By Paul Tavner

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The Indian subcontinent, stretching from the snow-capped Himalayas in the north to the white sandy coves of Kanyakumari in the south, is one of world’s most popular destinations for travellers in search of diverse experiences. After all, South Asian countries have a distinct energy that combines the spiritual, natural, cultural and human.

Travellers make their way to a Himalayan destination on yak back, accompanied by local guides

The pace of life in South Asia, particularly some of the larger cities, can seem chaotic and disorienting, sometimes even overwhelming to newcomers. While this feeling is usually assuaged after a short period of acclimation, many people still prefer to plan a visit in advance, thereby minimising the sense of first-arrival confusion and dislocation. Fortunately, these people are finding recourse in the growing number of businesses offering their services online.
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Posted under General, India, Nepal, countries, responsible organisations, responsible travel, whl.travel newsletter

By Carmelina Ricciardello

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This article was first published by our friends at The International Ecotourism Society, who have agreed to its republication here.
View the original article on their Your Travel Choice blog.

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On the geographical map of Italy, at the bottom of the peninsula, lies the island of Sicily, which looks like a football being kicked away by the boot of the Italian peninsula. This might be the heartfelt wish of some Italians, mainly because of the island’s historic link with the mafia. I live in a quiet little village of Sant’Ambrogio, just five kilometres from a bustling tourist town. Founder of Sicilian Experience, I’m a firm believer that Sicily can become known as a haven for ecotourism and sustainable tourism opportunities, rather than for its Il Padrino (The Godfather) reputation.

Coastal view of Sant’Ambrogio e Rocca

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Posted under General, Italy, countries, responsible organisations, responsible travel, whl.travel newsletter

By Ashley Hiemenz

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It is well known that animals are a powerful tourism catalyst throughout the world. However, after the tragic death of Dawn Brancheau at Orlando SeaWorld on February 22nd, many questions have again been raised about the exploitation of whales and dolphins as entertainment. SeaWorld, owned by Blackstone, is a profitable business that fills its stadiums day after day with thousands of viewers eager to watch animals do circus tricks. The animals live and perform in pools the conditions of which have been likened to a human spending the rest of his or her life in a bathtub.

The spinner dolphin is common to the waters of Fernando de Noronha, Brazil, and most famous for its acrobatic displays. Some have been seen completing 14 spinning jumps one after another.

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Posted under Estonia, General, Malaysia, South Africa, opinion, responsible travel, whl.travel newsletter

By Maureen Valentine

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The Church of the Divine Providence in Avenue Providencia of Santiago, Chile, suffered structural damage from the tremors. This photo was taken a few hours after the earthquake. (Photo by Santiago Vanegas)

At 3:30 in the morning on Saturday, 27 February, I was sitting at my dining room table in my home in central Santiago, Chile, with friends having some drinks… when something peculiar started to happen. My house started to shake. There was a split second when I thought “Am I crazy or is the table moving?” and then I locked eyes with one of my friends with a mutual communication of “GET OUT!”

Everyone jumped up and started running toward the door, screaming as the walls continued to move for an excruciating 90 seconds. The entire neighbourhood flooded into the street for fear of their houses collapsing.

Throughout the early morning of the 27th and the rest of the day, we continued to feel aftershocks. There were so much that sometimes we couldn’t tell if it was our imagination or the ground was actually moving. Nevertheless, by midday, our electricity and internet access had been restored, which gave me the opportunity to find out exactly what had happened and if it was something my family back in North Carolina would see in the international news. I quickly discovered that the earthquake had measured 8.8 on the Richter scale and a top news story worldwide.

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Posted under Chile, General, countries, responsible traveller, whl.travel newsletter

By Johnny Hogue

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As perhaps the premier Mediterranean destination for diving, Kaş, located on the south coast of Turkey, frequently mesmerises first-time visitors. It seems to have a magical quality that people return to again and again. This is particularly true for scuba divers and snorkelers, who discover in Kaş’s waters its unusual shore formations, ancient and modern wrecks, reefs, canyons and large caves.

Around Kaş, Turkey, the crystal-clear turquoise Mediterranean Sea, purified by local currents, offers excellent diving conditions

In fact, the Turkish diver community has declared the nearby rocky reefs to be the country’s best. In the waters of Kaş, lucky divers can thrill to a swim alongside a gentle giant sea turtle or the rare Mediterranean monk seal, both carefully protected. Schools of dolphins sometimes race a dive boat out of the Kaş marina. Groupers appear on almost every dive, along with schools of calamari and small barracuda.
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Posted under General, Turkey, countries, local tips, responsible travel, whl.travel newsletter

By Paula Ferreira

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On the morning of Saturday, 20 February 2010, the south of Madeira Island was lashed by an incredible 52mm of rainfall in one hour (9:00 to 10:00). The consequence was a series of mudslides and floods that struck mainly in the capital city of Funchal, Ribeira Brava and several other smaller towns in the area.

Flood waters fill the Avenida Arriaga of Funchal, Madeira, the day after heavy rains provoked deadly mudslides

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Posted under Portugal, countries, whl.travel newsletter

What needs to happen in the local travel knowledge website space…

By Stephen Chapman

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Network Cables / Flickr photo by pascal.charest

The internet is all about social these days, it has been for sometime, and as more of us become more active on the major social networking sites it’s becoming increasingly apparent that although our number of ‘friends’, ‘followers’ or ‘connections’ can be huge, the opportunities for us each to leverage the intelligence that’s locked away in the minds of our contacts are minimal.

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Posted under General, opinion, whl.travel newsletter

This article was first published by our friends at Intrepid Travel, who have agreed to its republication here.
View the original article on their Intrepid Express Blog.

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Faced with the daunting experience of landing in a strange city for the first time, sometimes it feels like our fate is in the hands of the gods. So these tips from Intrepid’s Danielle Jeffreson will help your Thailand holiday get off to a great start.

The floating markets of Bangkok draw both locals and tourists in Thailand (photo courtesy of Alison Agnew)

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Posted under General, Thailand, countries, local tips, responsible travel

By Michelle Rodrigues

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As the world continues to see greater numbers of travellers, locally owned and small travel products are often not able to keep up the pace with Internet advances. Today tourists often prefer to search and book online and this phenomenon is cutting out small operators who do not have the skills or the soft infrastructure (photographs and quality written content) to participate on the Web.

Locals participate in the harvest of the blue agave, the key ingredient required for the production of tequila

A World Heritage Site is a place recongised by the World Heritage Centre, administered by UNESCO, with a significant cultural and physical importance. Tequila, Mexico is one of these places. WHL Consulting is working in Tequila with the Consejo Regulador del Tequila in support of La Ruta del Tequila to build the capacity of small and locally owned tourism products in and around the World Heritage Site of Tequila, Mexico, original source of the popular alcoholic beverage.

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Posted under General, Mexico, countries, responsible organisations, whl.travel news

On 8 February, the body of Chrystel Cancel was positively identified, nearly a month after the devastating earthquakes in Haiti levelled the Hotel Montana on top of her. She had only had just arrived in Port-au-Prince. We pay tribute to her here because she was a trusted part of our family.

Chrystel Cancel grew up in Toulouse, France. After earning both a Bachelors and Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of Toulouse, Chrystel graduated from the University of Paris in 1999 with another Masters in Political Science, specialising in developing countries. A passion for travel, adventure and international development led her to Washington, DC, where she obtained a Masters in Tourism Administration from the George Washington University in 2006.

Chrystel spent the majority of her career as a dedicated sustainable tourism consultant leaving her lasting legacy on a variety of projects around the world.

We will never be able to give voice to the thousands of people Chrystel touched, both directly and indirectly. We hope that a few short remarks from some of the people with whom she worked will impart a sense of her spirit, her character… and the empty space we now feel in her absence.

See below for short tributes to Chrystel from:

• Len Cordiner, CEO of the WHL Group
• Zachary Rozga, CEO of WHL Consulting
• Simon Jones, Vice President of Solimar International
• Sandrine-Pia Casto, General Manager of Tucaya Panama

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Posted under General, opinion, responsible organisations, responsible traveller, whl.travel newsletter