An alternative wee walk along a well known coast... I am currently on my longest stint of staying in the country, so when we were invited to Ireland at October half term, I was rejoiced to be leaving England! We lived in Northern Ireland for a bit, so we knew where we wanted to go, Donegal and the north coast of NI. We spent a few days on the Causeway Coast and decided to go on an Away a Wee Walk hike along the Causeway Coast. I met Eimear many years ago when her dream of running a successful walking company was in its infancy. Like many other tourism businesses, she has fought to keep her business alive in the worst downturn in tourism history. Eimear even said if we'd have asked her what the most significant risk to her business was 2 years ago, she would have said coastal erosion, the thought of a global pandemic never crossed anyone's minds! We stayed at the Causeway Coast Hotel, perched above the impressive Giants Causeway and next to the visitor centre. The yin and yang of this old building and its sustainable neighbour wasn't missed on us, but that's a whole other blog post! Eimear met us outside our hotel and drove us to the start of the walk - linear walks are so much easier with a company! We had organised a private tour as our 6-year-old was with us, he's a good walker, but it meant we could have as many sweet stops as we needed and other walkers weren't perturbed by a small person. The walk took us 5 miles along the stunning Causeway Coast, a small stretch of what is a spectacular landscape across the north of the island of Ireland (weird fact, the most northerly point of Ireland is in the south….). Many tourists don't venture far from the stones, so we saw very few people on these cliffs. The day was one of those fantastic autumn days where the sun shone, it stayed dry, and the views were far-reaching. Eimear's attention to us was incredible, engaged with the small one the whole way (who is rather inquisitive for his age!) and filled us with facts about the coast's history and the geology. This area has a lot of history. Not least the north/south Ireland politics but the sunken Spanish Armada ships, the strategic WWII importance of securing the North Atlantic shipping lanes and of course the Giant Finn McColl himself. Only my 6-year-old would prefer the scientific geological reason the Stones exist. We sat and enjoyed many views with no one else around, savoured an uninterrupted view of the Causeway stones knowing there were 100's of people down there and walked a whole UNESCO World Heritage site! Eimear and I chatted a lot about where tourism will go in the next year or two and how we can support recovery. Domestic and vicinity touris has boomed in the COVID years; we need to support small tourism businesses that would typically rely on the incoming European and US markets. In Northern Ireland, there is a heavy reliance on Game of Thrones tourism, with many new products appearing - walking trails, the studios opening and a vast amount of jumps of a minibus dressed up for a quick snap tour. Whilst these are amusing, businesses like Eimear's will have a long-term significance in the market and push for a more sustainable, resilient industry. So next time you stay in the UK or Ireland, think about the type of things you would do if you were abroad and if that is to hire a local guide in a city, for a hike or to lead a kayak trip, do it here too these small businesses need us. Low Carbon travel options: There are many options to travel to Northern Ireland without a flight. Take the train to Holyhead, board an overnight ferry and use the train and bus systems in Northern Ireland. Or take you own car. Flying is an option, but the cost of car hire and flights may well exceed a train and ferry. Trains run between Dublin and Belfast, so the Holyhead ferry is also an option with train links across to Manchester.

There are bridges to cross, mountains to climb and a winding road... Not another travel trends post, yes I'm afraid! One of my favourite sections of' my Tourism in the Wake of COVID' report was writing about the trends on how we will recover from this terrible downturn. These trends may be no surprise to you - academics, tourism associations, and the media agree: Niche markets and products will grow. Mass tourism is unsustainable and has a devastating impact, Destination Managers and Tour Operators need to create products that work with the community and protect the environment. Destination management organisations need to engage beyond typical tourism stakeholders to develop new products. A level of resilience will need to be built into new product development and itineraries. New demographics need to be recognised, there is such a focus on the growing 65+ market that the millennial, Get Y, and X are being shunned - 40% of travel expenditure is from this market. For content, I am a millennial by the skin of my teeth. 40 years old, a young family, and a disposable income. There are a lot of us! Adventure Tourism Adventure tourism is not a new niche market. Adventure tourists are more resilient, they want to travel and are happy to take risks. The benefit to the destination includes money staying in the community, job creation and increased conservation of the environment and culture. Destination managers, product manager and travellers alike will seek more adventure based trips as open spaces and fresh air are sought in the post-COVID world. Slow Travel Slow Travel will grow, Millennials, Gen X and Y are looking for travel experiences that have meaning, tell a story and give back. Slow travel is moving from being a concept to a product with brands looking for market share. Whole companies are embracing slow travel and product reviews are taking place to add slow itineraries to established product ranges. Slow travel is lower impact as avoids air travel, immersive as travellers have enriching cultural experiences en route. There will be a shift in the behaviour of tourist as the need to move away from low-cost air travel and multiple getaways to ensure our planet is protected. New product to market for slow tourism to grow. Companies can achieve their climate goals as Slow Travel avoids aircraft, companies like Responsible Travel are reviewing itineraries and replacing short carbon heavy internal flights with train and bus journeys. Last Chance Tourism Should this even been a trend? It certainly makes me cringe. Last Change Tourism is the concept of visiting environments and heritage sites before they are gone. LCT is an unsustainable form of tourism. There is a paradox between LCT and carbon emissions, destinations such as the Great Barrier Reef and Polar regions require carbon-heavy flights and cruises to accommodate tourists. In Australia, it has been found that tourists do not understand the impact of flying halfway across the world to see a dying ecosystem. More must be done to educate and create products that help protect the precious environment. Polar tourists have shifted demographically from older more educated tourists to adventure seekers. Implementing citizen science on cruises will change the tourist gaze and add educational value. This is the only way Last Chance Tourism can have a future! Wildlife and Nature Tourism Wildlife and nature tourism suffered from loss of conservation income during the pandemic. Wildlife and nature tourism will rebound quicker as it operators in spacious environments Nature-based tourism is sustainable, supports conservation and can alleviate poverty. The UK domestic market will see a growth in wildlife and nature tourism as people seek to explore what's on their doorstep. ReWilding projects such as Knepp and Annerdale incorporate tourism to enhance their income and educate. Volunteer Tourism Volunteer tourism saw a decline due ethical concerns and potential negative effects of Western altruism but now a new style of volunteer tourism will grow. It will be environmentally focussed with less negative impact on the community. Travellers will want to give back to their destination through beach cleans, conservation projects, tree planting and citizen science. Volunteering many not be the main driver for a trip but a small element of an itinerary. New volunteer projects need to be carefully managed to ensure they are not detrimental to the environment or community. Health and Wellbeing Traditional wellness holidays are based around spas and health is the main driver. Health and wellness trips are set to change and become focussed on transformative experiences in nature, digital detox and going “off grid”. Wellbeing may not be the primary driver so products will incorporate elements of wellness such as walking and mindfulness. Food tourism Food tourism can ensure the spread of tourism wealth beyond the normal stakeholders and create new revenue for a local business. Local artisan food producers will offer experiences that are authentic to their area, tell a story, and increase income. Enabling local people to diversify will drive innovation in tourism. Indigenous Tourism Indigenous tourism needs to grow with the community as the focus. Trends suggest travellers want more local immersive experiences, but this cannot come at the cost of the local community. Benefits of increased visitor numbers include increased revenue, education of traditional ways and more opportunities for women.

Travelling and adventure is part of me. This section of the blog will cover my adventures near and far. I will cover ideas on how to travel locally, sustainably and basically practice what I preach over on the Just Tourism blog. My travelling started like many others with a post-college backpacking trip to North and South America, Australia and New Zealand. Twelve months of travel and I was hooked. I got my dream job with an adventure travel company - I was being paid to talk about travel! And so many more opportunities to travel opened up, and I have now been to every continent, scaled mountains, cycled for days, kayaked, run national trails, experienced diverse history and culture and eaten my way around the world. I even met my husband on a trip to Thailand! When I am at home, I like to have little adventures and walk or run in the Chilterns and swim in the Thames regularly. I am one of those now prevalent wild swimmers and been swimming outdoors for a very long time! This blog will cover day trips, quick blasts of being outdoors and the longer trips I take. There will be retrospective posts on trips of pre COVID days! Enjoy!

I’m Emily Bailey, and welcome to my Just Tourism blog. Read more about me here: https://www.emily-bailey.co.uk In September, I started my MSc in Tourism, having wanted to study further for a while, so with COVID decimating the industry, I decided it was as good as time as any to leave my perfectly stable job and become a full-time student! Prior to this leap, my focus was in the adventure sector, with roles covering product, sales, and Destination Management Company relationships. I really believe tourism should be a force for good for the communities and environment. This blog will mirror ideas and topics I have covered on my course. I am a semester behind, so here’s a little overview of the move from responsible to regenerative tourism… I loved my first job in travel, working for one of the UK's leading adventure travel brands; responsible tourism was ingrained in the culture (sustainable tourism wasn’t even thought of then!). Back then, responsible tourism policies mainly covered community engagement, ensuring local accommodation, restaurants and guides were used. It seems uncomplicated and obvious when you read one of these policies now! The main focus was to provide positive experiences were had by the traveller and had the host. A small amount of inforamtion was on the environment, with Carbon Offsetting new and plastic pollutions starting to be recognised. We know now this is a much bigger issue, but that’s a whole other blog post. But like anything, there will be progress, better understanding, and change, making sustainable tourism the next step. Sustainability is about making a place no worse than how it is now. Sustainable tourism policies have now replaced responsible tourism policies. A more rounded approach has been adopted that includes community, environmental and economic impacts as well. Tourism relies on the world's natural assets, so the industry must protect the very thing they are selling. Yet we know this is not the case, particularly in mass tourism - issues such as waste management, degrading of natural assets and working to benefit a community all need to be addressed. The next step and newest idea is the concept of regenerative tourism. Regenerative practices can make a place better than it was left on a social, economic and environmental basis. Regenerative tourism is set to shift the status quo of tourism and encourage the build back better mindset. I’m excited for the future as companies and destinations progress from responsible tourism to regenerative tourism policies. It will be a journey and take buy in across industry, tourism has never had a better opportunity to rethink the restart. I would love to see a world where tourism is just tourism where all the industry has a clear focus on delivering experiences that benefit the host, visitor, environment, and economy. Time will tell if COVID has accelerated the shift to a sustainable, regenerative future. #sustainabletourism #responsibletourims #justtourism