Banff Centre Presents Inaugural Purposeful Travel Summit Featuring Rick Steves And Megan Epler Wood

Banff Centre will present the first annual Purposeful Travel Summit on February 14th and 15th, 2023. The Purposeful Travel Summit will launch a new era in travel that integrates sustainability, education, and a passion to promote travel that contributes to a better world.

Travel is essential to our growth and well-being, as well as to the livelihood of communities worldwide. Purposeful Travel encourages visitors and host destinations to be intentional in the experiences they seek and provide. It encourages engagement and awareness in everything we do. This summit will specifically explore the key values of People, Planet, Place, and Pace.

Megan Epler Wood is the Principal Instructor and Managing Director of Cornell University's Sustainable Tourism Asset Management Program, and has recently launched a new online program on Sustainable Tourism Destination Management. Her work on the "Invisible Burden", the unaccounted-for costs to manage tourism, demonstrates that tourism is frequently undermining the quality of the environment and socio-cultural systems of the people and places where tourism development is the most common. Purposeful Travel recognizes that a different approach is needed, including new forms of management and governance.

TV host and travel writer, Rick Steves, will deliver a digital keynote address during the summit based on his extensive experience. The perspective that he will share is based on his belief that "the aim of travel should be to create better global citizens, and a global citizen does their best work at home."

The value proposition in travel has shifted from quantity to quality, and this summit will explore that concept by examining how tourism has an opportunity to:

• Be more sustainable by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and negative impacts on host communities.
• Be more impactful by delivering rejuvenation through wellness travel and connecting to place via slow travel.
• Provide education and encourage storytelling around how we create extraordinary experiences that make the world a better place.

Joe Pavelka, Professor of Ecotourism and Outdoor Leadership at Mount Royal University will host the summit. "Purposeful Travel as a concept is inclusive, so this summit is designed to appeal to tourism industry professionals, academics, and students. It is also open to essential tourism collaborators such as local governments, non-governmental organizations and of course community members who are residents in and around tourism regions."

Pre-Summit Workshop on February 13th: Introduction to Truth and Reconciliation Through Right Relations. In response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action, and based on the findings from Banff Centre's 2016 Truth and Reconciliation Summit, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity has designed a program for participants to better understand the truth of Canada's shared history with Indigenous peoples. This includes fostering a dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians, and asking each of us to enter into a respectful relationship with one another as we work toward shared purposes. This workshop is optional, and open to all summit participants free of charge.

Banff Centre has a long history of inspiring people to challenge ideas and create change through education and collaboration. Situated in the majestic Rocky Mountains of Banff National Park, we provide a world-class setting for this summit, to demonstrate what Purposeful Travel is and can be in the future. For more information and to register for the Purposeful Travel Summit please visit www.banffcentre.ca/purposeful-travel-summit.

To post a comment, you must register and login.