of Guinea, represents a remarkable centre of history. and rich diversity of wildlife Feyito village born David has ten siblings. After years of job search without success, David returned home to create work for himself in Ada Foah where many tourist attractions were found. With support and training from COAST (Collaborative Actions for Sustainable Tourism) project and other agencies, today he manages a community based ecotourism enterprise linking and guiding many visitors to the local tourism products and services. Working to promote youth employment as a prelude to poverty alleviation, community participation and workforce development, COAST (Collaborative Actions for Sustainable Tourism) plays an active part in development of Ghana’s tourism sector and economy. Through COAST, not only are jobs created - hope is regenerated. COAST is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as the implementing agency and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as the executing agency in partnership with the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

The coast of Ghana

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Giovanny Rivadeneira A community of custodians

Ecological lodge in amazon rainforest, Yasuni National Park Š Pxhidalgo | Dreamstime.com

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My name is Giovanny Rivadeneira and this is my story…

I am the representative and coordinator of the tourism operation at the Napo Wildlife Center. We began organizing our community in the seventies. Before, we lived all over the place. To create a community, well, you need a source of livelihood. In 1998 – with our own ideas and our own resources and our own design – we constructed the Napo Wildlife Center. The whole community volunteered. Even the grandparents. The grandparents didn´t work directly on the project, but they passed their experiences and knowledge onto us. And they have received a blessing for being part of the community.

All of the young people are working in the service of the community operations. All of the children receive food from it. It doesn´t cost a cent for any member of this community. It is very mature, the community, the organization. They have a source of work, you can see that the quality of life has improved and our children are in university, thanks to that group of people that in 1998 saw the opportunity in tourism to help this community.

The Napo Wildlife centre is run completely by the local community. We have accommodation, food and guides.

Giovanny Rivadeneira at the Napo Wildlife Center located in the Yasuni National Park, Ecuador

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We have a set of rules; we have to conserve our roots. Where we are from and who we are. And the rules are very clear, first our language and our food. Of course we can learn the western cultural aspects, especially in education and technology, but we are always focused first in our roots.

The success is, well, we think that if there is a good organization, everyone can promote sustainable projects. It doesn´t have to be in tourism, it just has to diversify the region. It could be in the cultivation of plants, bird conservation, or growth of the local fish population. And of course if you have a beautiful place, a

lagoon, a waterfall or a good forest and you protect the fauna, yes you can promote the inclusion of the community. All of the communities can take part in community tourism.

The zones that are very rich in petroleum in our territory, we decided that is territory they cannot enter. This way the community can promote local tourism without having a detrimental impact on the rainforest.

The Napo Wildlife Center is located in the Yasuni National Park and I invite you to visit the beautiful and diverse country of Ecuador.

Women of the Napo Wildlife Center community, Ecuador

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http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284417186 - Friday, September 25, 2015 5:52:07 AM - IP Address:37.122.175.154

Ecuador The rainforests of Ecuador remain one of the nation’s great assets. Attracting visitors from across the globe, the rainforest has become a source of great awe, appreciation and earnings. Still, as a result of growth in interest, so too is there growth in risk of damage by those wishing to see the natural wonder ‘live’. The nomadic, traditional community of the Kichwa has been deeply connected to the rainforests of Ecuador for generations.

Applying their innate understanding of the environment to the tourism sector, this very special community of indigenous people is playing a fundamental role in environmental protection and local community development.

Path of tropical rainforest with folliage in the National Park, Ecuador

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Hamoudi Hassan Al-Abayagi

Stitching together tradition and tourism

Kufa Mosque, Najaf, Iraq

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My name is Hamoudi Hassan Al-Abayagi, born in the city of Al-Najaf, and this is my story…

I was born in Iraq in 1952. Today, I am a seller and maker of AlNajafiah cloak. I inherited this craftsmanship from my father, who inherited it from his father, Haj Mahdi Al-Abayagi. Our family was famous for doing this craft in the Al-Najaf province, the oldest place making the men´s cloak in Iraq and the Arab world.

Al-Najafiah cloak is considered as the best in quality and folkloric art as this craftsmanship dates back more than 130 years. It is not only famous in the provinces of Iraq, but also expanded to most of the Gulf and Arab countries. Al-Najafiah cloak can be divided into different types according to the

seasons. Summer cloak fits the high summer heat and is light, and Spring and Autumn cloaks fit the moderate weather, and the Winter cloak suits cold weather and is heavy. We also make cloaks customized according to the occasion; sad and happy occasions.

Our cloaks are woven with silk thread extracted from silkworms, and embroidered with French or Japanese golden threads obtained from Jordan and Syria.

The price of cloak rises due to its difficult weaving.

Since I was little, I have worked in this craft, which is considered as one of the folkloric traditional crafts that attracts tourists.

Stitching of the famous Al-Najafiah men’s cloak

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http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284417186 - Friday, September 25, 2015 5:52:07 AM - IP Address:37.122.175.154

Today I have achieved my dream. I own a shop for selling folkloric cloaks and I participate annually in Arab and international exhibitions specialized in folklore. I have participated in the Iraqi Heritage Exhibition, held in the annual Baghdad International Fair by a special invitation from the fair administration in the department of Al-Najafiah cloaks.

which is visited by many customers from all over Iraq and the Arabian Gulf Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Our cloaks are characterized by their originality and genuineness, and have received many certificates of appreciation. We offer foreigner and Arab visitors of the fair deluxe cloaks as gifts, especially golden ones because it gives golden appearance.

Our cloaks are still, at heart, about this folkloric craftsmanship which is considered as a part of the history of our holy city. Our great wish is to ultimately expand the project of the folkloric cloak, showcasing the legacy of this profession to the entire world.

The most important visitors of this market are Sheiks of Arabic tribes in villages and countryside because they are more commonly considered as their official costumes.

We get ready early every season for this event by purchasing wool, threads and other items to be shown in the market

Kufa Mosque, Najaf, Iraq Š Rasoulali | Dreamstime.com - Kufa Mosque Photo

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Iraq The traditional cloak of the men of Iraq has become a symbol of Arab culture, history, style and pride. For those tasked with the artful tailoring of these prized possessions, maintaining and celebrating methods of design through the generations is an important part of capturing the spirit of the Iraqi people in each garment. In the Al-Najaf province, one family has become a trusted source of the finest cloaks. With each stitch and style, tradition is being shared through the hands and hearts of these master tailors with travellers from near and far.

The Golden Hills, Iraq

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Jean Baptiste Hortere Tourism invitation with island spirit

The Chez Batista Restaurant at one of Seychelles’ most stunning beaches

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http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284417186 - Friday, September 25, 2015 5:52:07 AM - IP Address:37.122.175.154

My name is Jean Baptiste Hortere, and this is my story…

My story, the story of Jean Baptiste Hortere, is popularly known in Seychelles as Batista a young boy from a small village in Mahé, Seychelles’ principal island, who made good.

I, Jean Baptiste Hortere, was born in 1953 and I started from humble beginnings in the small village of Takamaka in the rural south of Mahé, where I grew up in a family of four sisters and three brothers and where my parents worked on a coconut plantation.

First attending primary school in Takamaka, I continued my education in the nearby town of Anse Royale before entering in 1972 as a kitchen helper in Mahé Island’s Reef Hotel situated at Anse aux Pins. After one year, I was promoted to the position of assistant cook, gaining valuable experience as I was rotated through various departments.

In 1977, I left Seychelles to work in a hotel in England’s Isle of Wight, going on to follow a maritime course in Bretagne, France, after which I became employed as cook aboard the vessel, Aldabra, which was the first tuna fishing vessel ever to fish in Seychelles waters, soon returning to France to bring yet another tuna fishing vessel to the islands.

Despite my success and rich background of varied experiences, I always dreamed of opening my own restaurant. Mingling with tourists visiting Seychelles had shown me the kind of experiences they were seeking and in my next career move, I set about supplying exactly that.

I consider myself as someone who is in touch with the spirit of tourism, and with the kind of experience we should be offering our tourists. Perhaps it is because of my simple upbringing and the fact that I have had to work hard to achieve what I

Jean Baptiste Hortere, known as Batista, Seychelles

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Delicious Seychellois Creol dishes at Batista’s Restaurant, Seychelles

have, that for me there is no need to embellish the Seychelles experience. We are blessed with such natural beauty and wonderful and unique attributes that, in my opinion our tourism offerings need to flow from those things in the most direct and genuine way possible.

Raoul. Together, we carved this business out of the soul of the countryside, treating our tourists and the locals looking to a grand variety of Seychellois Creole dishes to be enjoyed, feetin-the sand, at the water’s edge by one of Seychelles’ most stunning beaches.

That was the inspiration behind my decision to start small – grilling fish caught in my own fish traps for tourists in true Seychellois island-style. First, I would bring the fish to shore and clean them on the nearby granite rocks adorning this magnificent strand before serving them to my clients in banana leaves with a side-salad of palmist, the heart of the coconut palm, and a serving of coconut water.

Reflecting back on what has been achieved, I am proud to have been able to offer a well-rounded service which reflects the beauty of Seychelles, its authenticity and its Creole soul. It’s a service, after all, that takes me back to my roots in the rural south of the island. I’m doing what I know and I’m doing that where I belong. I don’t think you can ask for more than that.

This proved to be a winning formula and soon I had people coming to my Chez Batista restaurant straight from the airport.

This same way of doing things has allowed me to expand from six rooms and a rustic restaurant to 18 rooms today, a staff of 20 and room for 300 diners. Not all that bad for a simple village boy!

I have enjoyed good support over the years from family, friends, and especially from my trusty chef of 18 years, Agnes

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As for the future? I hope to be able to carry on providing a soulful service which introduces my clients to the very best that our islands have to offer: fine Seychellois Creole cuisine served against a backdrop of awesome natural beauty and genuine hospitality. My dream continues to come true and I hope I can keep living it for a long time to come.

http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284417186 - Friday, September 25, 2015 5:52:07 AM - IP Address:37.122.175.154

Seychelles Just off the south-east coast of Africa can be found the island nation of the Seychelles.

Composed of just over 100 individual islands, the Seychelles made its mark in history as a critical trading post for the new world. As a result, the people of the nation have always had within them the spirit of discovery, hospitality, and rich fusion of diversity. As time passed, the Seychelles evolved from a nation of trade to a nation of tourism, with travellers from across the world making their way to what many consider paradise found. For all those in tourism, the Seychelles offers not just a precious livelihood, it creates the perfect platform for keeping the spirit of the past, present and future of the Seychelles alive.

Beautiful Seychelles islands with famous granite rock

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Josefina Klinger

‘Mano Cambiado’, changing lives

Sunset in Tayrona, Colombia

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http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284417186 - Friday, September 25, 2015 5:52:07 AM - IP Address:37.122.175.154

My name is Josefina Klinger Zúñiga, and this is my story…

I am a part of ‘Mano Cambiado’. We work together to develop tourism to build appreciation, knowledge and understanding of the ways of seeing and living life in the Nuquí community.

We like to say: “‘Mano Cambiado’ is a dream of the soul that we make real everyday”.

Our vision of sustainable development in the territory has created opportunity for our whole community.

Ecotourism has won us our autonomy – the local economy is diversified, we maintain and make responsible use of our natural and cultural resources, we promote shared benefits investments, we control the environmental and social impacts, and we design strategies to strengthen cultural identity.

We create partnerships with communities, developing productive projects and improving the quality of life. We have had the opportunity to perform and carry out projects in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia, the National Unity of National Parks, the Red Colombia Verde and the Fund for Environmental Action and Childhood. We have also been fortunate to attract the interest and financial support from international agencies and governments. A few that we are most excited about are the work with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, through the Vice Ministry of Tourism, which has provided infrastructure in areas of influence of ‘Mano Cambiado’. They have seen the potential for eco and natural tourism in the region; the work with the National Parks of Colombia which are a key ally in the process of environmental conservation and social work developed for the Utría National Park and with ProColombia, which has provided us strategies to promote tourism in Nuquí-Pacific.

Josefina Klinger, in the Utría National Park, Colombia

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Rainforest in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia

Our work is recognised as doing good for both our community and our environment. On the premise that “it is not possible to create sustainable tourism in areas with unsatisfied basic needs”, ‘Mano Cambiado’ has led a peer relationship with state institutions, inviting them to be active in their role to equip the destination for the welfare of the community and the tourist experience.

This relationship has been based on maintaining the values and principles of open and direct communication, and giving results based on the agreed commitments. One of our greatest achievements was in 2008 when we were granted the tourism administration of the Utría National Park, publicly recognizing our dedication and our relationship with public authorities, communities and local service providers.

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We know we must prepare the next generation of leaders to inherit this model. This is why ‘Mano Cambiado’ directs its resources to support children and youth, through bands, dance, photography, painting and the peaceful Migration Festival, an event that involves young people in the operation of the Utría Park and encourages them to visit the park and enhance their relationship with nature.

As I said earlier, and I am committed in my heart, ‘Mano Cambiado’ is a dream of the soul that we make real everyday. I cannot imagine where we would be without it.

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Colombia ‘Mano Cambiado’, an ancient practice that means “to barter or trade”, is based on prioritizing community solidarity and the development of peer relationships over money.

The ‘Mano Cambiado’ Corporation is a nonprofit organization, located in the municipality of Nuquí in the department of Chocó in Colombia.

Established in 2006 to help develop Choco, the goal of the organization is “to contribute to the social and integral development of the inhabitants of the Pacific” through social and economic projects related to childhood, youth, culture, environment and production, while developing the land with respect to its identity, making sustainable use of natural and cultural heritage.

Santa Marta, Colombia

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Juan Melendez

Brewing up tourism opportunity

Landscape from El Yunque National Rainforest in Puerto Rico

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My name is Juan Melendez, and this is my story‌ I am married to Naomi Gomez, and we have three beautiful girls: Mary, Angelica and Victoria. We come from the village of Gurråo, but we originally are from Cauas, and are currently residing here at Adjunta, Puerto Rico. We are farmers. We work in the coffee industry.

Apart from the coffee we are also offering tours on our farm, we have a visitor center, we have a coffee shop that is open to the public Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Our project is called Hacienda Tres Angeles. Hacienda Tres Angeles comes from the names of our three daughters - Maria de los Angeles, Angelica Noemi and Victoria de los Angeles.

We produce premium coffee, especially the Caturra variety, and sell it in the best markets. How we came into our coffee lives is an interesting story. We actually come from a totally different sector: we used to work in the air conditioning industry. Once, while we were having a cup of coffee in the neighboring village of Ayuya, we saw a bag of ripe coffee. It was so precious that my wife and I had the idea of considering

agriculture as an alternative way of life, with the upcoming economic and food crisis already announced long ago. Coffee was something that inspired us, and we decided to make our lives of it.

As we did not come from the coffee industry, and we did not have relatives working in that industry, and of course we had not inherited anything, we came into coffee from the complete unknown. So we started to dive into the subject: we visited a lot of places, we met some important people who could help us, and we studied a lot through the Internet.

When we arrived and settled in the farming activity, we realized the great amount of time this work took us, and we had a main concern. Apart from the coffee industry, we believe we carry out a major work: God has for us a mandate to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. We do this through our coffee business, and the tourists that come to our farm as guests.

From here, we preach the gospel, tourists come from all over the world and they take back home the holistic experience they have lived. Through this tourist project, we have had

Juan Melendez with his wife Naomi and their three daugthers, Hacienda Tres Angeles, Puerto Rico

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the opportunity to transform lives and have an impact. They leave with a lot more than what they thought: they leave with transformed lives, and see life differently. We have a mutual experience.

We approached the Tourism Company and managed to have them endorse our project. We are the first agro-tourism company endorsed by the Tourism Company of Puerto Rico.

The tourism sector is the main channel of arrival of our clients.

The Municipality of Ajunta also sends us many visitors. In fact, we are practically the only agro-tourism experience they recommend to visitors. We have received tourists from all over the world: China, Japan, India, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, France, Italy, Spain. We have had tourists from the entire Americas, from Canada to Argentina. We were able to reach all parts of the world through the Tourism Company.

The good that is created by our coffee business is not just for me and my family. During the harvest we create up to 85 jobs on top of the jobs created in the process area and in the tourism activities, we have created 100 jobs.

The tours currently offered by Hacienda Tres Angeles are guided tours. When they arrive here at nine in the morning, we give them a short introduction in the visitor center, we then go to the farm and teach them about practices and agricultural economy, about the coffee economy, maintenance of coffee plantations, the different varieties of coffee, flora, fauna of the area. We also teach them about hydrology and geography and secondary areas. Then we go to the visitors´ center, where we show them the coffee making process, including the development, the grains selection process and milling process that we offer here.

Following the process of making coffee, visitors come to the coffee shop where we teach them the roasting process of coffee, which consists of the toasting and tasting. We offer different grains, different roasts, all of exquisite quality and tasting differently according to the type of roasting that took

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place. The tour ends up here, and this is when many people decide to stay longer with us, have lunch, or spend the afternoon at Hacienda.

I love everything about it coffee fascinates me. One day I was asked how I would describe the process of coffee mill and I told them that this was an extreme sport, many workers processing the coffee earn up to 25 pounds in a harvest. It is a very physical job, and it takes a long time. It sometimes takes up to 22 hours and workers have to start working the next day at 6 am again. This work keeps you fit, healthy. You also get to meet a lot of people in the tourism sector.

We try to have an impact on people’s lives, and motivate them. It is great to see our workers finishing their days satisfied. We put love and dedication in everything we do here, from the agricultural part to the tourism part. We are all involved in this, giving our best to Puerto Rico.

http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284417186 - Friday, September 25, 2015 5:52:07 AM - IP Address:37.122.175.154

Puerto Rico The island of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean is home to white sand beaches, crystal clear blue seas, an inviting tropical climate and a rich culture. It is no surprise that the island is also home to a successful tourism sector.

The challenge is differentiation. Being in the Caribbean, competition is strong. For innovative islanders, however, all it takes sometimes is a good cup of local coffee to inspire new ideas and brew up life-changing opportunities.

Landscape from El Yunque National Rainforest in Puerto Rico

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Khaled Al Took

Sharing the love for sands and spirit

Khaled Al Took, Saudi Arabia

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My name is Khaled Al Took, and this is my story‌ I am from a middle class family. My father is retired from the military. I am the oldest son of five brothers and five sisters. I am 47 years old. I am married. I have two sons and one daughter.

I am from the south of Saudi Arabia, from the Aseer region – Dhahran Al Janub. I live now in Khamis Mushayt. I have been a freelance tour guide for more than 12 years all over Saudi Arabia and recently I started a new business in camel back trips.

I established my own tour called WSL. We create adventure trips following the steps of ancient trade caravans. I am also a certified trainer from the World Federation of Tourist Guide

Associations (WFTGA), and in coordination with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH), I train tour guides skills for new applicants for licenses.

I love working in tourism because of my desire to travel and discover. In addition, I learned more about customs and traditions. This kind of work provides me with a source of income. Moreover, it has enabled me to practice my hobby of travelling, and keep in close contact with people from various nationalities and ages.

Seasonal changes pose the biggest obstacle to my work.

There are long periods throughout the year that pass without

Khaled Al Took, Saudi Arabia

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Khaled Al Took with a group of tourists, Saudi Arabia

demand for tourist guides services, and because this is my only source of income that is the only challenge.

Tourist guiding for my family and me has become a way of life. We have friends from all around the world, they visit our house and become close to our hearts. I can see the happiness in the eyes of my children when they meet guests from distant lands. I see the joy when they learn something new

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about other nations. My older son became eager to become a tour guide like me; now he joins me in many trips and we have something to share together as well as the rest of my family. This business gives my family confidence in the future. And it makes us proud of our past.

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Saudi Arabia Receiving tens of millions of tourists each year, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is best known for its attraction of visitors for the annual pilgrimage of the Hajj. Beyond the attraction of devoted pilgrims, Saudi Arabia also attracts travellers wishing to explore it ancient culture and sites, as well as the country’s vast Arabian landscapes. For the people of Saudi Arabia, their richness of land and spirit offer invaluable opportunity for turning ideas into meaningful livelihoods.

Elephant Rock formation in the deserts of Saudi Arabia

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Landing Jatta

Turtle hunter turns into turtle savior

Ghambian coast

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My name is Landing Jatta, from Kartong, Gambia, and this is my story‌ After working as a primary school teacher for 15 years in my home village of Kartong with a very modest monthly salary, I became a turtle hunter in the year 2000. The work was not difficult. Our coastline has been home to turtles for as long as I can remember. As a child I played with turtles, and grew up knowing how they live, where they hide, when the breed, the cycle of their lives. I started earning more than seven times more than in my previous job.

What I knew was that I had found a way to take care of my family of 17 people. What I did not know was that I was endangering the existence of rear marine species in Gambia.

When I realised this, when realised the damage I was doing to my own home, I was not happy. So,

in 2014, I transformed from a turtle hunter to a turtle savior. It was all thanks to a turtle project hosted at the Sandale Eco Retreat beach in Kartong beach which was supported by the World Wild Fund (WWF) and the British Embassy in Gambia.

Following some sensitization and education on the importance of turtles in marine biodiversity as well as in human lives by the WWF and the COAST project, I started to fully understand the damage I have been causing and promised to immediately stop the hunting activity, forever.

In order to overcome my fears of not having enough money to feed my family, Sandale Eco Retreat offered me a job as a conservationist and a guide in the turtle population recovery project, wherein turtle eggs laid on the beach are protected and hatched, and the babies released in the sea.

Landing Jatta at the Eco Sandale Eco Retreat, The Gambia

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Fisherman during sunset

So far, over 4,300 turtle eggs have been collected and hatched, producing over 3,000 baby turtles. I take personal pride in knowing I have a direct impact on the wellbeing of the turtles in my country, that they are protected.

a part in growing our country. I no longer have to hunt for a living. Instead I am able to contribute to the protection of biodiversity in Kartong, making it a safe place for turtles to live, and a better place to visit.

The project is very popular with the visitors to Sandale Eco Retreat. I take on conducted tours during their stays. Thanks to tourism in general and this form of responsible tourism in particular, I and my people are able to find good ways of making a living, and playing

The turtles and I are one. Today, through protecting our turtles, and growing our turtle tourism, together my turtles and my people know the future is safe.

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Gambia Nestled on the north-western coastline of Africa between Senegal and Guinea, Gambia is a nation gifted by natural abundance. Home to rich, diverse ecosystems around the central Gambia River, wildlife thrives across Kiang West National Park and the Bolong Wetland Reserve. On the southern tip of Gambia, the people of the Bao Kartong village, and its precious biodiversity, have benefited immensely in education on environmental issues and the protection of the marine and coastal ecosystems as a result of involvement in COAST, which works across the globe to positively impact the environment and the livelihood of local communities. COAST is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as the implementing agency and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as the executing agency in partnership with the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Sunset on the river Gambia in tropical Africa

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The Makey family

Building a new future

Nesvizh castle in Belarus

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Hello! We are the Makey family from Belarus, and this is our story…

We want to share with you a story on how tourism drastically changed our lives. Most of our life, we have been living in a traditional Belarus village. Our work was on our plot of land, growing crops, and selling part of it. We have travelled seldom and have never thought that we could receive visitors, although we have a spacious private house.

Today life without tourism is inconceivable for us, and we can hardly imagine how we could have lived without it earlier. How did it happen?

It was in the beginning of 2000 when in Belarus they just started to speak about agro-tourism. In truth, even today there are people who have no idea about this type of tourism, and 15 years ago only few knew about it. We also belonged to the unaware majority until we saw an announcement in the newspaper, posted by volunteers (today this is the main agrotourism promotion Belarusan Public Association ‘Recreation in the village’), inviting all people interested in

agrotourism to make a training visit to Ukraine. New things are usually attractive, and since everything was running smoothly in our household and the trip was cheap, we had agreed to take part in this, as it seemed then, adventure. There we became acquainted with Mrs. Klitsunova (today she is the Chairman of the Public Association ‘Recreation in the village’) who, having learnt about our potential, advised us to turn our house and land plot into an agrotourism center without delay.

In order to motivate us further she paid us a visit together with high-ranking visitors. We were eager to show our best side.

From then on, everything started to move forward.

Demand for recreation in the Belarus village, among our compatriots and visitors from far-flung countries, continues to grow day by day, but we do not limit ourselves to simple provision of a roof over a heads. We have expanded our kitchen. We have since invited neighbors to earn extra income by working as cooks during seasons when the manor is fully packed.

Irina and Mihail Makey with their family, Belarus

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The Makey family’s agrotourism maner, Belarus

Today it has 40 beds and our café has 120 seats. Here it is possible to hold a banquet or festivity. In Belarus one can see a constantly growing interest of young couples in organizing weddings in a national style, i.e. in a village.

The majority of visitors expressly come to us to see the distinctive ‘feature’ of our manor a beautiful arboretum, boasting more than 250 kinds and varieties of trees and bushes. By the way, we do the landscape design without professional help we design a composition on our own and then implement it.

Every night before going to sleep, we prepare a plan of activities for tomorrow: plant a new tree in the garden, make a slide at the children’s playground, restore a ship replica... plenty of things to be done.

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However, since the moment when tourism became part of our lives, we have never had the slightest desire to quit. On the contrary, when you get acquainted with new fine people, see their animated eyes it inspires you to move further, it makes your life brighter, beautiful and happy.

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Belarus Belarus, a country looking to the future with renewed hope, pride and determination, is rebuilding the fabric of the nation’s economy and spirit with determination and a new sense of identity. Central to this has been the promotion of the tourism sector – a perfect platform for showcasing who the people of Belarus truly are, and demonstrating the warmth of welcome that they are putting out to the region and the world as a new member of the global community.

Yellow fields in Belarus

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Manuela Hrvatin

The spirit of Istria

Rovinj, beautiful old town in Istria, Croatia

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I am Manuela Hrvatin, and this is my story…

Four years ago on the Istrian peninsula, a small tourism revolution began. Project Istra Inspirit was set by the Region of Istria, the Istrian Tourist Board and the Istrian Tourism Development Agency to make our rich cultural and historical legacy the cornerstone of the authentic Istrian tourist experience. Together, we wanted to bring tourism in Istria to life in a way that would keep our history and community alive.

We knew that globalization is threatening the traditional identity of the community and that tourists today want authenticity and they want to experience it with the local community.

Strongly disliking the term ‘event’, we decided to create ‘experiences’ interactive performances based on Istrian stories, myths and legends taking place on authentic locations linked to the stories and enriched with thematic dinners prepared with local ingredients. The journey through the history of Istria began!

Proud of our tradition and culture, we started with our stories throughout the peninsula, with the support of the local community as a part of Inspirit. We thought that our wish to preserve traditional heritage would be acknowledged and that it would be easy. We thought that everybody in the Istrian tourism sector would share our vision.

However, we soon realized that in tourism development there are two options: the first, using local communities and cultural and historical heritage solely to make profit, and the second serving the community and promoting new investments to revitalize the cultural and historical heritage. Although the second option is more difficult and pays off only in the long run, it was the only right choice for us as a place and people.

Together, we set up our principles the rules of conduct from which we do not deviate and followed them through.

Four years later, writing about our beginnings and dreaming about the future, we are happy to say that we are achieving

The Istra Inspirit Group in Brioni, Croatia

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Istra Inspirit artists with tourists in Brioni, Croatia

our goals. Inspirit experiences grew in numbers, the fourth generation of tourism and culture students are actively involved in the project, local producers of souvenirs, family farmers, craftsmen, artists and others want to join us and offer their products to guests of Istria.

We are preparing for the new season. We are already thinking about torches that will light up the darkened streets of the abandoned medieval town of Dvigrad, already imagining expressions on the faces of our guests when they enter the cold depths of the Rasa mines. In our fantasies, we already laugh and rejoice with guests of a typical fisherman’s tavern Spacio for whom honest working Rovinj fishermen

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will prepare dinner. Looking at the sun from our office, we imagine a romantic sunset at the archaeological site of Vizula, where a true Roman drama took place, or the sun which warms the hands of working people from Buzet who will prepare homemade bread for Inspirit guests, teach them to play traditional Istrian games and try to get them to help wash laundry in the old way.

There are more and more stories; there is more work to be done. So be it. Istria deserves it, tourists deserve it, my culture, history and traditions deserve it.

http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284417186 - Friday, September 25, 2015 5:52:07 AM - IP Address:37.122.175.154

Croatia Croatia has emerged in recent years as a leading Mediterranean destination. While blessed with richness of history, culture, sea and sun and culinary holiday offerings, the country has been seeking unique ways to further enrich its tourism experience. Acutely aware of this challenge, Istria has turned to its traditions, lifestyle and historical celebrations to enrich its visitor experience, over and above its magnificent sea and sun tourism offer.

Rocky coastline with magical sunrise,Rovinj,Istria peninsula,Croatia

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Martina Plesnik

A jewel box of rich possibilities

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Logar Valley, Slovenia

http://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284417186 - Friday, September 25, 2015 5:52:07 AM - IP Address:37.122.175.154

My name is Martina Plesnik and I am the owner of the Hotel Plesnik.

I was born on 28th October 1947 in Logar Valley in Slovenia.

The experts say that this is one of the most beautiful valleys in Europe. On this small portion of territory, numerous natural pearls have accumulated. Peaks covered by woods, high peaks over 2000 meters. and various waterfalls create the harmony of the landscape. Even as a child, I encountered tourism, as we had a guesthouse at home with five rooms, a restaurant and farm. Today I live in Velden in Austria.

Before World War II, my parents had, until 1939, a hotel with 60 rooms and a restaurant. To make the hotel of appropriate standard they built a power station and water capture in order to get electricity and enough water for the guests. Unfortunately, my father was unable to fulfill his great vision for tourism. He had fully prepared plans for a tourist centre in the Logar Valley with a cinema, bus park and recreation centre. World War II put a spanner in his works.

During the war, the hotel and all the farm buildings were burned down, leaving only ruins, one typewriter, a radio and plans that my father buried. In most cases, the land was nationalized. My father was only allowed to build a house for his parents, then the guesthouse with five rooms and a restaurant, where we later lived – my parents, five children and our grandmother.

After the war, times were not easy and during socialism the personnel was quite restricted, so we all worked in the restaurant and on the farm. At that time, tourism was quite different. The tourism season lasted only three months, but hiking was of great importance. In 1952, we even received a visit from the president of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito. With my grandfather, Franc Plesnik, they went on a hunt.

That’s where I got my start in tourism, which has not had the opportunity to develop since a small pension would not be able to support a big family. I left for Munich, where I met my life partner Koulen Horst and created my career in the cosmetic field with international trade names and my own decorative line, mainly in the eastern markets.

Martina Plesnik with her niece Nina Plesnik, Slovenia

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The Hotel Plesnik in the Logar Valley, Slovenia

In 1992, Slovenia became independent and we were successful in having our land in the Logar Valley returned to us. I immediately saw the opportunity to fulfill the wish of my beloved father, who sadly died during this period – that is to re-build a hotel with 32 rooms, a restaurant and wellness centre. Later, we also bought the Villa Palenk with 11 rooms and upgraded the complex with a conference centre. The hotel was opened in 1995 and luckily it soon attracted wealthy guests and many international politicians.

Tourism has connected the whole family – that is, five children with their heirs – and we have developed a small tourist centre.

My brother Darko and his son Gregor are engaged in tourism on the Plesnik farm, my sister Dragica and her son Primož at the Na Razpotju guesthouse, while my nephew Franci is at the Ojstrica guesthouse. My sister Marjana and Darko are connected to the hotel successfully run by my niece Nina Plesnik and her life partner Nenad Brdar, who is also chef in hotel restaurant. Even my brother, who lived in Kranj, opened a bar, which is now led by his son Darko and his life partner Tedeja.

Tourism has accompanied me all my life. During my activities in my beauty career, I was constantly on the road between

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Paris and the East and Far East, where my life partner Horst worked. I had the opportunity to travel much of the world and I always tried to stay in well-organized hotels so I could observe their activity. I have never forgotten the stories told by my grandmother Taja, who often visited the luxury hotel Negresco in Nice before World War II, which has become my dream as well. Since then, tourism has changed a lot in all areas. Today, guests are much more demanding, which means a completely new challenge. However, this does not mean that tourism has lost its charm.

The economic crisis in Slovenia has also affected us, but we did not lose our will and our vision. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, we would like to improve our quality by training our staff, while we strive to make our guests satisfied with the services we provide and happy while visiting us. This year we renewed our wellness centre and built an outdoor natural pool. For the future, we have plenty of plans, which will be continued by the next generation.

Tourism forms the life of our whole family. Our heart beats for tourism.

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Slovenia Nested in the heart of Europe, Slovenia has a remarkable array of landscapes tucked within its borders for travellers from across the region and world to enjoy. From northern mountain ranges to southern seaside resorts, Slovenia provides year-round enticement for visitors, whether needing a quiet escape or an adrenaline rush of adventure. Most importantly, tourism has made it possible for the pride and sense of purpose of the people of Slovenia to shine through, lighting a path for future possibility, opportunity and security.

Logar Valley, Slovenia

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Medardo Hip贸lito L贸pez

Taking pride in our heritage

Cerro Verde National Park, El Salvador

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Hello. My name is Medardo Hipólito López, and this is my story…

I am a Santo Domingo native from the department of Sonsonate in El Salvador, here I live with my family. I am the President of the Cooperative Association of Agricultural Artisanal Production for Tourists ‘Huitzapan´, which is the Nahuatl name of Santo Domingo; in Spanish it means ‘River of Thorns’.

The cooperative offers sightseeing tours, pottery and wood crafts production and the development of cultural events related to the Nahuatl culture. And of course the cuisine – everyone must try our famous chicken pinol.

Tourism has changed Santo Domingo. Our beginnings in the tourism sector were difficult because the community was devoted almost exclusively to the cultivation of basic grains, livestock and the art of

making crafts with mud. We knew almost nothing of tourism, but now we are a community of great tourist attraction.

Tourism has changed the lives of the families of Santo Domingo since we joined with the Ministry of Tourism in 2011. That was when they were forming the Nahuatl-Pipil Route with five other municipalities of Sonsonate through the project Strengthening Entrepreneurial capabilities of Indigenous Communities of Sonsonate through Ecotourism. It was funded by the Organization of American States (OAS).

Today there is much more tourism-related activity available to tourists, and we have linked to 170 handicraft workshops in red clay and wood to create ‘The Path of the Red Clay’. There you can find a variety of objects for decoration, others for use in the kitchen, and tourists can also learn how to handle the mud and create some traditional figures.

Medardo Hipólito López walking one of the nature trails of Santo Domingo, El Salvador

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Medardo Hipólito López and the pottery attracting tourists, El Salvador

The second group of tourist attractions is more physical and involves the Salto El Escuco, the Salto Tepechapa and the Poza Encantada. The easiest is the Salto El Escudo, a few minutes’ walk from the village to a natural site where the ancient cosmological energy can be felt. The jump is 83 meters high and its waters are crystal clear and icy. The more intense option is the long walk to the Salto Tepechapa, along a nature trail that tests fitness and which ends in a wonderful waterfall of 90 meters high. Before arriving at the waterfall, tourists can take a break at the Enchanted Poza, about halfway, where it is said that there lives a golden fish that appears in the pool.

When people try to catch it, it hides in a cave inside the pool.

Locals say that once a couple of men tried to catch it but they drowned, and that it makes an appearance at midnight.

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What I like about my job is that it combines tourism with the crafts and the Nahuatl language. In our community the majority of people speak Nahuatl.

Thanks to tourism, we have been able to diversify the local economy and conserve our natural and cultural resources.

Tourism has become our way of keeping our traditions alive, our people secure, and our community proud.

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El Salvador The people of Santo Domingo have, for generations, been people of the land. Farmers for centuries, they have relied on agriculture for their livelihood, and meeting the needs of their families. Recognizing the risks of dependency on agriculture, these nomadic people developed alternative streams for earnings and community involvement. Tourism has emerged as the leading sector, not only for economic gain, but also social participation and cultural sustainability, in addition to creating new opportunities for employment, tourism has allowed for multi-generational activity, providing meaning and purpose for indigenous people young and old, meeting the needs of today and creating confidence in tomorrow.

Cerro Verde National Park, El Salvador

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Memory Ganuses

Conservation protecting all lives

Fish canyon, Namibia

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My name is Memory Ganuses, and this is my story….

I will try and see how I can write this. After I completed my grade 12 in November 2002, I did not have a clear idea of what I want to do next. As I could not go for further studies due to lack of funds, I opted for going to Swakopmund to look for a job, just to keep me going, for starters…

After a tough life of two years in Swakopmund, in and out of jobs, from being a domestic worker as a young lady just out of school, and then as a cashier at PEP, a local clothing store, and then as assistant Chef at de Kelder Restaurant, I felt I had enough of city life so I decided to go back home to the farm.

I returned to the farm for some time, eventually learning about the Khoadi-Hoas Conservancy and Grootberg lodge. Back then I was not so well informed about the conservancy and all its endeavours. I took my CV to the conservancy head office, hoping for a job at Grootberg Lodge. I was employed as a baby sitter for the Managers at the Lodge – it was the

only job available by then, so I took it. Then later I got a job as a waitress the lodge, in 2009. That was the beginning of a bright future for me…..

This is where it all started. I learned about the conservancy and how the lodge and the conservancy works together, which was quite amazing. I also learnt about how to live with the wild animals, such as elephants for example, learning things like what to do when you have an encounter with an elephant, and also a very important one is not to shoot an elephant when it comes and damages your water point, but to in fact report that to the conservancy, and they will compensate you in a way that in the end leaves both parties happy.

I slowly grew fond of the nature and what it has to offer.

Then in 2013 I was very lucky to have received a bursary from the African safari lodge foundation to go and study for a certificate in small accommodation establishments in Graaff Reinet in South Africa.

Memory Ganuses, Assistant Manager at Grootberg Lodge, Namibia

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Grootberg Lodge, Namibia

My studying experience in South Africa was quite fun. I learnt many more interesting things about tourism at the college all thanks to the SACT for having showed me the right direction. We were trained how to deal with guests in a more professional way, and many more. Upon my return I was granted a job at Grootberg lodge as an Assistant Manager.

My life has changed tremendously. Some years ago when I was finished with school, I did not picture myself where I am standing today. I am no longer the young girl that had no ambition when she had finished school, but I am now a grown lady who is aiming towards success in tourism, all thanks to everyone who played a role in my transformation. It has also affected my family and my community in a very productive way as now I can tend to the needs of my family, and I am also like an ambassador for my community.

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I play my part in the development of the Khoadi-Hoas Conservancy in a way, which makes me very proud. The conservancy is grown from strength to strength as with increased conservation awareness the wildlife numbers have grown, and the conservancy has a compensation scheme in place for human and wildlife conflict, this shows that the community is not left in the dark but is well taken care of.

How do I see the future? I picture myself as some public figure one day. I want to help in the fight against rhino poaching. I want to help teach the society that these poor defenceless animals are also just inhabitants like us on this earth, and we need to learn to accept and value each other and live together in harmony.

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Namibia Central to tourism development in Africa is conservation – the protection of traditional people, traditional ways of life and wildlife. For so many across the continent, the circle of life is clear – protection is a 360-degree relationship between all life forms. In Swakopmund, Namibia, and across the country, the opportunity to create a better future is grounded in respect for the past, preservation of the present, and promotion in the future. To embrace and work with this model is to embed a future of pride and wellbeing for oneself and one’s community.

Gemsbok at sunset

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Milutin Prascevic Sowing the seeds of tourism opportunity

Wooden cottage for guests to stay in Mico Prascevic’s garden, Prokletije mountains, Montenegro

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My name is Milutin Prascevic, but everyone knows me as Mico. This is a story about me‌

was initiated. Today, I have 350 plant species that are typical for Prokletije right here in my garden.

I am a retired biology teacher. I have four daughters. I have worked in the local school as biology teacher for many years.

The school, this place, is my home. I love my home.

Initially, this garden was just a place where my students got practical education, and the place where I tried to ‘infect’ them with love for plants, biology and nature in general.Then biology students, botanists and nature lovers from surrounding countries started to visit, for scientific purposes.

When a national park was declared, couple of years ago, this garden became a favourite point on a cultural route of Plav, a place visited by tourists passing by.

Since I was a boy I have been passionate about climbing mountains, and I know every corner of the Prokletije mountains. They have recently become a protected zone of the national park Prokletije. While teaching my students about plants I realized that it would be easier to show them. My students loved the idea. As I spent every spare moment in the mountains, I decided to start bringing plants. I would carefully take the plants from their home in the mountains, making sure their roots were protected, and bring them to the school. That is how my 20 years long work of creating a botanical garden

Because all of this was the product of my enthusiasm, and main goal was to get students and everyone else to respect Prokletije biodiversity, I never wanted to charge anyone for

Mico Prascevic with one of his daughters, Montenegro

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Visitors in Mico Prascevic’s famous garden, Montenegro

visits to the garden. But my family and I have realized that we could offer other services, especially when the number of visitors started to grow, and maintain free entry policy but still have additional income.

We offer different services – I guide groups who want to see natural habitat of these plants, we have built a wooden cottage where we offer accommodation, we prepare meals for visitors, and since we have an orchard, we make jams, preserves and brandies, which are my specialty, as I add various aromatic herbs to them. We package these products and we sell them.

As the number of visitors to our zone has just started to grow, we have not yet had significant income from these activities.

But we know this will come. What we have created is too special for tourists to miss out on. We are still beginners. But I have no doubts we will be successful. Our garden has been declared as zone of particular importance for natural heritage of Polimlje area.

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By doing the work we do, we contribute to the tourism offering, we raise awareness on Prokletije biodiversity, we educate about relicts and endemic species, and we generate additional income for our family. And it all came to be as a combination of my education and my hobbies, at time when I was coming to the age that I thought no real work is ahead of me!

I am sure that the work I do keeps me healthy. I keep my plants healthy, they keep me healthy, and as my daughters will continue in my footsteps, my plants will keep my children healthy.

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Montenegro As jagged as they are in appearance, the Prokletije mountains, separating Montenegro from neighboring Albania, are gentle in presence. For the people of Montenegro scattered across nearby villages, the Prokletije mountains are a protective force, full of life, unlocking opportunity. For someone in love with climbing these mountains, the lessons learnt on the mountain’s plant-rich paths would one day prove to be all he needed to know to be able to turn a young sapling of a teaching idea into a life-changing tourism opportunity.

Mico Prascevic’s garden, Montenegro

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Na and Yai

Creating opportunity over a cup of coffee

Waterfall in the Champasak province, Laos

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Hi. My name is Na and my name is Yai and this is our story…

We live in Ban Nong Luang, Muang Paksong, Champasak province. The main income of our family is from coffee planting and also I do pets feeding. My sister Yai works in a cooking group. She cooks food for guests.

My main job is working in the coffee field. I think that my family will be better and I will get more money if I work for tourism, so now I am also working as guide. I know that this helps me very much, now I have two ways of income from coffee planting and tourism.

In the past, the village’s only work was in the coffee field. It was the only way to have an income. But now there’s tourism as second income. Although it is not much, as we are still growing, this can help us to get a better life. We are so happy that there is tourism in our village.

Almost everything is going well, but only one difficulty is communication. I don’t know English yet and tourists don’t know Lao.

Since tourism came to Laos, people have gotten jobs, more income, and have better living. As for me working as guide, I can have more money for the family. This gives me a feeling of doing the best I can to take care of my family.

I am not the only one that is happy to have tourism.

Others in my community work as chefs, cooking food for guests who come to visit the coffee fields. We also have homestay, and unique Laos massage, ‘Nuad Phan Bou Han’, that guests are happy to experience. Some of the guests buy our coffee as souvenir.

We see the importance of ecotourism, tourism for nature conservation, so all the villagers are taking care of our home.

I am so proud of this.

All the villagers here now have income from tourism. I think that in the future more tourists will come to visit. This makes me so happy.

Na and Yai in Ban Nong Luang, Muang Paksong, Champasak, Laos

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Stunning landscape near the town of Kasi in north Laos

Tourists climbing a natural wall. Laos

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Lao People’s Democratic Republic Since 1915, when the first French bushes were planted high on the hills of Laos, coffee has provided a vital source of jobs and earnings for the people of this Asian nation. Today, Laos produces over 20,000 tonnes of coffee across 250 villages, the beans divided into two main types: Robusta and Arabica. The industry has emerged as the fifth largest export for Laos.

However, while being a highly competitive sector, there is much pressure on the over 200,000 coffee growing communities working the plantations. With an eye to the future and a deep appreciation for their environment while recognizing the changing interests of tourists, one community in southwestern Laos has turned their plantations into tourist attractions, welcoming tourists and the tourism economy to their homes.

Dong Hua Sao National Protected Area

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Pasquale Ricchiuti

Historical trails on two wheels

View of Polignano a Mare, Apulia

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My name is Paco, and this is my story…

I am 34 years old now. Italy is my home – it is who I am, what I love, where my future lies. Here I have lived, loved, dreamed. When I talk with people and friends who know what I do, they say I made a dream come true. Well, maybe yes, maybe not. All I know is that I do what I like most: be with people from all over the world and cycle every day.

I had the idea to build a company when I was 26. I found the right partner – Adriano, 33 years old, who already was a friend of mine. Together we brought the rickshaw business to Apulia, South Italy. Our idea was simple: give visitors the opportunity to see the places we loved from the seat of a bicycle. Make it possible for them to feel all of the textures, hear all of the sounds, breathe in all of the scents and enjoy all of the energy of the places we love, by being in them. Why

not? Something incredible happens when you get people to slow down, look, listen and feel. What better way to make this happen than on a bicycle.

As mad as it seemed at the time, little by little we made people think that this is a real job. Today our company, veloservice, counts more than 25 guys working in Bari and Lecce who are proud to show the best we have in our land on board our bikes.

Our offering is simple. As we say on our website, since 2008 we have been engaged in promoting a conscious and responsible lifestyle called bike concept. We address zero-emission sustainable mobility by organising activities and events that go beyond the use of a bicycle. We believe in small and good daily habits that lead to great changes.

Paco Ricchiutu, Co-founder of the Velo Service, Italy

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A Velo Service guide with tourists, Apulia, Italy

Tourists taking a tour with the Velo Service, Apulia, Italy

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Italy To see a city, to really get a sense of its spirit, one needs to freely explore its open space. What therefore, could be better than experiencing a tiny part of Southern Italy from a bicycle?

Whether on the back of a bicycle rickshaw or on a bicycle tour, there could be no better seat from which to get a better perspective of Apulia. The region of Apulia, located snuggly at the south-eastern tip of the Italian peninsula and forming the heel of the boot of the map of Italy, is home to just over four million people.

Covering an area slightly greater than 19,000 square kilometers, Apulia has become a precious location offering travellers a keyhole into rich Grecian and Romanic history in one of the richest archaeological regions in Italy and Europe per se.

Main Entrance to the St. Nicholas Basilica

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Regina Mart铆nez

Turning a home into hope

asunci贸n, Paraguay

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I’m Regina Martinez, and this is my story…

My husband, a sportsman, and I are living here in Ayolas.

He works here and I’m retired. We both are seniors. After a delicate health problem that I went through, the doctors recommended me to do occupational therapy.

In Ayolas we found a house that was for sale and although the house was in a state of neglect, we asked for a bank loan and bought it because it was near the river and my husband and I really like the river, nature and green spaces. It also has a church in the corner. This house is in the neighborhood San Jose-Mí in Ayolas City. I myself was in charge of many of the tasks of repairing the house. For example, I painted doors and walls. These occupations were part of my therapy.

A Senatur official came home to introduce me to the program ‘Posadas Turísticas’ (Tourist Lodges). I loved it, and I agreed to join this program because I like to receive and give attention to the people in my house.

I was fortunate that most of my guests were families. Since I started getting people in my lodge I was very lucky because they come from various parts of the country. For me it is a very positive experience because it keeps me constantly busy working at home. By nature I like to put everything in order, I work to keep everything clean at all times and offering attention to my guests. Although it is my husband who does public relations for pleasure, and that’s why he has so many friends.

I deeply recommend people to dare to enter this program ‘Posadas Turísticas’. Especially for women, and even more if they want to help their husbands to also bring an income of money into the economy of the family. For me, it gave me a job in my own house, comfortable without having to meet timetables or public transport mobilization that I cannot do anymore. I receive an interesting income through my lodge. And all the money I make I reinvest in improvements to the lodge.

Senatur offered lectures and workshops to enable us to focus on guests.

Regina Martinez with Marcela Bacigalupo, Minister of Tourism of Paraguay, in Ayolas, Paraguay

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View of Palacio de Lopez, Asunci贸n, Paraguay

With most of my guests, I have an almost family relationship and we are in touch thanks to the technology of today. We send greetings and messages by cell phones.

Since the very beginning of my Tourist Lodge, we have always given opportunity to work to all who we contracted for the construction, and so far I have hired someone to help me in cleaning.

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Senatur helped me a lot, providing me with blankets, curtains, tablecloth and other items handed over to me. For me Senatur is already like my family.

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Paraguay Recognizing the critical role that tourism can and does play for the people of Paraguay, Senatur, the national Secretariat of Tourism for Paraguay, actively champions the identification and upliftment of small and medium stablishments. Reaching out to small communities across the country, Senatur offers not only its expertise towards small business enablement, but also its unique vision and sense of commitment to the people of the country to find small, simple ways of making a big difference in the lives of those most needing a chance to do more, be more, and hope more. In the southern city of Ayolas, near the towns of Santiago, San Juan Bautista and San Ignacio, a small fishing town can be found on the Paraguayan River. Here Senatur has created the opportunity for a home to become a location for genuine local tourism hospitality, unlocking hope.

Iguazu Waterfalls, Paraguay

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Rusaila Derat

On the Palace doorstep

Hishams Palace in Jericho, Palestine

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I am Rusaila Derat from the village of Nuwe’meh, and this is my story…

I am from Jericho. I was born near the Hisham Palace.

My family were farmers who planted the land around the Palace. I grew up with those beautiful ruins around me. We planted and herded the sheep. My father was a visionary, and he also held a small canteen at the entrance of the Palace where we learned to deal with tourists. This built in us the base on which we work today.

When my children grew up and I had some time, I decided with a few women to start a project that was different from all those around us, and that could change our situation.

Jericho is the land of tourism, the land of the 10,000 years, we are in Nuwe’meh, the place of Hisham Palace in Jericho, the land of archeology, tourism and mosaics. I had the idea to combine the beautiful mosaics I saw growing up around Hisham Palace and we started making small items in mosaic as well as silver and mosaic jewelry.

As we did not have the chance to complete our education, we looked forward to have this project be a success. We got together, and each one of us put in some seed money so as to buy some equipment and get training. We started at home, under the tree, and slowly we realized that we need to plan and make sure that every tourist who comes to Palestine goes home with a handicraft from our work. We received lots of moral support from the Ministries and the organizations.

Rusaila Derat with the group of women of the mosaic project, Jericho, Palestine

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The creation of one of Rusaila Derat’s groups precious mosaics

When we started, we thought that this would be an immediate goldmine, but then we realized that the challenges were big.

To reach what we wanted, we needed perseverance, patience and determination. The challenge was to distinguish ourselves from other products. We learnt how to do fine artifacts, and also learned how to sell our products to the tourists and local communities.

Since we started, the project has given us so much power, in our families, in our society and in our education. Today people look up to our group of

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women who are slowly building this organization.

Four of our colleagues have just started university; they started feeling that the project challenges them and offers them the means to continue their university education.

Being part of this project gave us so much self-confidence.

My children and all our children also gained so much selfconfidence. We transformed our homes to such a better situation. Most of all, we are confident that our future is safe for our families.

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Palestine Just five kilometres north of Jericho stands, majestically, Hisham’s Palace. An Islamic archaeological site of Palestine, Hisham’s Palace presents a breathtaking canvas of decorative Umayyad period art. The Palace’s rich collection of mosaics, carved stuccos and statues make the site’s unique architecture all the richer. The Palace attracts over 50,000 visitors each year. From local schoolchildren to a spectrum of international visitors, Hisham’s Palace has become a magnet not only for travellers keen to view its beauty, but also for small local business visionaries keen to leverage its unique tourism opportunity.

Hishams Palace in Jericho. Palestine

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Sokhem Kuon

The elephant’s friend

Sunset at Cambodian forest

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My name is Sokhem Kuon, and this is my story…

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When I was born, my parents named me Sokhem. In English, it means Hope. This name puzzled me, as at that time there was no hope, no future. The Khmer Rouge had destroyed my home. In 1980, when I was a small boy, we had no food, no land, no money, no schools, and no doctors.

My father found work as a woodcutter around Chi Phat, a village hidden in the Cardamom Mountains. We cut and burned some forest to clear land for us. We planted corn, but were still hungry. Often, I would travel with my father deep into the forest. We collected vines and tapped resin to sell. We set traps for animals, so that we would have enough to eat.

It was never easy to survive on what we could collect from the forest, but year by year, we managed. I grew to be a young man, skilled in forest life. With the end of war, roads came, and the roads made our lives harder, not easier. Loggers and traders moved in, buying our wood and animals to sell in the capital, and abroad. People took more than they needed to survive. Loggers cut every resin tree for wood. Traders killed many tigers and elephants. Animals became scarce. The forest had survived the war, but could not survive the peace.

How we hated those new people. We were just trying to survive, the way we had since the world was young. My father aged, and became sick: Neak Ta was angry. He stayed at home, while I went to the forest with friends.

That was when I learned about the forest. Many people harvested from the forest, but my father was the most skilled, and taught me all he knew: the names of the trees, the birds, the animals and the spirits.

One day, while checking my traps, soldiers arrested me. They took me to see a foreigner. She had long white hair, and was sitting on the forest floor, crying. Nearby, a mouse deer lay dead in my trap.

The first time I saw elephants, the most dangerous of all the animals, I cried in fear. My father put his hat on my head, saying, “Wear this magic hat. It will make you invisible to elephants, if you stay still and quiet”. At ten years old, I knew where the deer drinks in the dry season, where the owl sleeps in the rain, why the gibbon sings, and how to respect Neak Ta, the guardian spirit of the forest. My father was never afraid of elephants, nor tigers nor snakes, but he was fearful of Neak Ta.

- “Why did you kill this poor deer?” she asked.

- “We are hungry. We need food,” I said.

- “Why don’t you work?”

- “There is no work. If there was work, I could stay at home and look after my father.”

- “Do not anger Neak Ta. He is powerful, and will make you sick and die,” he told me.

- “What angers him?”

- “Taking what is his,” said my father.

- “What is his?”

- “Everything is his: the land, the streams, the trees and all things that live here. If he favors us, he will show us wild fruit trees, and lead animals to our traps. We may take what we need to live, but no more, and whatever we take, we must share with him.”

I did not know it yet, but that day, my life changed.

One month later, the village chief called us to a meeting. The soldiers were there, and the foreign lady. She was the most beautiful person I had ever seen, but I was more afraid of her than of Neak Ta. The lady, Suwanna, was the leader of Wildlife Alliance.

Suwanna said she would give us jobs; we would no longer need to go to the forest. We were to become an ecotourism community. Nobody knew what this meant. Even when Suwanna explained it, few of us believed people would want to visit our forest. Nevertheless, Suwanna was right!

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Sokhem Kuon as Community Ranger at the Chi Phat Community Center, Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia

Suwanna helped us to set up the ecotourism community. We elected a management team, and I became the leader of the forest rangers. I still live and work in the forest, but I no longer set traps and fires: I remove traps; I put out fires.

Every year, more visitors come to Chi Phat to enjoy our mountains, streams, forests and wildlife. Now, 250 villagers are guesthouse owners, guides, cooks, boat drivers, bicycle mechanics, waste collectors, or rangers like me. We all still earn a little income from farming and fishing, but now, when times are hard, or our children are sick, we have an income, and no longer need to go to the forest.

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I no longer fear Neak Ta. I am his ally to save the forest. I am still afraid of elephants. Deep in the forest, we hear them, and we see them. When they come close to our camp at nighttime, the ground trembles, and we shake with fear. I miss my father’s magic hat. Truly, I am the elephants’ friend, but I fear the elephants forget this.

These days, my future is bright. My children are healthy, and go to school. I can look after my parents. Life is not easy, but I am hopeful. Maybe my parents chose my name wisely after all.

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Cambodia The history of Cambodia is not unknown to the world. A nation once facing immense suffering, Cambodia is today a symbol of renewal and possibility. Tourism has become one of Cambodia’s most important economic sectors. Equally important, tourism brings the people of Cambodia immense pride in who they are, where they live, how they live their lives today, and what they hold dear, contributing to a future of confidence and peace.

Boat on a river in Koh Kong province, Cambodia

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Swarna Chitrakar

Art and tourism painting a new future for women

Indian women during Chatt Festival, Kolkata, India

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I am Swarna Chitrakar, and this is my story‌.

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I belong to the village of Naya that is around 160 kms away from the city of Kolkata, in India. Our village has found a place on the cultural map of India because of its thriving tradition of Pata-chitra, or traditional scroll painting.

I went through the hardships of daily life like any other woman of my community. But I wanted to break free from social shackles and taboos, especially those that prevented painting and singing by women. I settled down at Naya with my husband and daughters and started painting Pata-chitra, encouraged by my father Amar Chitrakar and my uncle Dukhushyam Chitrakar.

Traditionally this art form was practiced by the menfolk. Men primarily painted and sang while the women helped in making colors from minerals, fruits, flowers, seeds and leaves. Women

were not supposed to paint the pata themselves. All this has changed now.

Naya was once a poor village, but today it is an active settlement of around 60 families of Patua – the community of scroll painters, many of whom are women. The community is called Patua and all of them have their last name as Chitrakar, meaning painter. I belong to this community of painters. Naya is now a flourishing hub of Patachitra painting and a year round cultural and tourist destination.

At one point of time, this art form was dying as electronic media made inroads into the village community. It was tough to sell the paintings and our survival was difficult. A social enterprise www.banglanatak.com started working in our village to revive the tradition with support of the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre in 2005. There were only around 20 painters

Swarna Chitrakar in Naya, India

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Patachitra paintings in Swarna Chitrakar’s village Naya, India

and hardly anyone knew the songs. Veteran painters like Dukhushyam, Shyamsundar, Rani Chitrakar trained the young people on painting. Dukhushyam taught singing. Audiovisual CDs were published on our painting tradition. The lost art of the use of natural colour was revived.

In 2010, www.banglanatak.com organized POT Maya a three day fair in our village. They also set up a resource centre. The resource centre provided us much needed space to practice and showcase our art tradition. The fair and the resource centre created a new tourism culture. Tourists and visitors began to pour in with great interest and I could now have a direct communication and interaction with the collectors. POT Maya held in the second weekend of November celebrated its fourth edition in 2014. Our art has found appreciation among the local people as well as across the country and the globe.

More and more artists and mainly women are now involved in Patachitra and there are more than 300 painters in our village.

It has opened up a new world of freedom for womenfolk particularly. The women who had restricted mobility, are

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enjoying a new freedom and are travelling across the country.

Patuas have now travelled to countries like France, Germany, the UK, Italy, China, The US, Australia and Japan.

Today Patachitra has become a vibrant folk media telling stories not only from epics and mythology but also on new contemporary subjects. We paint on themes like climate change, violence against women, human trafficking or events like 9/11 and tsunami. Collectors and buyers travel all the way to our village to see and buy our paintings. My village Naya has now become a most important tourist destination. The Department of Micro, Small, Medium Enterprise and Textiles is now supporting development of comprehensive infrastructure as our village has emerged as a successful Rural Craft Hub.

Today, I feel so happy to see children in the village taking up brush and color on weekend mornings anticipating visitors. I feel proud and happy that I am a part of this renewed culture.

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India Patachitra (Pata meaning cloth, while Chitra means painting) is a unique, centuries-old Indian artform. Founded in the eastern state of Odisha, Patachitra remains until today a valued part of Indian heritage and artistic identity, a tradition in which the painter – traditionally male – paints narratives of Hindu deities, singing the story of the artwork alongside. Normally, the song is first composed, and then the painting is planned with carefully detailed execution.

Artisans, travelling from village to village, visited houses and sang the songs while unrolling their long vertical scroll painting, frame by frame. In return they would be remunerated with grains for food, alms and blessings.

Woman selling flowers, India

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Tihamér Horváth

From natural water flows opportunity

One of the houses in Kehidakustány, Lake Balaton, Hungary

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My name is Tihamér Horváth and this is my story…

I was born near Lake Balaton, often called ´the Hungarian sea´, which is one of the main tourist attractions of Hungary. I lived, and I am still living, in Gyenesdiás where my forefathers had lived all their lives. Hopefully my descendants will also live here as I firmly believe that the spirit of our antecedents provide us especially strong roots and inspiration in unexpected crossroad situations in our life.

Though my family never worked in the tourism business, the atmosphere surrounding us had great influence on our everyday life. Warm and devoted hospitality was something my mother and my family taught me. The love for pleasant, peaceful and emotional togetherness with kind people, as well as the mission for improving the life and the environment of our community was the most valuable heritage I received from my parents.

Having finished my secondary school studies I became a pipefitter. Later on I learnt all kinds of crafts connected to it. At that time, I thought the construction business would be a lifelong career for me. I, with my brother, founded a company that soon

became quite prosperous. One day we started refurbishment works in the public utilities of a very little village, the name of which is difficult not only to pronounce but also to remember even for the Hungarian people. It’s called Kehidakustány. At that time, this tiny settlement was a poor, sleepy place whose inhabitants worked in the fields. This village had an old, out-ofdate thermal medical bath with special curing water inside: very hot sulphurous hydrogen carbonated water for rheumatic and muscular disorders, gynaecological diseases and skin ailments.

One morning I woke up and thought: there is this special natural resource that could cure thousands and thousands of people. By developing it into a ‘fun-and-spa resort’ it could be a new tourist destination in the region, providing at the same time hundreds of jobs for the local community in tourism.

I was so excited that morning that I could hardly wait for my brother to wake up to share my idea about our future investment in medical tourism. He was quite sceptical as tourism, and especially spas and wellness, were totally unknown to us. But we were professionals in the construction business, and we had all the resources necessary for reconstruction.

Tihamér Horváth’s SPA

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Tihamér Horváth at the spa complex in Kehidakustány, Lake Balaton, Hungary

In a few years’ time, partly supported by development funds of our government, we built our dreamland – a beautiful spa complex in the middle of an earlier agricultural area.

The people living in the village and the neighbourhood were extremely excited by the idea of drawing their settlement on the tourism map of the country, and started to study tourism. As supplementary service providers, some of them built accommodation (hotel, apartments, camping), others opened restaurants or shops around it.

The picture of the village changed completely. More and more inhabitants became our employees, while others established their own entrepreneurships and started to work in the field of tourism. After the long run, one day I stopped and I looked around. I felt astonishingly happy to see how beautiful this little village has become, to see how the complete economy of this community changed.

Now I am 64 years old and retired, and still I work hard every day. However, I am consciously getting prepared for slowing

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down my life soon. Tourism also helped to make this in a happy, comforted mood, by finding new goals for myself. Every day strength is given to me by this environment, and hotel and spa guests also get a slice of it, because the goods produced here are served for them in the restaurant of the resort.

My daughter and my sons also work in Kehida Termal. They are educated tourism experts who are ready to continue the business. I am so proud of them to see that besided learning hospitality and tourism as professionals, their attitude to the community’s life, their sense of responsibility for local matters and economy, is just like the pattern inherited from my parents, from our ancestors through several generations, and now I know that the tourism I introduced to my family’s life as a perfect field for expressing our social responsibilities, our emotion and loyalty towards the community we belong to.

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Hungary Located in Hungary’s Transdanubian region, Lake Balaton the largest lake in Central Europe is a treasured freshwater lake that has emerged as one of the region’s foremost tourist attractions. Nestled in a mountain range rich in history, culture and soils, the lake boasts an unparalleled wellness, wine and heritage offering for visitors from across the region and the world. Lake Balaton’s tourism history spans over 200 years. Traditionally a location favored by Hungarian aristocracy, the late 19th Century saw the arrival of middle class tourists to the freshwater shores. Railway construction in 1861 and 1909 resulted in a step change in tourism growth, followed by a further surge of tourism in the 1950s as a result of the postwar boom. Today offering both winter and summer tourism activity, Lake Balaton offers enchantment to travelers seeking rest and relaxation, culture and cuisine, or a rigorous dose of sporting activity.

Sunset at Lake Balaton, Hungary

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Virginia ‘ Virgie’ Deocareza Negrite A home for tourists

A beautiful volcanic lake in the crater of mount Pinatubo, on the island of luson Philippines

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My name is Virginia ‘Virgie’ Deocareza Negrite, and this is my story…

I am thirty-two years old, and a mother of two. I have always had my feet rooted in nature’s ground. I grew up in Brgy. San Roque, Bulusan, Sorsogon situated at the foot of the Bulusan Volcano Natural Park (BVNP). During my growing up years, my family used to occupy a piece of land within the park for slash-and burn-farming to augment their income and provide for daily sustenance. Poverty made life difficult. My dreams to fulfill my aspiration of becoming a public high school teacher became so out of reach.

To attain my dreams, I migrated to Metro Manila where I applied, and was hired, as a factory worker for a year. Then I worked as a House Help or ‘Kasambahay’ in return for my schooling. I was enrolled and finished the 1st year of college for the course of Bachelor in Secondary Education (BSE) in the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasay (PLP), until I faced the crossroads of my life to choose between financial support for my family or fulfill my dreams of becoming a teacher. I sacrificed the latter.

After years of struggle, my whole family bonded together and decided to contribute for the continuation of my education.

That was the year 2000. Every ounce of contribution for my education was sourced out from hard labor, from selling tilapia fished from Bulusan Lake and farmed products harvested from their clan’s kaingin in BVNP and portions of salaries of my siblings serving also as household workers in Manila.

As years passed and while I was grappling with poverty, AGAP Bulusan, Inc., a community-based multi-sectoral environmental NGO, started to operate ecotourism services of Bulusan Lake. The BVNP in Bulusan Area is endorsed by the LGU of Bulusan, the Province of Sorsogon and BVNP Protected Area Management Board (PAMB). Partnerships were done with AGAP Bulusan’s Mission to protect and conserve the biodiversity, as well as to develop ecotourism products and services.

As a lake fisher, I was one of the beneficiaries trained as an Eco Guide in 2010 and during these initial stages started earning money from tourism-related services.

Virgie Deocareza Negrite with her husband Noel, Bulusan Area, Phillipines

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Picture of a rocky island in Palawan, Philippines

In a spate of luck, in October of 2011, the Bulusan Area Biodiversity Conservation and Ecotourism Support Project was granted funds by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) under the Small Grants Program (SGP) of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The project was done in partnership with six barangays bordering BVNP and Bulusan LGU and the Provincial Government of Sorsogon, together with National Government Agencies (NGAs) such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and Department of Agriculture (DA), and the academe such as the University of the Philippines - Los Baños (UPLB).

The project involved fifty-hectare reforestation of the denuded area of BVNP due to slash-and-burn farming and illegal cutting of trees; establishment of six community-based nurseries in six bounding barangays of BVNP; organization and mobilization of People’s Organizations (PO) in the said barangays and environmental education and as a form of advocacy known to the communities as ‘Dalaw Turo’. In addition, training to the beneficiaries was conducted for them to serve as Naturalist/ Mountain Guiding and Wildlife Enforcement Officer (WEO).

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Likewise, technologies where introduced in Sustainable Agriculture on Organic Vegetable Farming, Beekeeping, Handicraft, Pili Pulp Oil Production and Aqua-culture. In return, beneficiaries serve as Volunteer Environmental Stewards as deputized WEO by DENR and Emergency Responders to Tourists in times of need and to their communities during calamities such as typhoons and volcanic ash explosions.

Moreover, agricultural products will be developed using new technologies to form part of the fusion of Agriculture and Tourism, also known as Agri-Tourism.

Life has come a full circle for me and Noel. From a shabby nipa hut that had a kitchen on bare ground, our family of four now lives in a semi-concrete structure with two rooms and a toilet and bath. Before we used to throw waste into the fields around the house. Now we take greater care, because now we have found home.

Tourism indeed means jobs. Keeping a job means being able also to reach out to others. Tourism pays, and it pays to protect and conserve the environment.

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Philippines For millions of tourists across the world, the Philippines has become a must-see destination. An archipelago nation blessed with rich natural and cultural diversity spread across 7100 islands, tourism provides a chance for a solid livelihood for millions of people. Extending a bold, vibrant invitation to have “more fun in the Philippines”, the country’s spectrum of tourism offerings from seaside to mountaintop makes the country high in appeal and competitiveness. For millions of Filipinos, tourism makes it possible for families to find hope in the future. Sometimes, surprisingly, it can be found right in their own home.

Waterfall in a mountain gorge, Philippines

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Copyright © 2015, World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

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Tourism Stories – My Story, My Community, Our Future.

ISBN printed version: 978-92-844-1717-9

ISBN electronic version: 978-92-844-1718-6

Published by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Madrid, Spain.

First printing: 2015 All rights reserved.

Printed in Spain.

Cover: Photos of Ali Heydar, Anthony Rahayel, Asadsho Zoolshoev, Benedicta Alejo Vargas, Dadash Aliyev, David Ahadzie, Giovanny Rivadeneira, Hamoudi Hassan Al – Abayagi, Jean Baptiste Hortere, Josefina Klinger Zúñiga, Juan Melendez, Khaled Al Took, Landing Jatta, The Makey family, ‘Mama’ Anna Pallangyo, Manuela Hrvatin, Martina Plesnik, Medardo Hipólito López, Memory Ganuses, Milutin Prascevic, Na and Yai, Pasquale Ricchiuti, Regina Martinez, Sokhem Kuon, Swarna Chitrakar, Tihamér Horváth and Virginia ‘Virgie’ Deocareza Negrite.

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinions whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the World Tourism Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Calle Capitán Haya, 42 28020 Madrid Spain

Tel.: (+34) 915 678 100 Fax: (+34) 915 713 733 Website: www.unwto.org E-mail: omt@unwto.org

Citation: World Tourism Organization (2015), Tourism Stories – My Story, My Community, Our Future, UNWTO, Madrid.

All UNWTO publications are protected by copyright. Therefore, and unless otherwise specified, no part of an UNWTO publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilm, scanning, without prior permission in writing.

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The World Tourism Organization, a United Nations specialized agency, is the leading international organization with the decisive and central role in promoting the development of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. It serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism know-how. Its membership includes 158 countries, 6 territories, 2 permanent observers and more than 450 Affiliate Members.

With the kind support of

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Anita Mendiratta is a trusted and respected strategic advisor and four-time published author in Tourism & Economic Development. Founder and Managing Director of Cachet Consulting, an international consulting firm working closely with leaders in governments, private sector businesses, and international organizations, Anita has established a reputation for providing critical direction, insight and inspiration into destination development, recovery and competitiveness.

Alongside her business leadership, Anita is also honoured to be Special Advisor to the Secretary-General of UNWTO. This book is a follow-up to Anita’s authoring of ‘Tourism Stories: How tourism enriched my life’ (2013), and ‘Tourism Shaping Tomorrow – Global Observatories of Sustainable Tourism - Building A Better Tourism Future’ (2015), both books commissioned by UNWTO. Her first book, ‘Come Closer: How Tourism is Shaping the Future of Nations” (2011) was nominated for the Financial Times Book of the Year, and described by Taleb Rifai, UNWTO Secretary-General as “an invaluable resource for tourism leaders, policy-makers and stakeholders as they drive the global tourism economy forward”.

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