On Homecoming and Wayfinding - re-thinking sustainable tourism
It’s rare that I have to turn down the
chance to speak because of a date conflict. But on Feb 18th, I couldn’t
be in two places at once. I had to forgo the chance to speak atTEDX in Whistler because of a previous
commitment to speak at the TIDES Conference in Samoa, a mere 15,000 miles away.
I’d never been to the South Pacific before
and it turned out to be one place that exceeded even my expectations – my imagination stimulated at a young age by the Rogers and Hammerstein musical of the
same name!
Despite having made a living from this
phenomenon called “tourism” (as researcher, planner, marketer, educator, strategist
and visionary-futurist), I have always experienced a love-hate relationship with
it. I have seen mass tourism bring both pleasure and benefit to many, but also
change landscapes, carelessly consume precious resources, and destroy cultures ironically
in areas that, hitherto, had lived
in a sustainable manner for thousands of years
My personal wake up call occurred
concurrently with my 40th birthday, some twenty years ago, when I
attended PATA’s Annual Conference in Bali at the shiny new, purpose-built
tourism complex/ghetto at Nusa Dua.What I experienced there sickened me to the core and I nearly quit
working in tourism for good. In a mere 16 years, much of the Bali I had
encountered and fallen in love with in 1972 had disappeared. I had been so
privileged to experience a sustainable, cohesive, vibrant culture having first
stepped on its bounteous shores when there was no electricity on the island (the Balinese enjoyed complete food security, producing enough on the island to
meet their needs), when life continued as it had done for thousands of years,
when generous acts of hospitality were extended for no thought of gain, when
there was no begging, when every act (including the renting of a motorbike) was
considered sacred; and where communities met under Banyen trees to the warm
light of candles and Tilley lamps and relived the myths and legends through
shadow puppet plays and complex dance and story telling. My experience there
was profoundly transformative and started a spiritual journey that has lasted a
lifetime.
So it was with some trepidation that I set
off for Samoa and it was with huge delight that I discovered a place committed
to “being itself” while being under enormous pressure to welcome investment and
change and attract visitors back to this beautiful island.I was speaking at a
conference designed to attract investment in a tourism “industry” that accounts
for some 35% of GDP;that is the
primary source of export revenue; and that had recently been knocked back by
the force of a devastating Tsunami.
As it is only for Samoans to determine
their future and chose the kind of economy they can grow and sustain, I felt the
best thing I could do was instill confidence that Samoans could, with wise
choices, sustain their deeply held values and attract a kind of visitor who
would align with those values and respect their unique culture and setting. I
had been given a great title – Investing in Future Values – that enabled me to
show how industrial tourism was based on a set of assumptions that are now being
challenged and discarded; and that there is a growing market for authentic
experiences of diverse cultures and a desire by visitors to find meaning as
well as accrue souvenirs from their travel. I went so far as to suggest that, for
many, a trip to Samoa (which means sacred center) might be likened to that of a
prodigal son’s homecoming.
The essence of my message, is that the
industrial model is, just that, a model of reality based on a set of
assumptions that are only now being examined and rejected. Within so-called
developed societies, there is growing evidence within every aspect of human
endeavour that a new paradigm is emerging and western societies have much to
learn from those indigenous cultures our industrial system has so often
threatened with destruction. Western
society is literally “coming home” and back into a balance with the biosphere
that is considered vital by societies we have falsely labeled as less
developed.
While preparing for this talk, I became
captivated and intrigued by the story of Polynesia’s development and their
skill in long-distance navigation, a process known as The Art of Wayfinding. Thousands of years ago, brave navigators
and sailors of large canoes, set off into the eastern sunrise to find new
lands, sailing vast distances against the prevailing winds with no navigational
instruments through a process of dead reckoning. Navigators spent years
learning how to read the sky, stars, currents, clouds and behaviour of marine
life to determine their position and direction. This “Wayfinding” is not just a
skill but a metaphor, a paradigm or mindset that enables a people to navigate
their world. One of the most recent and accessible descriptions of the marvels
of Polynesian culture takes the form of a chapter of a new book by Wade Davis,
called The Wayfinders. Based on the Massey Lectures delivered in Canada last
year. Davis describes how the holistic science and art of wayfinding is based
on dead reckoning.
“You only know where you are by knowing precisely where you have been and how
you got to where you are. One’s position at any one time is determined solely
on the basis of distance and direction travelled since leaving the last known
point. You don’t look up at the stars and know where you are, you need to know
where you have come from by memorizing from where you have sailed.” And, just as
importantly, you need to see your destination clearly in your mind, if you ever
wish to find it in an ocean as vast as the Pacific.
In the spirit of wayfinding, let me look
back to where I started this post – reminiscing about a place that existed
before industrial values triumphed over indigenous ones; and dreaming about a
new place where a different kind of tourism activity could occur.I also mentioned TEDX in Whistler, recent host to the world – is
it coincidence or synchrony that the keynote speaker, standing on the podium I
was also intended to occupy, was none other than Wade Davis who proposed
brilliantly that sustainable tourism should be about visiting and learning from
the indigenous peoples of the world!
If there ever was a time when we need to
find our way, to develop a new way of doing tourism, it is now. Such change can
only happen when we open up our minds to new and different models of reality –
when we change our mindsets, our worldviews, our paradigm. For many this will
be a homecoming; for others it will represent a discovery of a new land, but,
regardless of which, it is time to shift now and seek new navigators for the
journey ahead. Wade’s TEDX presentation is a really good place to start:
On Homecoming and Wayfinding - re-thinking sustainable tourism
It’s rare that I have to turn down the
chance to speak because of a date conflict. But on Feb 18th, I couldn’t
be in two places at once. I had to forgo the chance to speak atTEDX in Whistler because of a previous
commitment to speak at the TIDES Conference in Samoa, a mere 15,000 miles away.
I’d never been to the South Pacific before
and it turned out to be one place that exceeded even my expectations – my imagination stimulated at a young age by the Rogers and Hammerstein musical of the
same name!
Despite having made a living from this
phenomenon called “tourism” (as researcher, planner, marketer, educator, strategist
and visionary-futurist), I have always experienced a love-hate relationship with
it. I have seen mass tourism bring both pleasure and benefit to many, but also
change landscapes, carelessly consume precious resources, and destroy cultures ironically
in areas that, hitherto, had lived
in a sustainable manner for thousands of years
My personal wake up call occurred
concurrently with my 40th birthday, some twenty years ago, when I
attended PATA’s Annual Conference in Bali at the shiny new, purpose-built
tourism complex/ghetto at Nusa Dua.What I experienced there sickened me to the core and I nearly quit
working in tourism for good. In a mere 16 years, much of the Bali I had
encountered and fallen in love with in 1972 had disappeared. I had been so
privileged to experience a sustainable, cohesive, vibrant culture having first
stepped on its bounteous shores when there was no electricity on the island (the Balinese enjoyed complete food security, producing enough on the island to
meet their needs), when life continued as it had done for thousands of years,
when generous acts of hospitality were extended for no thought of gain, when
there was no begging, when every act (including the renting of a motorbike) was
considered sacred; and where communities met under Banyen trees to the warm
light of candles and Tilley lamps and relived the myths and legends through
shadow puppet plays and complex dance and story telling. My experience there
was profoundly transformative and started a spiritual journey that has lasted a
lifetime.
So it was with some trepidation that I set
off for Samoa and it was with huge delight that I discovered a place committed
to “being itself” while being under enormous pressure to welcome investment and
change and attract visitors back to this beautiful island.I was speaking at a
conference designed to attract investment in a tourism “industry” that accounts
for some 35% of GDP;that is the
primary source of export revenue; and that had recently been knocked back by
the force of a devastating Tsunami.
As it is only for Samoans to determine
their future and chose the kind of economy they can grow and sustain, I felt the
best thing I could do was instill confidence that Samoans could, with wise
choices, sustain their deeply held values and attract a kind of visitor who
would align with those values and respect their unique culture and setting. I
had been given a great title – Investing in Future Values – that enabled me to
show how industrial tourism was based on a set of assumptions that are now being
challenged and discarded; and that there is a growing market for authentic
experiences of diverse cultures and a desire by visitors to find meaning as
well as accrue souvenirs from their travel. I went so far as to suggest that, for
many, a trip to Samoa (which means sacred center) might be likened to that of a
prodigal son’s homecoming.
The essence of my message, is that the
industrial model is, just that, a model of reality based on a set of
assumptions that are only now being examined and rejected. Within so-called
developed societies, there is growing evidence within every aspect of human
endeavour that a new paradigm is emerging and western societies have much to
learn from those indigenous cultures our industrial system has so often
threatened with destruction. Western
society is literally “coming home” and back into a balance with the biosphere
that is considered vital by societies we have falsely labeled as less
developed.
While preparing for this talk, I became
captivated and intrigued by the story of Polynesia’s development and their
skill in long-distance navigation, a process known as The Art of Wayfinding. Thousands of years ago, brave navigators
and sailors of large canoes, set off into the eastern sunrise to find new
lands, sailing vast distances against the prevailing winds with no navigational
instruments through a process of dead reckoning. Navigators spent years
learning how to read the sky, stars, currents, clouds and behaviour of marine
life to determine their position and direction. This “Wayfinding” is not just a
skill but a metaphor, a paradigm or mindset that enables a people to navigate
their world. One of the most recent and accessible descriptions of the marvels
of Polynesian culture takes the form of a chapter of a new book by Wade Davis,
called The Wayfinders. Based on the Massey Lectures delivered in Canada last
year. Davis describes how the holistic science and art of wayfinding is based
on dead reckoning.
“You only know where you are by knowing precisely where you have been and how
you got to where you are. One’s position at any one time is determined solely
on the basis of distance and direction travelled since leaving the last known
point. You don’t look up at the stars and know where you are, you need to know
where you have come from by memorizing from where you have sailed.” And, just as
importantly, you need to see your destination clearly in your mind, if you ever
wish to find it in an ocean as vast as the Pacific.
In the spirit of wayfinding, let me look
back to where I started this post – reminiscing about a place that existed
before industrial values triumphed over indigenous ones; and dreaming about a
new place where a different kind of tourism activity could occur.I also mentioned TEDX in Whistler, recent host to the world – is
it coincidence or synchrony that the keynote speaker, standing on the podium I
was also intended to occupy, was none other than Wade Davis who proposed
brilliantly that sustainable tourism should be about visiting and learning from
the indigenous peoples of the world!
If there ever was a time when we need to
find our way, to develop a new way of doing tourism, it is now. Such change can
only happen when we open up our minds to new and different models of reality –
when we change our mindsets, our worldviews, our paradigm. For many this will
be a homecoming; for others it will represent a discovery of a new land, but,
regardless of which, it is time to shift now and seek new navigators for the
journey ahead. Wade’s TEDX presentation is a really good place to start:
