Over the last two decades, there have been dynamic shifts in the sustainable tourism landscape; from legislation to entry of new players and emergence and redefinition of concepts. But if you ask me where the most dynamic shifts have unfolded, I’d point straight to the social impact space. Changes here have been fascinating, and at
Speaker: Ben Peterson, Founder and CEO, Purple Elephant Ventures In his presentation, Ben presented an argument that the tourism industry is, by and large, failing to achieve genuine sustainability and regeneration. He estimated that only a small fraction around 5% of the industry truly prioritizes sustainability, while the majority engage in minimal, often superficial efforts
Speaker: Dimitri Syriss, Founder, BaoTree Dimitri Syriss’s keynote presentation emphasized the critical role that data plays in building trust and driving meaningful action in sustainability. He pointed out a growing disconnect between what organizations claim in terms of sustainability and the actual evidence to back it up, coining terms such as “greenwashing” and “green hashing”
Amb. Paul Mukumbya, Uganda Consulate in Mombasa Ambassador Paul Mukumbya of the Uganda Consulate in Mombasa emphasized a paradigm shift from traditional political diplomacy to economic and promotional diplomacy, with a strategic focus on tourism, trade, and investment. He underscored the growing importance of digital communication tools in driving this new approach. A key initiative
