Big Five – FeedIn 2016, the WTTC predicted that the travel industry would make up 30% of the work force globally. Currently, one out of every five jobs globally is tourism related, up from one in six In 2014 and one in ten earlier in the decade. Tourism done right changes worlds. Without it, a vacuum forms immediately. This week, a camp I have loved for a long time in the Masai Mara in Kenya closed. The owner, my friend, wrote a really beautiful farewell letter and was brutally honest about what happens without the sustainable tourism his camp promoted. The staff will be impoverished within a few days, which means they will return to trapping animals for food, which will invariably include endangered animals. Poaching will increase as it did after the Ebola crisis because this is the only industry in Africa where demand exceeds supply. As a result, anti-poaching efforts retreat as funding dries up due to a lack of tourism revenue.
I know that as you read this, it can be easy to get depressed but take a step back. Yes, it’s sad to see this camp close, but it should embolden us to recognize that the world needs responsible tourism more than ever. Travel is no longer simply about a stamp in a passport. Travel presents opportunities to connect with the wider world and gives us a higher purpose that can change the world.
How do we show the power of travel? We humanize it by creating a direct gateway to the brightest smiles on ground – Big Five’s country managers and guides. We are bringing these dynamic personalities to you, our advisors and your clients through our Live with Five platform to do just that. Travel dreams have two sides, visualizing, and experiences. A media hub at Axus Travel App and Live with Five client events do just that. The most exciting part are the implications this has on how we interact with each other in the future and the type of access you and your clients will have.
Ashish Sanghrajka
President
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