1: Airport wildlife tracking tool launched to combat illegal wildlife trade
https://youtube.com/watch?v=cetdARK3e-Q%3Fversion%3D3%26rel%3D1%26fs%3D1%26autohide%3D2%26showsearch%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26iv_load_policy%3D1%26wmode%3Dtransparent
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced the launch of an Airport Wildlife Trafficking Assessment Tool which aims to help defeat smugglers of endangered species. Developed in partnership with the World Customs Organization (WCO) with support from the USAID ROUTES Partnership, the assessment tool is being piloted at Mozambique’s Maputo International Airport in November 2016. A global rollout is planned for 2017. The tool helps airports assess their supply-chain security, intelligence and risk management, staff awareness, and reporting processes, alongside air cargo and passenger screening policy and procedures.
“The illegal trafficking of wildlife products, including many iconic and endangered species, is an issue which the aviation industry takes very seriously. It will take a team effort to combat this deplorable trade. We are working in close partnership with USAID Routes, WCO, CITES and other organizations to make the world a much more difficult place for wildlife traffickers. Our common goal is to preserve our precious wildlife inheritance for future generations to enjoy,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
You can find more information at the Wildlife section of the IATA website.
2: Belgrade hostel combines upcycling, renewable energy and on-site waste recycling
“What’s special about this place is the amount of upcycled materials and the use of renewable energy sources that greatly reduce its carbon emissions,” reports Inhabitat. “The hostel supports local artisans and businesses and offers tours of the city’s authentic places off the beaten tourist track.”
In addition, rainwater is collected to be used in the toilets, with solar panels providing energy.
Read the full article here.
3: New app helps hotel guests fight human trafficking
Hotels and travelers can help in the fight against sex trafficking by using a new, free mobile app called TraffickCam to anonymously photograph hotel rooms and upload data to a national database used by law enforcement and investigators to locate victims and their pimps.
TraffickCam was developed by the social action organization Exchange Initiative and researchers at Washington University in St. Louis. The app is available for iPhone and iPad at the App Store and for Android devices at Google Play.
TraffickCam allows any traveler with a smartphone to help fight sex trafficking by uploading photos of their hotel room to an enormous, constantly updated database of hotel room images. Federal, state and local law enforcement also securely submit photos of sex trafficking victims posed in hotel rooms to TraffickCam. Features such as patterns in the carpeting, furniture, room accessories and window views are matched against the database of traveler images to provide law enforcement with a list of potential hotels where the photo may have been taken. Early testing showed that the app is 85 percent accurate in identifying the correct hotel in the top 20 matches.
Read the full article here.
4: Tour operator app aims to boost Southern African rural tourism
African non-profit organisation Open Africa in partnership with Die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) are working together on innovative project to develop an online product that will assist tour operators with the process of sourcing new, emerging and community-based tourism businesses and experiences for their tours and itineraries.
The project aims to provide local tour operators with a wider range and better product knowledge of the emerging and community-based tourism segment which is hoped will increase businesses between emerging and community-based enterprises and established tour operators.
The product will be launched in May 2016 at the annual Tourism Indaba in Durban, where tour operators will be given a live illustration of the product features.
Read the full article here.
5: #MapMyDay: People Worldwide Invited To Map Accessibility in Tourism
World Tourism Day on September 27 marked the start of the second edition of the worldwide campaign “MapMyDay”. The goal this time: to raise awareness of the barriers that people experience when they are on vacation and travelling.
The German NGO Sozialhelden and the non-profit asociation European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT) are calling upon people everywhere to rate the wheelchair accessibility of places that are of interest to tourists, using the online mapWheelmap.org. The occasion for this worldwide event is World Tourism Day 2016.
Steps, stairs and broken elevators – barriers that many people can easily overcome, can prove to be insurmountable obstacles for people in a wheelchair, with a walking aid and for families with a baby carriage. These barriers are even more of a hindrance for people travelling to a new place where the surroundings bring on a lot of questions: Which hotel or vacation rentals are accessible? Where can I go shopping for groceries with my wheelchair? Which tourist sites are accessible without steps?
Read the full article here and download the Wheelmap app to join.
6: Startup offers Sustainable Tourism in remote Amazon
At 2,995 meters (9,827ft), Pico da Neblina is Brazil’s highest point. Located in a remote Amazon area next to the Venezuelan border, it has been closed to tourists since 2003 when it was granted to native Brazilian populations. However, one of the largest indigenous groups in the area, the Yanomamis, is trying to set up an initiative to offer tourism services in Pico da Neblina. The Yanomamis startup; Yaripo hope that it will help them to monitor their territory, particularly against invasions from miners looking to illegally exploit the region.
The entire expedition that the Yanomamis hope to offer lasts eight days, and includes accommodation in typical indigenous houses (malocas) along the way. The estimated price is about $2,000 per traveler. If everything goes according to plan, the tourism startup will begin its activities in 2018.
Read the full article here.
7: Iceland Academy launches to encourage tourists to be informed and travel happy
Inspired By Iceland has unveiled ‘Iceland Academy‘, a new online tool to help visitors be more informed, ensuring a happy and meaningful experience, whilst raising their awareness about how to travel in a safe and responsible way.
The online academy hosts a series of video tutorials offering a short course of advice and insider knowledge on a variety of aspects of Icelandic culture; from explaining hot tub etiquette and local food sustainability, to glacier safety and explaining why tourists should never mess with the locals’ treasured Icelandic moss.
Read the full article here.
