Let’s build a thrivable tourism: why, what and how?
Aguiding framework
Michelle Holliday is a consultant, facilitator, researcher and the author of highly acclaimed book ‘The Age of Thrivability: Vital Perspectives and Practices for a Better World’, in which she explores the perspectives, intentions and practices that become possible when we consider organisations, economies and communities as living systems.
Michelle is a master at bringing diverse groups of people together and helping them feel more alive, more meaningfully connected and better able to create the fertile conditions for people, businesses and places to thrive and prosper.
Shift: when tourism becomes a living ecosystem
According to Michelle, our current society is guided by a ‘machine story’, one that tells us that everything in the world operates like a machine, especially our businesses and our economies. In the world of tourism, this means that tourism is just a conveyor belt and that we want as many people to run through that conveyor belt as possible. In this story, only productivity and profitability matter and that’s why she believes that story is at the root of all major problems in society. That’s why we need to shift from a ‘machine story’ to a ‘living system story’ in which we see our organisations, our communities, ourselves, and our families as living ecosystems that are capable of thriving.
Creating a thrivable tourism
In her keynote during the Travel to Tomorrow summit, Michelle stipulates four fertile conditions that must be cultivated continuously for a tourist ecosystem to thrive. This can be done by setting up practices within organisations to create greater understanding about who contributes, in what relationships, and with patterns that support true hospitality. To put this into practice, Michelle provides a guiding framework that explains how the tourist industry can create a thrivable tourism.
Not got enough time but still inspired by Michelle Holliday’s vision on thrivable tourism? You can read the booklet about her keynote speech, in which the key takeaways are summarised in a creative way.
Excited to listen to Michelle Holliday’s complete vision on thrivable tourism? You can watch her full keynote from the Travel to Tomorrow summit on the 12th and 13th of September 2019 in Bruges.
Read Michelle Holliday’s presentation during the Travel to Tomorrow summit here.
