Image/text by Gerard Oude Hergelink, whl.travel local connection
in Marmaris-Datça, Turkey

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This picture was shot in Belenkeuy, Datça, in August 2007. I think it captures a stereotypical moment of a peasant community in the Middle East. We see only men, most of them seated at tables. Some seem to play a game, while others look on or may be about to fall sleep.

Now, some of you may look at this picture and see nothing more than a bunch of lazy blokes who have probably been sitting all day in this public house and letting others do all the work. There is, however, much more than meets the eye.

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Posted under General, Photo of the Week, Turkey, countries

By Ethan Gelber

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At the July 2009 whl.travel Asia-Pacific Regional conference, Teamworkz Consulting was officially recognised as the whl.travel Franchisee of the Year 2008-2009 for its work in Vientiane, Laos. Teamworkz, which also owns and operates five other sites in Laos and seven in Thailand, could just as easily have earned its laurels for its labours in Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng, both also in Laos.

Teamworkz Consulting accepting its accolades as Franchisee of the Year 2008-2009 at the whl.travel Asia Pacific regional conference. Left to right are: Rob Shortland, whl.travel Asia Pacific Regional Director; Anne Done, Lee Sheridan and Mouk of Teamworkz; Len Cordiner, CEO of WHL Group

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Posted under General, Laos, Thailand, Turkey, Vanuatu, awards, countries, responsible organisations, responsible travel news, whl.travel news, whl.travel newsletter

By Ashley Hiemenz

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The port city of Marmaris, set in southwest Turkey, is one of many of the country’s summer hotspots. Although little remains of the quiet fishing village that survived until a building boom in the 1980s, further down the Datça Peninsula is a place that has little to do with the hubbub of the resort city, a place where the community has come together in opposition to mass-tourism gigantism and instead opted to take a more holistic approach.

A traditional Turkish-village bread oven is the unlikely but excellent focus of a community-led responsible-tourism project on the Datça Peninsula to preserve the master crafts of both oven-building and bread-baking.

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

By Senda and Gerard Oude Hergelink

Shenda and Gerard own and operate Titcotour, the local whl.travel partner for Marmaris and the Datça Peninsula of Turkey.

Our approach to sustainability in tourism is a holistic one. We don’t believe that you can develop one thing and neglect others. For example, you can’t create a beach paradise with a two-month-long tourism season and forget the lives of the original year-round inhabitants. We think such projects destroy historic, human and natural resources. As ‘holistics’ we do not concentrate only on accommodation, restaurants or transportation services; we place first emphasis on socio-economic features, looking at the local economic activities of the past, present and future.
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Posted under General, Turkey, countries, responsible organisations, whl.travel newsletter