As illustrated by the archived videos, the concept of Conscious Travel has been fermenting for some time and, like fine wine,  is ready to be uncorked!

In retrospect, the most interesting interview took place at the World Travel Market in 2001  a mere six or so weeks after the tragedy of 9-11 (see # 6. The Future of Tourism). The buzz words in the techie community then were XML, CRM and inter-operability and a pivotal work, ClueTrain Manifesto,  on which much of the current digital revolution was based, was published.

Keeping pace with technological change meant understanding how networks functioned and that lead me to first sense the systematic and structural failings of a sector like tourism that was built on such an outmoded mechanical-linear model. While new concepts can be grasped in milliseconds, old habits of thought and perception take decades to change. It’s therefore not surprising that many of the concepts core to Conscious Travel expressed in this interview 15 years ago are only now generating substantial debate.

1. Introduction to Conscious Travel (8 minutes) 2012 First part is a quick overview of the concept, and the second part was prepared for a Women in Tourism event and addresses the unique role of women and feminine values in creating a better tourism that works for all.

2. What is a Conscious Host? (6 minutes) 2012. Addresses key characteristics of a good hosts: self awareness; capable of developing a culture of caring and being responsible to all stakeholders. A more detailed picture of what it means to be a Conscious Host in 2017 is developed here.

3. Leading the Way – The Adventure of Travel (25 minutes). A keynote presentation for the 2013 Adventure Travel World Summit held by the Adventure Travel Trade Association. I suggested the adventure travel hosts could be a major positive agent of change in tourism if they applied their guiding role to helping us all make a safe and exciting journey into the future. Slides are available here and a full transcript here

4. What is the Purpose of Tourism?  (3 minutes) 2012. This was a a video conversation with the Chairman of Tourism Vancouver, Howard Jang,  for the Annual Business Plan Summit held in Vancouver.

5. What Does Culture Mean to You? (3 minutes) 2012. Presentation to Tourism Vancouver’s Annual Business Summit, January 2012 on the topic “Decade of Culture” Anna Participated in a video conversation with Chairman Howard Jang as the organisation started to think about the deeper meaning of culture and the way the destination could be marketed.

6. On the Future of Tourism (10 minutes) 2001.  In the aftermath of the worst terrorist attack in the western world 9/11,  Anna Pollock first talks about the need for an alternative to mass industrial tourism and introduces 4 new Principles of Prosperity = Respect, Relationship, Responsibility and Renewal to replace the traditional 5 P’s of profit, price, positioning,placement and promotion. The concept of Conscious Travel was born some 10 years later expanding the five principles to eight as summarised here.