How the Game is Changing Through Conscious Travelbuilding a better tourism for more

forThe Victoria Tourism Industry Council

Anna Pollock, Founder, Conscious Travel July, 2014

My Purpose Today

What do we mean by Game Changing?What Game are we Playing Today?Why Might it Have to Change?How is Conscious Travel a Game

Changer?

What do we mean by Game Changer?

“Whether the chase is won or lost in tennis.

Nobody can know until the ball is run”

John Gower 1400received a pension in

form of an annual allowance of wine.

Henry 1V

Is it changing the way the game is played?

Changing the way the game

is played?

Is Game Changing….

Changing the way the Game is playedEquipmentDress code and stylePerformanceRulesCourt, lines and net

or

Changing the Purpose of the Game?

Changing the Game of TOURISM

Change the way the Game is playedRules – low cost airlinesPerformance – yield management, automation, self serviceEquipment – propellors, jet engines, aerofoils, navigation, high

speed trains, cruise ships, kioskPricing, marketing– online bookings, OTAs, social media, loyalty

programsDisruptive competition - Airbnb“Exogenous conditions” – currencies, hazards, terrorismDELOITTE 2015SUSTAINABILITY AS GAME CHANGER

Changing the Game of TOURISM

DOES REAL CHANGE HAPPEN

WHEN YOU CHANGETHE PURPOSE OF A GAME?

Agree, Disagree, Don’t Know?

Changing the Game of TOURISM

Current Purpose is to Grow…..More visitors, More trips, More pax,More revenue, taxesHigher occupancy, Higher ADR, revenueMore GDPMore jobs

CURRENT TOURISM GOALGrowth by and for whom? Who benefits?

• Destinations – need tax revenues and investment in amenities, infrastructure. Need to cover costs, manage reputation

• Developers – need new spaces to develop!

• Tourism multinationals – publicly owned need to grow to satisfy their market, ROI, quarterly results, valuation

• Most SME’s in tourism (99%) are into survival!• Cope with volatility, boom and bust, rising costs• Satisfy Customers who want more for less each year• More regulation, New technology• And grow value – net profit per unit of transaction

THE GLOBAL CONUNDRUMWe believe our economy has to grow

More people; Higher expectations; Debt (interest)

THE GLOBAL CONUNDRUM

We need resources to support that growthThey’re becoming scarcer more costly to extract

THE GLOBAL CONUNDRUM

We need resources to support that growthThey’re becoming scarcer more costly to extractWe’ll have to pay for externalities

Cost of “Externalities”• US $7.3 trillion• 13% of GDP• Greenhouse gas 38%• Water 25%• Land use 24%• Air pollution (7%)• Other pollution (5%)• Waste (1%)

THE GLOBAL CONUNDRUMBusinesses not preparing adequately

THE GLOBAL CONUNDRUMBusinesses not preparing adequately

THE GLOBAL CONUNDRUMWe’re living beyond our means

THE GLOBAL CONUNDRUMHeading towards a brick wall called “Limits”

THE GLOBAL CONUNDRUMThe more we grow, the more wealth is concentrated

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014.html#.U745S1bMqzC

THE GLOBAL CONUNDRUMThere’s no correlation between GDP growth and well being

OUR LEADERS’ RESPONSE

Source: Kate Raworth, Doughnut Economics

“This report shows the world on a

development trajectory that is not

sustainable. If we fail to alter our patterns

of production and consumption, things will go

badly wrong.” 10 mega-forces, all connected in ways we don’t fully understand.

ACKNOWLEDGING THE PROBLEM

The Earth’s environmental system is simultaneously coming under increasing stress.

Future simultaneous shocks to both systems

could trigger the “perfect global storm”,

with potentially insurmountable

consequences. 50 risk sources, all connected in ways we don’t

fully understand

TOP 4• Wealth Disparity• Debt• Financial

Instability• Global

Governance Failure

THE 1% ARE WORRIED

CAPITALISM MIGHT BE FLAWED

“Capitalism does millions of things better than the

alternatives. However, it is totally ill-equipped

to deal with a small handful of issues.

Unfortunately they are issues that are

absolutely central to our long-term well

being and even survival”

Jeremy Grantham, co-founder

GMO

CAPITALISM MIGHT BE FLAWED

“Communism collapsed because it dedn’t allow prices to

tell the economic truthCapitalism will

collapse because it doesn’t allow prices to

show the ecological truth”

Oystein Dahle, former VP Exxon Mobil

THE GAME IS CHANGING

Capitalism Re-thinking Itself

 Sustainable Economy, Renewing Capitalism, Conscious Capitalism,

Corporation 2020, Sustainable Capitalism, Responsible

Capitalism, Clean Capitalism, The Responsible Economy, Capitalism as if the Planet

Matters, Creative Capitalism, Compassionate Capitalism,

Just Capitalism, Regenerative Capitalism Spiritual Capital,

Tomorrow’s Company, Breakthrough Capitalism, Sir

Richard Branson’s B Team and WEFs New Social Contract.

THE GAME IS CHANGING

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DOING GOOD IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS:

CUSTOMERS LEADING THE WAY

The Tourism Story

The Promise, The Goal

This is how the world really works

Where on this curve are we?

The Result

• Growth in volume but more:

• Volatility• DIMINISHING

RETURNS• Lower Spending per

capita• Growing congestion• Mountains of waste• Resident backlash

90% + of demand factors outside of the

control of anyone in tourism

The Island Where Tourist Garbage is Stored in the MaldivesSource: Daily Mail

The Queue to Climb EverestSource: Guardian

• see: Can Tourism Change its Operating Model?

How will we handle congestion?

How will we handle waste?

How will we handle emissions?

How will we manage our thirst for water and land?

How will avoid residents’ backlash?

Protest Sign Erected by Young BalineseSource: ABC They Paved Paradise

How will we protect vulnerable people and cultures?

Can we really handle another 600 million in just 12 more years?

THE Game Change is about Breakdown or breakthrough

How do we cross the chasm?

How do we breakthrough?

How does Conscious Travel change the game?

Back to Purpose

DOES REAL CHANGE HAPPEN

WHEN YOU CHANGETHE PURPOSE

OF A GAME

Agree, Disagree, Don’t Know?

Conscious Travel a Game Changer because

1. We’re changing the purpose of travel – from simply growing (getting bigger) to FLOURISHING (becoming better)

2. Changing our story, narrative, lens, our paradigm regarding:

• what it means to be human and alive

• our relationship with Nature3. Shifting our role from passive

hosts to active change agents4. Enlivening, re-vitalising our

communities.

1. Reframe growth as FLOURISHING

2. Reframe growth as FLOURISHING

INSPIRATION

FLOURISHING MEANSA shift from:

• more to better• quantity to quality• exclusive – benefitting a few - to inclusive

with benefits being more evenly shared over time, space and between all stakeholders

• Low to higher NET benefit in quantifiable AND non-quantifiable ways

It’s about experiencing what it’s like to be

• Fully alive• Experiencing Seligman’s PERMA +• Radiating vitality, energy, optimism• Adaptable, creative, resilient together• Hopeful, expansive not fearful and

constricted• Peak Performance – “in the flow”

THE end gameDestinationsGuestsTourism Enterpreneurs/manager-ownersEmployeesSuppliersInvestors

2. Changing our awareness

2. Changing our minds, our mindsets

“We have one generation in which to shift

human consciousness”

Jeremy Rifkin

“The deepest crises experienced by any society are

those moments of change when the story becomes

inadequate for meeting the survival demands of a present

situation.”

3. Re-framing what it means to be human

A cog in a machine?

2. Re-framing what it means to be human

Shaped by the box we’ve been assigned to?

2. Re-framing what it means to be human

A member of a living community

2. Re-framing what it means to be humanA free member of a dynamic, living

communityHaving Being

Homo Economicus Homo Sapiens, Sapiens

Separate Connected

“I”, Competitive, taking “We” Cooperative, collaborative, giving

Scarcity, Hoarding Abundance, Sharing, Gift

Machine Organism

Extrinsic values, utility Intrinsic values

Acquiring, complicated Experiening, evolving, complex

Conforming Authentic

Static Dynamic

4. Re-framing our Relationship with Nature

"The tree which moves some to tears of joy is, in the eyes of others, only a green thing which stands

in the way,Some see Nature all

ridicule and deformity, and some scarce see

Nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination,

Nature is Imagination itself.

As a man is, so he sees."William Blake

Change the way we see

Means all life and all nature flourishing too

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When you want to build a ship, you don’t start collecting wood, cutting planks and distributing

work, but waken in the heart of people, a longing

for the great and endless sea.Antoine St Expury

Appeals to all of us – minds, hearts, body and soul

can “read the love letters sent by the wind and the rain, the snow and the

moon”

Our Purpose – to help our guests fall in love with life and Mother Earth and so

that they too

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The real purpose of tourism

To have them fall in love again with life

To move our guests from numbness to aliveness

from indifference to empathy

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To have our guests experience wonder

Tourism has a special role to play

Finding & connecting

4. Fulfill Tourism’s promise as a Force for GOOD

• Connect• Heal• Restore,

Regenerate• Transform• Cross-Pollinate• Community

Change Agents

4. Through New Organization Forms

Not-for-profitSocial Enterprise

Travel PhilanthropyVoluntourism

Immersive Travel

5. Emerging & embedded in Community

“To build a popular environmentalism, we need to restore

in peoplepride of place”

The Conscious Travel Vision

A model

A Collaborative Learning Platform

A global network of learning communities

The Model

The Tourism Ecosystem

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PURPOSE

PEOPLE

PLACE

PROTECTIONPACE

PROXIMITY

PERFORMANCEPULL

Principles

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PURPOSE

PURPOSE

• The Why?• From growth to

thriving, flourishing

• Enliven• Enlighten• Engage• Enrich

• HIGHER NET BENEFIT

• Not more, but better and better for more!

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PEOPLE

PURPOSE

• THE ENCOUNTER

• Guest meets Host

• Involves all senses

• Affects the whole person – body, mind, heart and soul

• Caring passionate hosts create happy, transformed guests

• Engagement• Culture• Leadership• R3

PEOPLE

75

The Encounter is CRITICAL!What factors influence choice of hotel?

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• Both parties must flourish and thrive

• Flourishing is more than a transaction

• Occurs when:• Happy, fulfilled

guests• Refer others• Return• Rave

• Happy fulfilled hosts enthusiastically encourage & enable their guest to explore more, stay longer, value more and care more

Great Encounters!

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PURPOSE

• Places are NOT commodities

• Each has its own unique essence or spirit

• Unique mix of geography, history, people

• Can’t be outsourced

• Places are COMMUNITIES

• Identity• Celebrate

Revere

PEOPLE

PLACE

PLACE

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If we are going to take care of Mother Earth, we must learn to

love her.79

PURPOSE

• SLOW down

• LOCAL

• Small

• Experience don’t do

• Wonder & awe

PEOPLE

PLACE

PACEPROXIMIT

Y

PACEPROXIMIT

Y

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PURPOSE

• Conservation• Stewardship• Regeneration• Minimum Harm• Protect and

revitalise cultures

• Respect residents

• Nurture Conscious travelers

PEOPLE

PLACE

PROTECTIONPACE

PROXIMITY

PROTECTION

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PURPOSE

• Attracting the right visitor

• Support not sell• All business is

social• Need for Digital

Literacy• It’s the

ENCOUNTER remember?

• Rave, Refer, Return

PEOPLE

PLACE

PROTECTIONPACE

PROXIMITY

PULL

PULL

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PURPOSE

• We manage what we measure

• Measure what matters!

• Not volume but net benefit – community health & well-being

• Customer delight ----

• R3 NPS• Smaller footprint• Sense of welcome

& enthusiasm from hosts

PEOPLE

PLACE

PROTECTIONPACE

PROXIMITY

PERFORMANCE PULL

PERFORMANCE

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PURPOSE

PEOPLE

PLACE

PROTECTIONPACE

PROXIMITY

PERFORMANCEPULL

Integrated, Holistic Model

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Assumptions

1. The task at hand is to re-connect and align with Life itself - Harmony with Nature;

2. Re-think our collective goals: from growth to flourishing;

3. Hosts to become active change agents;

4. Tourism enterprises will flourish by digging deep into purpose;

5. The model will change because human values are changing; and

6. Change starts and ends in community

Imagine......a network of host communities each

exploring how to deliver net benefits from tourism,a good living for people,

and transformative experiences for guests

each in their own way?

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In the same way that cells combine to form different organs of the body, so will the collective output of these cells combine to create a new organic, ecological form of

tourism -

one that is environmentally sustainable, socially just and

spiritually fulfilling

www.conscious.travel www.slideshare.net/AnnaP

That’s game changing!