Opportunities in Sustainable Tourism for Expanding Businesses (Sustainabili-Tea Talks Session 5)

No doubt tourism took a huge blow from the pandemic. But as we have seen in the past two days, there are opportunities to relook and redefine how businesses can operate in a post-pandemic era, especially for sustainable tourism.

When tourists are both receivers and givers

Linda Ding and Kana Watando co-founded Kamikatsu’s INOW program. Kamikatsu is world-famous for its zero waste activities, and INOW is a program catered to foreign visitors, helping overcome obstacles like language and transport. However, INOW doesn’t stop at just treating them as customers in a program.

Ding: INOW focuses on long term stays, which are 10 days or longer. It is imperative that we treat our visitors as guests, and that requires commitment. We are inviting them into our homes, and we want them to have a good time. And in their extended stays, we incorporate many activities that allow them to interact with the locals. Eventually, we create a connection to make visitors want to return.

Watando: We also create a space to allow visitors to give back to Kamikatsu’s community. For example, artists may want to create something for the residents. There is a shared connection in mutual giving, a shared responsibility to the town, rather than taking and then leaving.

Kei Nakayama from ROOTS shared a similar observation. ROOTS promotes sustainability living with nature through study tours and consultation, is based in Keihoku, northwest of Kyoto City.

Nakayama: Visitors to Keihoku started requesting for longer stays, looking for more immersive interactions with the local community. We have international students from overseas, like Hong Kong, too. We also focused on creating something physical with them, especially with the local timber. The interactions offer exchanges, and each learns about each other’s culture, which is also a good touchpoint for locals to learn about life beyond their own.

The face of post-COVID travel: “life-seeking”

Watando: Starting the INOW program during COVID allowed us to understand the situation differently than we would have started before it. So we recognized things like the need for social interaction and heightened awareness for environmental issues. What we have lost during COVID, we can gain back through these unique travel experiences.

It doesn’t mean that the hour is late for those of us who want to start tourism-related businesses. Watando added that we should identify the need in the community. We are essentially borrowing assets from the community, so we’d best think about how we can give back to the community too.

Traditional travel is also changing. INOW conducts interviews beforehand with interested visitors to Kamikatsu. In a way, they are intentionally choosing guests with a purpose who want to get involved.

Ding: We need to find a deeper meaning than just traditional travel. Take away just going to a place to ‘observe,’ what is the reason left for traveling? INOW, like ROOTS, works because they are life-seeking for travelers. Uncertainty has become the opportunity for them to refigure out what is important for them.

A shift from business profit to shared goals

Even though COVID has made travel difficult for foreigners, it is also an opportunity to redefine the measures of tourism. Rather than worrying about attracting more tourists and selling more products/services, we can look at common goals to support sustainable communities instead.

Nakayama: For example, in our recent event, we invited an international expert for a local audience, rather than a local expert for tourists. A French architect couple shared their expertise using local timber to make stools, and it was interesting for Japanese visitors to learn about the design and philosophy behind the craft. It was so impactful, the French couple and another participant decided to move to Keihoku. Beyond building a business to make ends meet, there is a shared purpose in different people with different energies. So we should not focus on just getting more customers, but a shared public goal that is fun to do together. Eventually, you wouldn’t have to worry about your business profit as well.

Next session: Starting Systemic Change from Communities