Who am I?
I am a 33-year-old bisexual Canarian who emigrated to Berlin a decade ago. My passions are reading and cooking. I have been working as a Revenue Manager ever since I finished my degree in Tourism.
Why am I interested in tourism?
I come from a mixed family: my ancestries are from Switzerland and the Canary Islands. That’s the reason I have travelled from an early age, generating in me a curiosity for faraway places. Also, tourism is the driving force of the economy in the Canary Islands, which is why I decided to study it and then continue that path working in the hotel industry. As time passes by, and through my own career development, I have been able to observe the tourism industry “from within” and it has, in my opinion, many points of criticism.
Dear grandma,
I am writing to you from my brand new electric and autonomous caravan. I just bought it. I intend to travel around Europe for a year with it. The plan is to work while discovering the continent. As access to national parks is now very restricted and regulated, I have already put myself on the waiting lists for several parks that I will want to visit during the course of this year. In the meantime, I will be travelling through the European Voluntary Work Network, which allows me to spend my free time participating in various projects in the places I visit. Fortunately, I only work part-time now. After the coronavirus pandemic years ago, working hours became more flexible, and generally more in line with real productivity in terms of working hours and acceptance of remote working. This allows me time to pursue other interests.
I am very interested in the issue of sustainable fisheries and the recovery of the coastal ecosystem. Since marine and coastal protected parks have become more widespread in Europe, we have seen a gradual recovery of these landscapes. However, the consequences of mass beach tourism and industrial fishing are still evident. And the ruins of those apartment complexes we used to go to when I was a child are still so ugly!
I hope to find a project that catches my attention and could use a person with my skills and experience. At least I have the certainty that all of them are local projects with the aim of environmental regeneration and social equity… even if it turns out that my activity or role in them may not be very exciting after all.
Lots of love, grandma! I’ll leave it as that because the caravan’s AI has just announced the beginning of the journey!
– Original version: Spanish –
Wishes and hopes behind the image of the future:
1. “For the future of tourism I hope that…”
there is real commitment coming from the tourism industry, specifically the hotel industry in relation to the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Also, more regulation to prevent the impact of gentrification and other effects of urban tourism in cities would be nice as well as some guarantees that local culture participates in all elements of the value chain of tourism.
2. “If I could wish for anything at all, I would…”
wish that tourism becomes the means to enable an equitable, fair and environmentally friendly development of globalisation.
3. “If I were a powerful politician, I would…”
ban hunting tourism, cruises and photos of tourists posing in front of the Tower of Pisa. 😀
Further images of the future of tourism:
