Out of the box thinking is an essential tool to identify and grab opportunities for a successful Nature Positive business. The first webinar gave us the inspiration to start thinking of how we could make small changes to our (present or future) operations to become more Nature Positive.
“Everything you can do is important, and even if you cannot see the impact of your actions today, maybe in the future you will”, observed a fellow trainee who operates in Kigali. No action is too small to try out, and sharing the reasons behind your choices with both your customers and stakeholders is key for the positive impact to spread.
“More sustainable travel is a growing trend and we need to feed this change” said Simon introducing us to webinar two. Nature Positive tourism has a very critical role to play to change the way visitors think about being in nature versus simply utilizing it. But how can we do this definitively, as tourism operators?
Evoking emotions
First of all, by concentrating on the important key messages we want people to take home: we should avoid giving visitors too much information and instead focus on what we really want them to learn, remember and interiorize. Emotions are another very impactful element to leverage.
As an example, if you think about a guided group excursion in the Italian Alps, you could use the best emotional moment (like a beautiful pink and orange sunset over the peaks) to share your message about the impact of over-tourism in the area, or other relevant topics. The power of this natural setting will trigger a much stronger emotional response, compared to the same discussion held in a more “aseptic” context, like a meeting room or a classroom.
Positive vibes
“People are very reluctant to change, and using doomsday scenarios to try and influence them is not a winning strategy” explained Simon. The reach of the events impacting our planet (such as climate change, loss of ecosystems and wildlife, etc.) is simply too enormous for most people to grasp, and they very often react by shutting down and switching off to what they perceive as unpleasant conversations. So, bringing the discussion onto a more positive level instead, and talking about the benefits of nature, can lead to better results in terms of awareness, acceptance and ideally activation. A quick group exercise helped us to find more efficient and convincing arguments to explain “why we should protect nature” to potential stakeholders, communities and visitors.
Best-in-class examples
To better understand how the Nature Positive tourism principles translate into practice, we had a look at three case studies.
© Cabiner
The first was Cabiner, a Dutch enterprise whose mission is to “connect people and nature” by “creating a network of hiking trails and cabins in and between the most beautiful natural areas of the world”. As a guest of their sustainable cabins, you would often need to first hike to reach your stay, thus experiencing a slower and deeper connection with the landscape and nature around you. Being off-grid, the stay itself will foster a mind shift by making you think about, and value more, the comforts you would normally take for granted in your daily life, such as running water, heating and food.
The second case study focused on the benefits of an integrated land use approach and the importance of having a clear vision and the passion needed to turn it into reality. The Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa exemplifies the opportunity of land restoration using tourism as a financial model to create success.
In the ‘90s this area was mainly used for pineapple farming, but a conservation visionary’s ideas transformed it completely by integrating communities into the land management for nature (not just for agriculture or livestock). Nature restoration and wildlife reintroduction were the first steps in this enterprise, which then also added a tourism operation based on wildlife watching and nature experiences. What makes this reality truly successful is the way it turned local community members into custodians of the land through stakeholder engagement and structured ownership on its side.
The last case study brought us to Namibia to discover the story of the Khoadi/Hoas Conservancy. Again, it all started with a visionary idea by the then head of the WWF in Namibia, who decided to “rock the boat” by getting involved in a hunting concession for WWF to bring the world of agriculture, livestock and hunting together. What once was a much degraded area with high conflicts between humans and wildlife, became a virtuous example for coexistence through nature based tourism and specific selective hunting.
Continue learning
If you are curious to dive deeper into case studies and deepen your knowledge of Nature Positive Tourism, secure your spot for one of the next Online Trainings.
Keep following the blog to read what we uncovered in the last webinar of 2024.
This blog is part of a three-part series written by Claudia Costa, a MOYO Training participant and volunteer writer.
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