The one thing I'd change is... by Cat Salt, freelance storytelling advisor

Does the narrative around tourism marketing need to change? Cat Salt thinks so. She'd like to see it shift away from the traveller, to focus more on local host communities.

I asked Cat to answer in less than 60 seconds, "What's the one thing you'd change in travel, given the climate and nature emergencies?" Here is her reply:

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/581fc9_8eefda29ee5e4d7094813fd9c4b0d610/720p/mp4/file.mp4

Cat Salt, freelance storytelling advisor

"The one thing I'd like to change is to shift the focus in narrative away the traveller in tourism marketing.

"So much attention and spotlight is given to them [the traveller] – their journey, their destination. And there's nowhere near enough empowerment of local host communities to tell their stories of their place, their way.

"We need less target audience profiling and far more honest and open conversations with residents, led by residents, and not just those with a vested interest in tourism".

"And most importantly, these conversations must include those people who are the guardians and custodians of our natural world.

"Because without them, nature has no voice and will just continue to be commodified and consumed in an unsustainable way.

"So if we can shift this narrative, we'll hear far more from nature and far more from the people whose homes we visit."

🙏 Cat

This post is part of a series of interviews I'm filming with people across the travel and tourism industry, where I ask them to answer in less than 60 seconds, "What's the one thing you'd change in travel, given the climate and nature emergencies?"