“Crowded Out: The Story of Overtourism” will be screened at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre with accompanying short films and a panel discussion promoting sustainable travel.

Experts emphasize that travelers should choose destinations with environmental impacts in mind and seek sustainable transport options, such as trains, which are more energy and carbon efficient.

Limiting international flights and prioritizing local trips, as well as being mindful of the origins of food consumed while traveling, can yield a positive impact.

Europe has recently seen its most popular destinations struggle with surging tourist numbers, prompting local protests like “The Canary Islands have a limit.”
Tourism surge provides both opportunities and challenges, offering economic benefits but also causing strain on local communities and ecosystems.

Travel contributes significantly to climate change, primarily through air travel and driving, which are the largest parts of tourism's carbon footprint.

The ability to travel is a privilege that can sometimes negatively affect host communities, especially when tourists flock to only the most famous sights.

Travelers are encouraged to support local people by choosing locally owned guesthouses and venturing off the beaten path.

The Caribbean, with its rich ecosystems, faces the pressure of top-end tourism and a growing second home market.

In Commonwealth countries, major tourism inputs and most visitors come from developed economies in North America, East Asia, and Western Europe, representing both a market opportunity and a challenge.

Tourism can drive economic convergence but often relies on external demand and resources, risking local economic leakage.

Overtourism is identified as a key trend impacting communities and the environment negatively, making global resilience strategies urgent.

Luxury and experiential travel drive growth but can intensify overtourism’s impacts unless managed responsibly.

“Crowded Out: The Story of Overtourism” will be screened at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre with accompanying short films and a panel discussion promoting sustainable travel.

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Content:
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Sedona Film Festival presents ‘Crowded Out’

“Crowded Out” is a powerful short documentary exploring over-tourism, featuring interviews with local residents and global experts. (Image provided by SIFF)

Originally Published: September 14, 2022 8:43 p.m.

The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the third film in its four-week Sustainable Tourism Film Series. “Crowded Out: The Story of Overtourism” will show on Thursday, Sept. 22 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre at 4 p.m. The event will also include a selection of “Sustainable Travel: Where Next?” short films along with a panel discussion.

“Crowded Out” is a powerful short documentary exploring overtourism, featuring interviews with local residents and global experts.

Overtourism occurs when there are too many visitors to a particular destination. When rent prices push out local tenants to make way for holiday rentals, when narrow roads become jammed with tourist vehicles, when tourists cannot view landmarks because of the crowds – these are all signs of overtourism.

And it is the backlash from local residents that has made overtourism news. Cities such as Barcelona, Venice and Dubrovnik, and places once thought of as remote such as Iceland and Skye have suffered firsthand, and the protests by local residents have spread.

There has been decades of virtually uncontrolled growth, and it has crossed a threshold: in many destinations, tourism now demonstrably creates more problems than benefits.

This special event will also include a selection of short films from “Sustainable Travel: Where Next?” This series includes short-form documentary films, featuring insightful stories from the global travel and tourism sector showing how they are driving sustainable travel and protecting these precious destinations.

Following the screenings, there will be a panel discussion with representatives the City of Sedona, the Sedona Chamber of Commerce, Keep Sedona Beautiful and the tourism and hospitality industry here.

“Crowded Out: The Story of Overtourism” will be shown at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 4 p.m. Tickets are $12, or $9 for Film Festival members. For tickets and more information, please call 928-282-1177. Both the theatre and film festival office are located at 2030 W. Hwy. 89A, in West Sedona. For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.org.

The final film in the Sustainable Tourism Series is:

Thursday, Sept. 29 at 4 p.m. “Vendemmia”

Experts emphasize that travelers should choose destinations with environmental impacts in mind and seek sustainable transport options, such as trains, which are more energy and carbon efficient.

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Content: HOMEPAGE

From where you go to what you do, experts share how to travel the world without destroying it

  • Traveling sustainably is about making intentional choices to serve your destination and planet well.
  • We asked experts how to make these choices when planning a trip to be as sustainable as possible.
  • This article is part of "Better Me," a series about improving your lifestyle and helping society through sustainable efforts and eco-consciousness.

Sustainable travel can feel like an oxymoron — as Justin Francis, the cofounder and CEO of Responsible Travel, a UK-based travel company that evaluates trips and vacation providers, told Insider.

The travel industry can create jobs, or it can lead to over-tourism that lowers residents' quality of life. Flights emit harmful emissions, but transport travelers to destinations where they can support local economies and participate in positive, nature-based tourism. Lodging accommodations can boost the local economy, or price residents out of their homes.

But Francis believes people can travel "in a way that not only reduces harm but actively maximizes the benefits, for both planet and people."

Five other sustainable travel experts who spoke with Insider agree and say there are actions travelers can take to lower their negative impact, support the destinations they're visiting, and have an overall better trip. They suggest considering every aspect of your trip — from where you go to how you get there — as you plan to travel more sustainably.

Kelley Louise, the executive director and founder of Impact Travel Alliance, a nonprofit centered on informing travelers to help improve the world, told Insider that traveling sustainably takes practice and being an imperfect traveler is better than not trying.

As Louise said, "It's about asking, 'How can you make little decisions that add up over time and have a positive impact on the world?'"

If you're looking for a place to start, here's what the experts Insider spoke with recommend.

First, choose a destination with the planet in mind

Go off the beaten path

Some of the experts Insider spoke with suggest skipping top tourist destinations and opting for under-the-radar spots.

"By seeking out the less-visited destinations, you will be helping to spread the economic benefits of tourism more widely and helping to avoid the negative impacts that over-tourism has on local residents," Georgina Davies — the communications manager for The Travel Foundation, a group that advocates for sustainable tourism — told Insider.

Paloma Zapata agrees. The CEO of Sustainable Travel International — an organization that works with local governments, businesses, and nonprofits to provide sustainable travel opportunities — also recommends visiting a hidden gem. If you're going to Greece, for instance, you could skip Mykonos and head to an island like Anafi or Ios with fewer tourists.

Once you've picked your destination, Davies encourages travelers to visit the region's national parks and protected areas. Often these places have entrance fees, which support conservation efforts.

Choose a destination that embraces sustainability

Jessica Blotter, CEO and cofounder of public benefit corporation Kind Travel, told Insider she looks for destinations with tourism boards that have a dedicated sustainable travel section on their website.

She recommends avoiding areas where sustainable transportation and lodging are hard to find, and "where access to nature and the outdoors is limited."

Vacation during shoulder season

Tossing a coin in the Trevi Fountain without hordes of people around or exploring Niagara Falls in the winter isn't just beneficial to travelers; experts say it also supports sustainability.

Visiting destinations during shoulder seasons "spreads the benefits of tourism locally across the year and lightens the burden of over-tourism in popular destinations," Francis said. His company, Responsible Travel, has a guide that outlines the best time to visit certain destinations

Zapata added that you're also more likely to have a stress-free and special vacation if you're visiting when there are fewer crowds. "It could be even more enriching," she said. "When you're on a beach or on a sailboat and it's just surrounded by masses of people, maybe that's not the best experience."

Visit fewer places for longer

One way to travel more responsibly is to visit fewer places for longer periods of time. For example, instead of spending a week in four European countries, plan a 10-day trip to one or two.

"Fewer but longer trips mean fewer air miles, more money in local hands, and you'll have a more relaxing trip, too," Francis said. "If you can, keep shorter trips close to home or travel by land or sea." He added that these modes of travel can be an adventure in themselves, and allow you to "see so much more of a destination."

If you must travel a long distance, Blotter recommends stretching the trip as much as possible to maximize your experience. "Booking multiple, long-haul trips per year is not sustainable or carbon-friendly," she said.

Consider how you get there

Evaluate the distance for the most sustainable way to get there

The first step in deciding how to responsibly get to your destination is considering the number of people traveling and the distance you're going.

Besides biking and walking, trains are typically one of the most sustainable ways to travel, Zapata said. If your destination is accessible by train, consider that.

If you're debating whether it's more sustainable to fly or drive, Zapata said it comes down to the distance.

"A lot of times trains are going to be more energy and carbon efficient," she said. "But when it comes to a car, there comes a moment when flying is actually more carbon efficient than driving when you're talking about very long distances."

Calculators like the ones offered by the International Civil Aviation Organization and Environmental Defense Fund can help travelers map out the least carbon-intensive way to get from A to B.

If you need to fly, opt for nonstop routes and travel in economy

Flying will likely be the most unsustainable aspect of your trip. Aviation makes up about 2% of global carbon emissions and 80% of a vacation's carbon footprint comes from the flight, according to National Geographic.

Experts suggest thinking about how much you should fly in a year. For example, maybe you take one international flight a year and prioritize having the rest of your trips close to home, Louise said.

But no matter where you jet off to, experts recommend flying nonstop in economy.

"When booking long-distance plane travel, always choose a direct flight with no layovers," Blotter said. "Direct flights use less carbon dioxide than connecting flights."

Additionally, by flying in economy, as some of the experts Insider spoke with pointed out, you maximize the number of people a flight can carry by taking up less space.

Ultimately, though, the best thing you can do is reduce your carbon footprint during your trip.

Experts like Louise and Gregory Miller, the executive director of the international nonprofit Center for Responsible Travel, agree that carbon offsets act more like a Band-Aid than a solution to sustainable travel. But if they do decide to purchase carbon offsets, which reduce or remove emissions to compensate for those made during a trip, Miller suggests purchasing through a reliable, vetted program. Groups like Zapata's Sustainable Travel say they invest people's money into carbon-reducing projects centered on clean energy and biodiversity.

Think about how you pack

Pack light

The simplest advice when it comes to being a sustainable packer is to pack less, Zapata said. "Travel light," she said.
"You don't need 20 shoes to travel."

Blotter agrees and says that by packing lighter, you'll reduce carbon emissions. That's because the lighter the aircraft, train, car, or boat, the less energy is needed.

Louise added that by packing fewer items and using a carry-on, you'll get through security faster and avoid the hassle of checking a bag.

Pack reusable items

Francis suggests adding the items you use at home to your packing list. That might include a reusable water bottle, a bag for shopping, and utensils to avoid plastic cutlery.

Louise acknowledges that it might not be feasible for every traveler to carry a reusable water bottle, so she urges travelers to consider what other meaningful swaps they could make. For example, Louise said she swapped liquid shampoo and conditioner for shampoo and conditioner bars a few vacations back. The bars are lighter than liquid soaps, which means they save carbon emissions during transportation. Plus, many are packaged in recyclable paper instead of plastic.

The switch became permanent in Louise's daily life, she said, adding that it made traveling easier since she didn't have to worry about leaks or liquids at airport security. "It's a cool example of how we can look for more sustainable experiences that are also better travel experiences," she said. "Plus it opens our eyes to new habits that can help us become more conscious consumers as well."

Pack brands you support

If you're doing some pre-vacation shopping, Louise recommends buying from brands that place sustainability at the forefront of their business.

"If you're supporting corporations and brands that are working on sustainability as well, then that's going to move the needle and create change a lot quicker than we could as individuals," she said.

For tropical getaways, pack reef-safe sunscreen

If you're heading to Aruba or planning a diving trip in Belize, experts say travelers should ensure reef-safe sunscreen is on their packing lists.

"Sunscreen can be very damaging to the environment and not everybody knows," Zapata said.

Ingredients in everyday sunscreen can harm both coral reefs and local wildlife, according to the National Ocean Service. Look for a reef-safe sunscreen that lacks harmful ingredients like oxybenzone, octinoxate, nano titanium dioxide, and nano zinc oxide.

Where you stay matters, too

Look into a hotel's claims about sustainability

Between countless certification programs and eco-friendly branding, experts agree that it can be tricky trying to evaluate whether or not a hotel is actually contributing to a destination.

When researching different accommodations, look for specifics beyond being "eco-friendly" and giving up plastic straws, Miller says. He suggests looking for hotels with written policies about how they work with local communities, prevent food waste, and help environmental initiatives like reforestation and supporting local dive sites.

If they don't have that information, Louise urges travelers to ask questions: "If they are authentically sustainable, they'll be excited to answer them."

Blotter encourages travelers to choose accommodation options that are upfront about their environmental efforts.

"Hotels that are truly eco-friendly should have a sustainability statement and clearly stated initiatives visible on their website," Blotter said. "While sustainability certifications are great and make it easier for travelers to identify sustainable lodging, not all hotels embracing eco-friendly practices will boast such certifications."

Blotter said to look for certifications from organizations that look into the foundation and practices of locations, businesses, and facilities to see if they meet their standards for sustainability and environmentalism. Some of these include the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, Certified B Corporation, and Green Globe, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and WELL Building Standard.

Although some certifications indicate a hotel is sustainable, Zapata and Miller said guests shouldn't book solely based on certifications since they can be costly for smaller resorts and hotels to acquire. "If they've made a commitment to the communities, to the destination, and they understand that they're part of the community that is what's important," Miller said.

Once you arrive, Zapata said guests should look for evidence that their accommodation is following the claims it makes. Speak to housekeeping staff, check in with chefs about the food they're serving, and see if you get new towels each morning — if you do, you could help save water by skipping this service.

Stay at mom-and-pop hotels and inns

Picking a locally owned bed-and-breakfast over an Airbnb or big hotel is going to have a more positive impact on the local community, some of the experts Insider spoke with said.

"Short-term Airbnb-type holiday rentals might feel convenient, but they're having a devastating impact on some popular destinations — pricing people out of their homes and wiping out whole communities," Francis said. "Consider opting instead for a local homestay, B&B or local-owned hotel."

Make smart decisions throughout your stay

Use public transportation

If possible, experts suggest skipping a rental car. Instead, turn to the destination's public transportation.

"Don't discount your travel in the destination," Francis said. "Try and avoid internal flights, and consider ditching the private car or tour bus. There are loads of great human-powered, local-guided tours around — by foot, bike, or even kayak."

Eat local foods

Besides the flight to your destination, food waste will likely be the second-largest contributor to your vacation's carbon footprint, according to National Geographic.

"We traditionally don't think of sustainable tourism as something like, 'Oh, I can lay on the beach and have a cocktail, and that could have a positive impact on the world,'" Louise said. But if you think about where your food comes from and the story behind that, it can have a positive impact, she added.

That means seeking ingredients that are grown nearby instead of shipped across the country and checking to make sure restaurants are hiring locals and paying them fair wages. By evaluating restaurants on these items, you'll likely get "fresher and better foods that are unique to that destination," Louise said.

Seek off-the-beaten-path activities

Most experts agree that when it comes to exploring a destination, it's worth turning to locals for advice. That might mean joining a local Facebook group, sparking a conversation on a public bus, or finding a community-based tourism program.

"Look for ways to seek out local voices and to understand how they want their destination seen," Louise said. By talking to locals, you're likely to avoid contributing to over-tourism and have a more unique experience, she added.

Another way you can approach activities is by centering your plans around a cause you and your group care about, such as ocean conservation or LGBTQ rights, Louise said.

Once you've settled on a topic, look at how your actions and the activities you choose can support that cause. For example, you might eat at restaurants owned by diverse staff or seek voluntourism opportunities to protect a nearby beach.

Blotter recommends avoiding experiences that use animals as entertainment like elephant rides, and looking for charity-run activities instead.

When you're back from the activity, whether it was a volunteer job or a locally-recommended hike, Miller said travelers should "brag about it." He encourages people who are traveling responsibly to post about their experience and use word-of-mouth to inspire others.

Buy local

Pass on the manufactured magnets, mass-produced T-shirts, and generic keychains. Instead, Zapata said travelers should search for items that are unique and crafted by locals.

"If you're going to buy a memento, buy something that's actually made there," she said. That way you ensure the money spent on the souvenir is directly supporting the community.

While all of these decisions you make as an individual matter, Miller says that ultimately "the solution to everything is to get governments and major corporations to change and reduce their emissions period."

According to Miller, that's something travelers can do in the voting booth that can go a long way.

Better Me tips for sustainable living

Slide through the following cards to read more expert advice on sustainable living. Then check out the rest of the stories from Insider's Better Me series.

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Limiting international flights and prioritizing local trips, as well as being mindful of the origins of food consumed while traveling, can yield a positive impact.

Europe has recently seen its most popular destinations struggle with surging tourist numbers, prompting local protests like “The Canary Islands have a limit.”
Tourism surge provides both opportunities and challenges, offering economic benefits but also causing strain on local communities and ecosystems.

Title:

Content: Travel expert explains how to find ‘room to breathe’ in overcrowded destinations

Some of Europe's most popular destinations have struggled to cope with surging numbers of tourists this summer. Express.co.uk spoke to an expert to find out how British tourists can avoid the crowds.

“There’s more to these places than the box office tourist sites" (Image: Getty)

Whether or , some top destinations have struggled with overcrowding this summer.

As travel restrictions fade into the past, more tourists than ever seem to be heading out to explore. Unfortunately, this means some destinations have become overcrowded.

Express.co.uk spoke to Sarah Faith, senior values writer at Responsible Travel, to find out how British tourists can escape the crowds.

Sarah told Express.co.uk : “Travelling outside of peak times is one of the best ways to avoid the crowds in popular destinations. But you could also get off the beaten track a bit.

“There’s more to these places than the box office tourist sites. Find out what the locals love, explore the surrounding villages or spend time browsing local farmer, artisan and flea markets.”

Tourists have complained of crowds in Rome (Image: Getty)

Although tourists often feel pressure to tick off a destination’s top sites, they could have a more rewarding experience heading to quieter spots.

Sarah added: “You’ll have more room to breathe, and have a more authentic experience too. Plus, you’ll help spread out the weight and benefits of tourism more. A win for everyone.”

However, when it comes to getting off the beaten track, Sarah says there are a few factors tourists should consider before booking a holiday.

She told Express.co.uk: “There are plenty of quieter destinations that offer exceptional culture and landscapes.

"You can make sure your holiday supports local people by choosing locally owned guesthouses" (Image: Getty)

“It’s important though that we don’t just transfer the problems of overtourism to another place. You can make sure your holiday supports local people by choosing locally owned guesthouses rather than Airbnbs run by out of town professional hosts, eating in restaurants that serve locally sourced produce and hiring a local guide to show you around.”

While Airbnbs can be a convenient option, locals in some top destinations have complained the properties price them out of the housing market .

Sarah said: “Places like Barcelona, Venice and Dubrovnik are great to visit, but they’re people’s homes too.

“When tourism takes over, it prices local people out of the housing market, closes local amenities and erodes the local culture and social identity that made us want to visit in the first place.

“Locals might be the first to lose out from overtourism but left unchecked, it kills off the tourist experience too. It’s in everyone’s interest to tackle the problem.”

France recently launched a campaign to encourage tourists to visit some of the country’s hidden gems. Leading attractions such as .

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Travel contributes significantly to climate change, primarily through air travel and driving, which are the largest parts of tourism's carbon footprint.

Title:

Content: 7 simple ways to make your next trip more eco-friendly

PHOTO: Unsplash

AsiaOne has launched EarthOne, a new section dedicated to environmental issues — because we love the planet and we believe science. Find articles like this there.

Travel is finally open again and everyone is trying to make the most of it. But while you're at it, think about how you can make your travel more eco-friendly by leaving a smaller carbon footprint behind.

Sustainable tourism is all about reducing tourism's negative impacts and maximising its positive benefits for communities, cultures, ecosystems, and the planet, both for immediate impact and for future generations to come.

Here's how to be a more sustainable traveller:

Choose a destination that values sustainability

Did you know that choosing to travel to a conservation-minded destination is one of the most important things travellers can do? As a general rule, the shorter the distance you travel from home, the lower your carbon footprint.

Likewise, destinations that value their natural and cultural heritage not only elevate the quality of the travel experience, but also greatly support the livelihoods of those who work in the travel industry.

According to the 2022 Environmental Performance Index (a measure of the country's performance on high-priority environmental issues), Denmark, UK and Finland, take the top slots respectively as the world's most sustainable countries.

Get off the beaten path

Avoid over-crowded tourist trips and look beyond the trending top 10 bucket list destinations of the moment by getting off the beaten path.

While it may be tempting to go to the more popular places that everyone else is visiting, it is usually more rewarding to go somewhere that's still less traversed and off most people's radars.

Instead of going big and expected, visit smaller cities and help spread (economic) tourism benefits to other local communities.

If you do choose to visit crowded and popular cities, consider doing so outside peak (tourist) period times.

Tip: If you're planning a cruise, opt for a small ship cruise line because they can visit smaller ports and can help alleviate tourism pressure on common cruise destinations.

Visit parks and protected areas – but be responsible

National parks, marine sanctuaries, and other protected areas play an important role in protecting the planet's natural resources and biodiversity.

Many countries rely on tourism fees such as entrance fees and operator permits to preserve these special places and help fund the conservation activities necessary to protect these areas, while also providing income to local communities.

Just remember not to litter, to stay on clearly marked trails, and to leave the wildlife alone!

Support local economies

According to The World Tourism Organisation, out of every $100 spent during a trip, sometimes as little as only $5 actually benefits the destination! This means a huge missed opportunity for travel to support local economies.

Choose to book your trip from travel and environmentally-conscious activity providers that ensure tourism dollars go directly to local communities instead of big-chain businesses.

If possible, consider visiting places that need (economical) support such as somewhere that needs rebuilding after a disaster (earthquakes, hurricane, tsunami, etc).

Travel and tourism are one of the fastest ways to recovery and travellers can help further by volunteering in environmental and social projects to help rebuild the devastated communities.

Use eco-friendly modes of transportation

It's no surprise that travel is a significant contributor to climate change, with air travel and driving making up the largest part of tourism's carbon footprint.

Though all modes of transportation require energy, some are more efficient and cleaner than others, how you get to and from and around your destination makes a difference.

Read Also
8 tips to become a more sustainable traveller in 2022

In addition to travelling slowly via trains or bicycles (the environmental impact of a bike is zero) for example, there are other ways that you can reduce travel carbon emissions.

An extra bonus: slow travel is also better for the environment since it reduces the amount of carbon emissions generated by flying or driving between destinations.

However, remember that there's no one-size-fits-all guideline for which method of transportation is best, since carbon footprint also depends on the type of energy being used. Hence the most sustainable option will vary from one destination to the next.

For instance, electric trains in the Netherlands are powered by wind energy and public transport in Luxembourg is free, meaning you can save money and help the environment by hopping on a train, a tram, or a bus instead of renting a car.

Book eco-friendly accommodations

Before booking your next trip, consider how your choice of accommodation affects the local ecosystem.

A zero-plastic policy, using renewable energy from solar panels, a rainwater filtration system, planting trees and serving local produce for meals are all good examples of a hotel being eco-friendly.

ALSO READ: Travel eco-friendly by visiting these green resorts

Limit energy use and conserve water

Everyone loves a long, hot shower after a whole day of sightseeing but give a thought to how much energy and water is being wasted like this.

Make your stay as eco-friendly as possible by conserving local water and energy resources, turning off electronics not in use, and avoiding unnecessary laundering of bedsheets and towels.

This article was first published in Wonderwall.sg.

The ability to travel is a privilege that can sometimes negatively affect host communities, especially when tourists flock to only the most famous sights.

Title:

Content: Today, on April 20, 2024, the Canary Islands are witnessing a widespread protest aimed at challenging the current development model heavily reliant on tourism. This significant event is set to occur simultaneously across all eight islands of the archipelago, as well as in various cities internationally including Málaga, Granada, Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam, London, and Berlin. The protests are unified under the slogan “The Canary Islands have a limit.”

Booking.com

The protest aims to reshape the development strategy on the islands, highlighting concerns about the tourism sector’s role in economic disparity and resource consumption. Despite tourism supporting approximately 40% of employment and being a primary contributor to the GDP, it’s also associated with creating inequalities and not distributing wealth effectively among the local population. This is exemplified by the Canary Islands recording their highest tourist numbers alongside their highest poverty rates in both 2017 and 2023.

Organizers clarify that the intent is not to expel tourists or eliminate the industry but to implement limits and conditions, and address governance that prioritizes economic gains over broader interests. Key issues fueling the protests include:

  1. Low Wages and High Poverty Rates: The Canary Islands have some of Spain’s lowest salaries and a significant poverty rate, affecting over 33% of the population. The islands have experienced rapid population growth, particularly in Tenerife and Fuerteventura, exacerbating these issues.
  2. Environmental and Infrastructure Concerns: Despite having numerous protected spaces, the islands face challenges such as insufficient protection agents and underdeveloped infrastructure in health, education, and sanitation. Notably, several islands struggle with untreated wastewater being discharged into the sea.
  3. Housing and Over-Tourism: The spread of holiday homes has dispersed tourists across the islands, impacting local communities by driving up rental prices and displacing residents. This issue is compounded by the government’s initiatives to attract digital nomads, further straining the housing market.
  4. Legal and Regulatory Challenges: Recent government stances on controversial tourism projects, like those on La Tejita beach and Cuna del Alma in Tenerife, have sparked outrage for perceived favoritism towards developers despite legal infractions.

The protest is seen as a venting mechanism for accumulated frustrations with the aim to initiate significant changes in how the islands develop and manage tourism. Proposals include imposing a tourist tax to fund environmental conservation, enacting a moratorium on new tourist accommodations, and establishing residence laws to curb speculative real estate purchases by non-residents.

This protest is part of a broader call to reconsider the islands’ economic models, prioritizing sustainability and equitable growth over mere economic output. This event might mark the beginning of a significant shift in policy and public discourse around tourism and development in the Canary Islands.

The Canary Islands are on track to set a new historical record for tourist arrivals in 2024, continuing a trend of increasing numbers which began in earnest following the pandemic. With official estimates indicating a potential total of around 17 million visitors for the year, this surpasses the previous high of 16.2 million in 2023. These figures are bolstered by a significant recovery in tourism since the slowdown during the COVID-19 years of 2020 and 2021.

This surge in tourism is seen as a double-edged sword. On one hand, it signifies a robust recovery and a boon for the local economy, driven by both foreign and domestic visitors. On the other, it underscores the challenges and pressures faced by the islands, particularly in terms of infrastructure, local community impact, and environmental sustainability. This has led to today’s widespread protests across the Canary Islands under the campaign “Canarias tiene un límite” (The Canary Islands have a limit), highlighting concerns over the sustainability of this growth model.

The protests reflect broader anxieties about the direction of tourism development, which, despite its economic benefits, is perceived to exacerbate local issues such as high poverty rates, environmental degradation, and the displacement of local communities due to rising housing costs. These concerns are amplified by predictions that the influx of tourists may continue to grow, particularly with the diversion of tourists from Eastern Mediterranean destinations affected by geopolitical tensions, such as the conflict in Gaza.

In response to these pressures, there is a growing call for more responsible tourism practices. Organizations like Exceltur advocate for strategies that alleviate the saturation of local spaces and services, promote more sustainable transportation options, and address the social impacts of tourism. This includes managing the explosive growth of vacation rentals, which have significant negative externalities on local residents.

The protests and the ongoing discourse represent a critical juncture for the Canary Islands, as the community seeks to balance the economic advantages of tourism with the need for sustainable development and equitable growth. The outcome of these discussions and the ability of the islands to adapt to these challenges will likely shape the future of tourism and community life in the archipelago.

Booking.com

Travelers are encouraged to support local people by choosing locally owned guesthouses and venturing off the beaten path.

The Caribbean, with its rich ecosystems, faces the pressure of top-end tourism and a growing second home market.

Title:

Content: African Tourism Board Associations Country | Region Government News Jamaica News Rwanda Tourism Trending

Commonwealth is a 54-Country Strong Tourism Opportunity

Jamaica presented the idea of Commonwealth tourism cooperation at the 54 member meeting in Rwanda.

Rwanda is the newest country in the 54-member Commonwealth and the host of this year’s meeting. The East African nation’s president, Paul Kagame, said his country became a member of the union to benefit from its unity and development.

Leaders of 54 countries in the British Commonwealth are meeting in Rwanda to discuss trade, food security, health issues, climate change, and also tourism.

Commonwealth member states are meeting for the first time in four years to discuss ways to strengthen relations and tackle global problems ranging from health care and conflict to climate change and food security.

Speaking in Rwanda’s capital of Kigali and representing Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s Prince Charles said such a political union is still needed to overcome the world’s challenges.

Among the dignitaries attending is the King of Eswatini, His Majesty Mswati III, the host country of the African Tourism Board.

Tourism is showing face, with African Tourism Board Chairman Cuthbert Ncube attending.

Jamaica’s tourism minister Edmund Bartlett was wearing his hat as a global travel and tourism leader. He presented the idea and concept for a post covid tourism led framework for promoting economic convergence among commonwealth countries. Commonwealth Tourism at the Rwanda Forum.

Addressing a session on Sustainable Tourism & Travel during the Commonwealth Business Forum Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett argued that the tourism industry holds significant potential to boost economic convergence among Commonwealth economies.

The Commonwealth Tourism Organization was active 10-15 years ago and had discussions in Abuja, Nigeria, and Kuala Lumpur Malaysia on tourism cooperation between Commonwealth Countries.

Here is the transcript of the presentation on a post covid tourism-led framework by Minster Bartlett presented to the Commonwealth Business Forum in Rwanda.

Background

The ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic has produced a severe adverse socio-economic impact on the 54 countries of the Commonwealth stretching across the regions of Africa, Asia, The Americas, Europe, and the Pacific.

The Commonwealth is especially vulnerable to long-term economic shocks because it comprises 32 of the world’s 42 small states, each with a population of 1.5 million people or less (Commonwealth.Org, 2022).

Most of these economies are undiversified and heavily depend on primary industries, external trade, foreign direct investment, and tourism- which have all been severely impacted by the global economic downturn.

In 2021, the World Bank estimated that the Small States contracted by 7.1 percent compared to 1.7 percent for all emerging markets and developing economies (The World Bank, 2021). Small states also face fairly- fixed development challenges related to their narrow resource bases, small domestic markets, geographical remoteness, and vulnerability to environmental disasters (The World Bank, 2021).

The prolonged global economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has, however, offered an opportunity for hard-hit small states of the Commonwealth to re-calibrate their economic relationship with each other and the larger Commonwealth states.

Recalibrating economic relationship among Commonwealth Countries

Historically, trade levels among Commonwealth countries have remained very low. While the Commonwealth boasts the fastest growing countries in the world, with growth over the past two decades doubling that of the European Union, intra-Commonwealth trade amounts to only 17 % of Commonwealth members’ global trade with services trade enjoying a much smaller share, estimated at one-quarter of the total intra-Commonwealth trade (Commonwealth. Org, 2017).

Most Commonwealth countries are exporting mainly to countries located within their immediate geographical zones and with larger economies such as China, The United States, The UK, The Eurozone, India, Australia, and New Zealand.

Given this context, a part of accelerating the economic development of the Commonwealth may lie in fostering greater economic convergences among Commonwealth Countries.

Indeed, the Commonwealth collectively constitutes a sizeable market of 2.6 billion out of the world’s population of 7.9 billion that can be leveraged to promote more robust and sustained macroeconomic growth, especially in the area of export trade.

Tourism as a catalyst for promoting economic convergences among Commonwealth Countries

One industry that holds significant potential to boost economic convergences among Commonwealth economies is Tourism.

In 2019, tourism was the third-largest export category of the global economy, after fuels and chemicals, accounting for 7% of global trade (UNWTO, 2019).

Of the twenty countries in the world where tourism is the largest contributor to exports, thirteen are Commonwealth member states (Commonwealth Innovation, 2020).

Currently, Tourism is the lifeline of Commonwealth economies located in the world’s most tourism-dependent regions such as the Caribbean, The Pacific, the Mediterranean, and the Indian Ocean.

Unfortunately, the major source markets for tourist arrivals as well as for supplying inputs, such as goods and services, to the tourism industry in the Commonwealth are the developed economies of North America, East Asia (especially China), and Western Europe.

Consequently, the phenomenal pace of tourism growth and expansion over the years has delivered insufficient benefits to Commonwealth economies, due in large part, to the low levels of tourism trade among these countries which has prevented these countries from retaining much of the revenue generated from the industry

Strategies for boosting economic convergences among Commonwealth Countries through Tourism

The formulation of post-Covid-19 economic recovery and growth strategies for Commonwealth countries requires that these countries urgently rethink the existing frameworks of economic partnerships with the goal of realigning the boundaries of international trade in their favor.

This requires more synergies, collaborations, and partnerships that will foster economic complementarities and convergences among Commonwealth economies.

This will contribute to more value-added economic exchanges between smaller countries and with larger countries of the Commonwealth that will enhance intra-regional capacity to generate economic surpluses and retain more of the benefits derived from macroeconomic development.

The tourism industry can be a catalyst for fostering economic complementarities and convergences through the following strategies:

The promotion of labor mobility within the Commonwealth:

The Commonwealth is home to some of the world’s most appealing tourist destinations attracting high levels of foreign direct investment and poised for continued growth.

Tourism also happens to be one of the most labor-intensive segments of the global economy.

Both can be exploited to promote increased labor mobility across the Commonwealth, especially, since the pandemic has produced a crisis of labor shortage for many destinations and there is also generally a need for more high-skilled workers in the tourism sector, (hotels, attractions, cruises, etc.).

This will require new arrangements that will facilitate the seamless movement of skilled tourism workers across the Commonwealth region and sub-region.

Increasing goods and services trade:

The goal is to facilitate mutual trading arrangements that will enable more of the goods and services that are regularly used in the tourism industry to be manufactured and supplied by entities based in other Commonwealth countries. This will promote greater intra-regional participation in tourism and strengthen the benefits to local economies derived from tourism.

The development of aggressive marketing strategies to tap into larger Commonwealth markets:

Currently, tourist arrivals to Commonwealth Countries rely on traditional source markets such as North America, Western Europe, and now East Asia (especially China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan).

Nonetheless, as Commonwealth countries position themselves to be less volatile to shocks and grow their market shares, finding ways to tap into the lucrative and emerging tourism markets of other Commonwealth countries, especially those in Asia, should urgently form part of their focus.

India, in particular, has a population of 1.35 billion people and is the fastest-growing of the world’s major economies, and is currently the world’s fifth-largest economy.

The increase in disposable incomes and acquisition of substantial personal wealth in India provides a valuable opportunity for greater tourism linkages to be forged between smaller Commonwealth economies and India

Skill development, education, and training:

In the context of the growth of knowledge-based economies, the provision of knowledge has become a key driver of economic growth.

As the growth of the tourism industry continues to accelerate, there will be a growing demand for program and curriculum development to prepare the workforce for the jobs that will be generated across the tourism industry and that will help to raise the standards and prestige of tourism jobs.

This provides an opportunity for regional universities and other accredited centers and institutes based in Commonwealth Countries to offer formal training and certification targeting the citizens of other Commonwealth Countries who are interested in professional development as tourism workers.

Multi-destination arrangements:

The multi-destination strategy is one of three legacy outcomes from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in 2017.

A multi-destination arrangement is based on joint partnerships involving governments airlines, hotels, tour operators, and attractions that will enable visitors to seamlessly travel to two, three, or more geographically proximate nations and stays over in each destination.

Its promotion is consistent with the emerging view by tourism experts that the future fortunes of tourism in specific regions region may lie in economic convergence between complementary economies rather than stand-alone approaches.

This also constitutes a rational approach to economic integration that will allow the benefits of tourism to be spread across more economies in a region, thereby generating more economic opportunities for a greater number of people.

Indeed, successful multi-destination arrangements can increase tourist flows and promote mutual benefits for more destinations in the region.

The role of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC)

The Global Tourism Resilience Centre was established at the University of the West Indies Mona Campus in Kingston, Jamaica in 2018 as a global think tank that focuses exclusively on building resilience, disaster preparedness, and managing disruptions to the tourism industry, especially in the Global South.

The Centre has been called to operate in a global context that is characterized by not only new challenges but also new opportunities for tourism to improve the tourism product as well as to ensure the sustainability of tourism globally.

The GTRCMC stands ready to lead a future plan of action by the Commonwealth Secretary to deepen economic complementarities and convergences among Commonwealth countries to greater ensure that tourism development serves the long-term interest of Commonwealth regions and sub-regions.

Tourism in the Commonwealth

Tourism is central to many economies in the Commonwealth and growing industry in most. It contributes 2.7% to the total GDP of the Commonwealth, averaging 6.7% of GDP per country, and employs 34 million people overall. The smaller the economy, population, or country, it has been noted, the greater the significance of the sector to the economy. The highest contributions of the sector for instance are in the Maldives (28% of GDP), Seychelles (24%), Vanuatu (20%), and Antigua and Barbuda (17.4%) – all small island developing states.

In Commonwealth Europe heritage and culture are big draws for visitors; the countries are also wealthy and can extensively deliver top-end tourism. Cyprus has been successful also at drawing tourists from all types of markets from the UK to its beaches in the summer months.

Tourism is, directly and indirectly, central to the economies of the Caribbean; the smaller economies depend on it the most. Geography and climate are major attractions. The Caribbean is a major top-end tourism market and has a growing second home market.

In Commonwealth Asia, Malaysia and the Maldives have been relatively the most successful countries. Malaysia is the second most popular destination in the Commonwealth after the UK with 24 million people visiting the country in 2009, mostly from Asia.

With the exception of Fiji, Pacific island member states with their idyllic natural attractions have had limited success in tourism because of their remoteness and lack of infrastructure, although potential, as experts say, remains. Most of the arrivals are from Australia and New Zealand. Experts argue that regardless of remoteness Commonwealth Pacific islands can do much better given the success of mass tourism seen in Pacific island territories of the USA and France such as Hawaii and French Polynesia, respectively.

Australia and New Zealand attract all types of visitors from businesspeople to backpackers. Tourism Australia, the nationally funded tourism board, largely aims its marketing in Western Europe and North America at the experience seeker.

In Commonwealth Africa, wildlife, climate, and geography are major attractions. It is in wildlife that Commonwealth Africa has worldwide prominence with its extensive and popular game reserves such as the Serengeti (Tanzania), Kruger (South Africa), Masai Mara (Kenya), and Chobe (Botswana). Indeed, it is the national parks in the Commonwealth part of Africa that almost exclusively feature in most travel guides. Some countries such as Mauritius, South Africa, and Seychelles are top-end tourism destinations.

Canada is a major tourist destination. Cultural themes in its four major cities Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Ottawa are major draws for visitors. Canada is world-renowned for the quality and variety of its ski resorts which no other Commonwealth country can match.

Current Commonwealth Countries

AFRICA:

Asia

Caribbean and Americas

Europe

Pacific

About the author

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

In Commonwealth countries, major tourism inputs and most visitors come from developed economies in North America, East Asia, and Western Europe, representing both a market opportunity and a challenge.

Tourism can drive economic convergence but often relies on external demand and resources, risking local economic leakage.

Overtourism is identified as a key trend impacting communities and the environment negatively, making global resilience strategies urgent.

Title:

Content: Luxury Travel Market to grow π at CAGR of 7.8% | Driven by increasing Customized and Private Vacations Type Segments

Luxury Travel Market

The global Luxury Travel market was valued at USD 1,328.1 bn in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 2,762 bn in 2032. [+highest CAGR of 7.8%]

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, March 20, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Market Overview:

Luxury travel refers to high-end travel experiences that are characterized by exclusivity, luxury, and personalized services. Luxury travel can include everything from private jet charters, luxury cruises, and five-star hotels to immersive cultural experiences and adventure travel. The demand for luxury travel experiences is driven by the increasing disposable income of the population, the desire for unique and personalized experiences, and the growing popularity of experiential travel among millennials.

What's the Latest for 2023?

β Competitiveness and percentages of key competitor markets

β Multiple geographies have strong/active/niche market presence

β Online interactive peer-to-peer collaborative bespoke updates.

North America is the largest market for luxury travel due to the high disposable income of its population and the availability of luxury travel options. The Asia-Pacific region is the fastest-growing market due to the rising middle-class population and the increasing popularity of luxury travel among millennials.

**To Get more information about this report, Click the Link and Drop The Request Sample [+US Crisis Impact 2023] β¦ https://market.us/report/luxury-travel-market/request-sample/

Top Key Trends:

- The growing popularity of adventure travel and experiential travel.
- The increasing use of technology in luxury travel, such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence.
- The demand for sustainable and eco-friendly luxury travel experiences.
- The trend towards smaller, more intimate travel experiences.

Top Impacting Factors:

- Increasing disposable income of the population.
- Desire for unique and personalized experiences.
- Growing popularity of experiential travel among millennials.
- Technological advancements in the luxury travel industry.
- Demand for sustainable and eco-friendly travel experiences.

Key Benefits for Stakeholders:

- The luxury travel market provides opportunities for tour operators, hoteliers, and other travel service providers to expand their businesses.
- High-net-worth individuals benefit from the availability of exclusive and personalized luxury travel experiences.
- Tourism boards and governments benefit from the increased tourism revenue generated by the luxury travel market.

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Market Dynamics:

Drivers:

Increasing disposable income of the population.
Desire for unique and personalized experiences.
Growing popularity of experiential travel among millennials.
Technological advancements in the luxury travel industry.

Restraints:

High cost of luxury travel experiences.
Economic and political instability in certain regions.
Increasing concerns about overtourism.

Opportunities:

Growing demand for sustainable and eco-friendly luxury travel experiences.
Increasing popularity of adventure and experiential travel.
Use of technology to enhance the luxury travel experience.

Challenges:

High cost of luxury travel experiences.
Economic and political instability in certain regions.
Overtourism and its negative impact on local communities and the environment.

Key Market Segments:

Based on the Type of Tours
Customized and Private Vacations
Adventure and Safari
Cruise/Ship Expedition
Small Group Journey
Celebration and Special Events
Culinary Travel and Shopping
Others

Based on Age Group
Millennial
Generation X
Baby Boomer
Silver Hair
Others

Based on Types of Traveler
Absolute Luxury
Aspiring Luxury
Accessible Luxury

Top Key Players in Luxury Travel Market:

TUI Group
Butterfield & Robinson Inc.
Cox & Kings Ltd.
Scott Dunn Ltd.
Abercrombie & Kent USA, LLC
Lindblad Expeditions
Geographic Expeditions, Inc.
Micato Safaris
Exodus Travels Ltd.
Travel Edge (Canada) Inc.
Other Key Player

Recent Development:

- In August 2021, Marriott International announced the opening of its new luxury hotel, The St. Regis Bermuda Resort, which features 120 guestrooms and suites, multiple dining options, and a spa.

- In June 2021, Abercrombie & Kent announced the launch of its new private jet journey, "The World's 10 Best National Parks," which takes travelers to some of the world's most stunning national parks.

- In April 2021, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts announced the opening of its new luxury hotel, the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco at Embarcadero, which features 155 guestrooms and suites, a rooftop bar, and a fitness center.

- In February 2021, luxury tour operator Black Tomato announced the launch of its new immersive travel experiences, which include a private island escape in Belize and a desert adventure in Jordan.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. What is the future market value for Luxury Travel Market?

2. What is the growth rate of the Luxury Travel Market?

3. What are the recent trends affecting the Luxury Travel market?

4. What are the different types of Luxury Travel used?

5. Who are the key players in the Luxury Travel market?

6. Who are the key end-users of the Luxury Travel market?

7. Which region is lucrative for the Luxury Travel market?

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Luxury and experiential travel drive growth but can intensify overtourism’s impacts unless managed responsibly.


The translation fellowships of the NIF represent a new beginning in a field that has been largely neglected.

We see these works as on par with other Fellowship projects regarding scholarly merit.

There are caveats regarding the texts that may be chosen for translation, and there are questions about the lack of institutional support for translation projects from languages of the global South.

There are currently no plans to include fiction in these fellowships, and it remains uncertain whether all projects will be published and available globally at the end of the fellowship.

Going beyond English is critical for conservation, as ignoring other languages could hinder understanding of what and how to conserve.

Language is more than just sounds that seem right, and this era offers an abundance of books on all aspects of language.

One author shares the experience of losing and later regaining Czech as an adult, highlighting the personal side of language.

Not all varieties of English are perceived the same, as exemplified by the distinctiveness of New York English.

People often have strong physical reactions, such as sweating or an increased pulse, upon hearing a swear word.

The relationship between language and identity is explored in books such as “How We Talk” and “Talk on the Wild Side.”
A Turkish saying observes that knowing another language profoundly changes one’s identity, a concept not easily captured in English.

While playing with language is fun, it also has a serious side in relation to knowledge and culture preservation.

Every two weeks, an elder dies, taking the last traces of a language and a part of humanity’s knowledge with them.

Language shapes our worldview, and letting one go is a real loss.

Familects, or family dialects, show how language evolves and becomes a means of personal expression.

AI usage fees are up to 15 times cheaper for English than for other languages, reflecting the greater availability of English-language training data.

The translation fellowships of the NIF represent a new beginning in a field that has been largely neglected.

Title:

Content: Hindustantimes wants to start sending you push notifications. Click allow to subscribe

Interview: Niraja Gopal Jayal, Trustee, New India Foundation

The NIF’s Translation Fellowship programme announced earlier this month aims to make important works of non-fiction written in regional languages accessible to a more diverse audience
By Simar Bhasin
UPDATED ON AUG 20, 2021 06:27 PM IST

What’s the story behind the NIF translation fellowship programme?

The translation fellowship programme is actually a logical outgrowth of the book-writing fellowships programme, which as you know is the flagship activity of the New India Foundation, aimed at nurturing high-quality scholarship on post-independence India. The first continuity between them then is the focus on modern Indian history, society and politics. However, while the book-writing fellowships are about India after 1947, the qualifying period for the translation fellowships is twentieth century India, even the late nineteenth century depending on the text. This is because there are many important works in Indian languages that could illuminate the longer period but to which readers of the English language, or indeed of other Indian languages, would not have access.

Secondly, the NIF has supported at least one translation as part of its book-writing fellowship programme. This was Ayesha Kidwai’s translation, with a superb introduction, of her grandmother Anis Kidwai’s book Azadi ki Chaaon Mein, which was published by Penguin in 2011, with the English title In Freedom’s Shade. At least two other books by NIF Fellows draw heavily upon sources and literature in regional languages – Akshay Mukul’s The Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India and SV Srinivas’s Politics as Performance: Social History of the Telugu Film Industry. Both these books, about different forms of cultural production, are deeply anchored in, respectively, Hindi and Telugu.

Tell us about the selection process? What are you looking for in applications?

RELATED STORIES

We are looking for proposals that bring together interesting books and good translators. This year, in the first round, we are inviting applications for translations from 10 languages: Hindi, Urdu, Bangla, Kannada, Assamese, Gujarati, Marathi, Odia, Malayalam and Tamil. The deadline for applications is December 31, 2021. The applications – which must include a sample translation - will be assessed by language experts, on the basis of which the shortlist will be compiled, followed by interviews and the selection of three Fellows.

We propose to constitute a Language Expert Committee, with one member for each of the three selected proposals, who will mentor the Fellows and help them structure and shape their work. We see these works as being on par with the other Fellowship projects in terms of their scholarly merit. We expect them to have a comprehensive introduction that provides the social, political and cultural context of the work, thorough annotations and a bibliography that could help the reader explore the terrain further.

Are there any caveats as to the texts that may be chosen for translation?

No fiction, no poetry, no drama. The focus will be on history (including social and cultural history), politics, society, biography, memoirs, and so forth.

What according to you are some of the challenges facing translators linguistically when it comes to expounding ideas contained in regional texts into the English language?

Ideally, any translation should be able to stand on its own, approximating the excellence of an original work. This is why translation is typically viewed as an art, rather than something mechanical. For this, translators have to be imaginative in how they render into English ideas or nuances that may be specific to the language with which they are working. Cultural differences can pose a challenge to translators who need not just felicity in the two languages they are working with, but also familiarity with the world of sociocultural meanings in both – else you can fall into the ‘lost in translation’ syndrome!

There is, of course, a very rich scholarly field of translation studies, with debates on language as identity, the politics of language, authenticity, and so on.

Do you feel that the outcomes of this fellowship will challenge and disrupt the conception of largely West-oriented notions of what constitutes a liberal public sphere?

That is not the driving motivation of the fellowship, but it could potentially do so, depending of course on the texts. Introducing readers to works in different languages should certainly contribute to an appreciation of the rich diversity of languages in our country; to recover indigenous debates on ideas that we have encountered only through the western canon; to encourage us to embrace our natural bilingualism, and perhaps also to value multilingualism.

Do you think that there is a lack of institutional support to translation projects from languages of the global South? What is required to encourage such projects?

I can’t speak to the global South, but certainly there is a lack of support for translation projects in the Indian languages. Quite a lot of fiction finds translation. As far as non-fiction goes, there is the Murthy Classical Library of India which has brought us fabulous English translations of great classics from the past two millennia. There is also the National Translation Mission that commissions translations, mainly of textbooks. The translation fellowships of the NIF represent a new beginning in a field that we believe has been largely neglected so far.

In its present form, the fellowship focuses on works of non-fiction in 10 languages. Are there any plans for more languages and for fiction works also to be included in the near future?

As of now, we envisage an expansion of the languages in the second round to include, for instance, Punjabi, Konkani, Manipuri, Bhojpuri, etc. We do not have plans to include fiction.

At the end of the fellowship, will all of the projects be published and available to a global audience?

Publication is the objective. As with the book writing fellowships, we would connect Fellows to publishers. We already provide in-house editorial help to our Fellows to shape and polish manuscripts into their final form, and this would be available to the translation Fellows as well.

To know more about the translation fellowships: https://www.newindiafoundation.org/nif-translation-fellowship

For queries, write to info@newindiafoundation.org

The link to apply : https://translationfellowships.paperform.co/

Simar Bhasin is an independent journalist. She lives in New Delhi.

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We see these works as on par with other Fellowship projects regarding scholarly merit.

There are caveats regarding the texts that may be chosen for translation, and there are questions about the lack of institutional support for translation projects from languages of the global South.

There are currently no plans to include fiction in these fellowships, and it remains uncertain whether all projects will be published and available globally at the end of the fellowship.

Going beyond English is critical for conservation, as ignoring other languages could hinder understanding of what and how to conserve.

Title:

Content: advertisement
Science News
from research organizations

Going beyond English is critical for conservation

Date:
March 21, 2023
Source:
University of Queensland
Summary:
Research in languages other than English is critically important for biodiversity conservation and is shockingly under-utilized internationally, according to an international research team.
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FULL STORY

Research in languages other than English is critically important for biodiversity conservation and is shockingly under-utilised internationally, according to an international research team.

Dr Tatsuya Amano, from The University of Queensland's School of Biological Sciences, led a worldwide study that investigated national reports on biodiversity conservation in 37 countries and territories where English is not an official language.

"Non-English-language literature is almost entirely neglected in global biodiversity assessments," Dr Amano said.

"This means there's a serious risk that the world's existing global assessments overlook important conservation science by ignoring non-English-language literature.

"For example, in the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) reports, only 3.4 per cent of references are those published in non-English languages -- a shockingly low figure.

The team found that non-English-language literature was extensively used in the national reports of most individual countries, but had failed to be reflected in global reports.

Dr Tatsuya said, despite the benefits of a common language, having diversity of input was essential to saving the world's species.

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"English has been used as the common language of science for decades and this makes international communication much easier," he said.

"But so much research in the biodiversity conservation space is still being published in other languages too.

"Ignoring it could be a big issue, as we often don't know much about what to conserve and how to conserve it."

The team suggest that further international collaboration is essential to developing more effective conservation science, and therefore more effective policy interventions.

"Our research project is a great example of how cross-language, international collaborations can lead to better scientific outcomes," Dr Amano said.

"We've collaborated with over 100 people, who are collectively native speakers of about 20 languages, to identify important science available only in non-English languages.

"The use of machine translation tools would also help solve this problem more broadly, but it still would require validation by human native speakers.

"And developing multilingual databases of relevant literature is also effective, just like we did in a recent paper, in collaboration with the Conservation Evidence project.

"With these approaches, the world would be able to use the best scientific knowledge available, regardless of the language in which it is published."

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Queensland. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

  1. Tatsuya Amano, Violeta Berdejo-Espinola, Munemitsu Akasaka, Milton A. U. de Andrade Junior, Ndayizeye Blaise, Julia Checco, F. Gözde Çilingir, Geoffroy Citegetse, Marina Corella Tor, Szymon M. Drobniak, Sylvaine Giakoumi, Marina Golivets, Mihaela C. Ion, Javiera P. Jara-Díaz, Ryosuke Katayose, Felicia P. S. Lasmana, Hsien-Yung Lin, Erick Lopez, Peter Mikula, Lucia Morales-Barquero, Anne-Christine Mupepele, Juan P. Narváez-Gómez, Thi Hieu Nguyen, Sá Nogueira Lisboa, Martin A. Nuñez, Diego Pavón-Jordán, Patrice Pottier, Graham W. Prescott, Farah Samad, Marko Šćiban, Hae-Min Seo, Yushin Shinoda, Flóra Vajna, Svetlana Vozykova, Jessica C. Walsh, Alison K. S. Wee, Hui Xiao, Veronica Zamora-Gutierrez. The role of non-English-language science in informing national biodiversity assessments. Nature Sustainability, 2023; DOI: 10.1038/s41893-023-01087-8

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University of Queensland. "Going beyond English is critical for conservation." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 21 March 2023. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230321112517.htm>.
University of Queensland. (2023, March 21). Going beyond English is critical for conservation. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 24, 2023 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230321112517.htm
University of Queensland. "Going beyond English is critical for conservation." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230321112517.htm (accessed September 24, 2023).

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Language is more than just sounds that seem right, and this era offers an abundance of books on all aspects of language.

Title:

Content: News | The Economist reads

Our language columnist, Johnson, picks five of his favourite recent reads

This is a golden age for good books about every facet of language

FOR A LONG time popular books about language were dominated by cranky editors airing pet peeves and wondering where it all went wrong, while academic linguists wrote impenetrable papers and struggled to explain their work to the public. Then, a couple of decades ago, bestselling books like Steven Pinker’s “The Language Instinct” (1994) and John McWhorter’s “The Power of Babel” (2001) convinced more linguists to try their hand at writing for a non-expert audience. This in turn raised the quality of books by non-linguists. The cranks no longer rule, and it is a golden age for good books about every facet of language.

Memory Speaks. By Julie Sedivy. Belknap Press; 368 pages; $29.95 and £23.95

Julie Sedivy moved from Czechoslovakia to Canada as a small child, and hence far from the home of her first language. Her tale of the gradual loss of her Czech, and her adult work to recover it, is not only beautifully told. It is also packed with a tour of the science on bilingualism, in which she is an expert, as well as the controversial topic of how one’s native language influences thought. As if that were not enough for this fascinating book, she embeds herself within the fight to prevent indigenous North American languages from disappearing entirely, and illuminates what is lost when a language dies. As Johnson I assessed the book, and the painful loss of native languages, early in 2022.

You Talkin’ to Me? By E.J. White. Oxford University Press; 216 pages; $19.95 and £14.99

In many countries, people are taught to revere and even strive to emulate the educated speech of their grandest city. Think of Parisian French. Not so the English of New York. On screen, for example, it is reserved for gangsters or wise-cracking sidekicks (why does the parrot in “Aladdin” have a New York accent?), never for heroes (such as Captain America, whose Brooklyn origins are inaudible in his speech in the Marvel films). That was not always so. Both presidents Roosevelt had an upper-class New York accent once considered respectable. Its disappearance is a tale of immigration and the relocation of an imaginary “real America” to the Midwest, rather than its world-bestriding metropolis. Johnson reflected on the book late in 2020.

What the F: What Swearing Reveals about our Language, Our Brains and Ourselves. By Benjamin K. Bergen. Basic Books; 288 pages; $10.99

Your pulse speeds up, and your palms start to sweat ever so slightly, upon hearing a swear word. People can tolerate more pain if allowed to cuss, and many victims of strokes and brain injuries lose all speech but the taboo variety. The words in question may be avoided in polite company, but they make for a fascinating scientific study by Benjamin Bergen, a cognitive scientist. Of the main sources of swear words, some are losing their bite (those concerning religion, for example) while some still hurt (slurs, especially). But Mr Bergen examines the claims of harm from swear words overall (America seems to regulate them more than guns), and dismantles them skilfully. Swearing is a core part of human life. To be used with care, but not to be abjured. Johnson wrote about the book, and weapons of crass construction, a few years ago.

The Prodigal Tongue. By Lynne Murphy. Penguin Books; 368 pages; $17. Oneworld; £16.99

Lynne Murphy is a linguist at the University of Sussex, married to a British husband and raising British children. But she is American, and years of experiencing polite (and sometimes not-so-polite) commentary about her native English in her adopted home prompted her to write this myth-shredding book about the relationship between British and American English. She is not a partisan of either, but in her close examinations of beloved beliefs she finds some that hold (Britons really do say “please” and “sorry” a lot) and many that do not. Time after time, for example, she shows that a perceived “Americanism” deprecated in Britain emerged there. You can listen to our interview with the author (first released late in 2018).

How We Talk. By N.J. Enfield. Basic Books; 272 pages; $30

Interruptions, “uh”, “um” and sentences beginning with “So,” are all considered bad linguistic form. But it seems odd that so many people would display such linguistic ineptitude. As a result, linguists like to investigate what functions and causes these behaviours have. A great introduction to the study is “How We Talk” by N.J. Enfield, who describes what he calls the “conversational machine”. Speakers take turns with only split-second pauses, which requires them to pay careful attention to each other; “um” and “uh” thus play a role in holding the floor. These and other mechanisms fill a surprisingly brisk book about elements of language most people disdain—when they think about them at all. Johnson, er, considered the topic and the book in 2017.

_______________

Johnson, who speaks nine languages, writes a regular column about language in the weekly edition of The Economist and helps update its official style guide. He is also the author of two books of his own:

You Are What You Speak. By Lane Greene. 336 pages. Delacorte Press; 336 pages; $25

On language and the politics of identity. An analysis of the politics and mythology of language

Talk on the Wild Side. By Lane Greene. PublicAffairs; 240 pages; $26. Profile Books; £14.99

On the untameable but robust nature of language

Do you have your own recommendations? Send them to [email protected] with the subject line “Language” and your name, city and country. We will publish a selection of readers’ suggestions.

One author shares the experience of losing and later regaining Czech as an adult, highlighting the personal side of language.

Not all varieties of English are perceived the same, as exemplified by the distinctiveness of New York English.

People often have strong physical reactions, such as sweating or an increased pulse, upon hearing a swear word.

The relationship between language and identity is explored in books such as “How We Talk” and “Talk on the Wild Side.”
A Turkish saying observes that knowing another language profoundly changes one’s identity, a concept not easily captured in English.

Title:

Content: Bir lisan, bir adam…

In Turkish, that begins the saying, “one language, one person, two languages, two people,” meaning that we are literally different human beings when we fluently use another language.

I am thinking about this because I am going back to Turkey this week, for only the second time in 52 years. I’m brushing up on the language, words and phrases coming to mind after long absences. “Fark etmez,” I automatically answer when someone asks whether I want coffee or tea — “Makes no difference.”

And when a friend comes down with COVID, I say “gecmis olsun” — “may it pass quickly” — like I would have 50 years ago. We don’t have anything that handy in English.

That’s the fun of it, but there is a serious side to language and its relation to knowledge and culture. Author Wade Davis says in his 2009 book, “The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World,” that of the 7,000 languages then spoken in the world, half of them were not being carried down to the next generation. Every two weeks, he said, an elder was dying and taking the last syllables of a language with her/him. He likened this loss to the loss of biological diversity. As we lose languages, we lose ways of seeing the world, ways of relating to other people. We lose part of the store of human knowledge.

I’m reminded that Alvin Josephy said over 50 years ago that the Americas had been inhabited by humans for more than 20,000 years, perhaps as many as 40,000. And he wrote that the population might have been as many as 90 million when Columbus hit the shore. He based his thinking on languages. Linguists told him how long it took for a language to break off and become unique, and the explorers and missionaries and settlers with language curiosity documented approximately 2,500 languages spoken on the two continents in 1492. Linguists have measured and followed the dispersion of peoples across the continents with language from then until now.

In Alvin’s time, archeologists were spouting the Bering Land Bridge theory, postulating a crossing from Asia about 12,000 years ago. And many anthropologists said that the population, from Arctic to the tip of South America, could not have been more than 10 million, that there were maybe one million inhabitants in what is now the United States.

They were wrong. Too many languages; too many peoples. There is now good documentation that 70%-90% of tribal populations were killed in early years of contact by European diseases to which they had no immunities. We have new findings on the Salmon River of 16,000-year-old settlements, and footprints in sand in the Southwest that date to 23,000 years ago. Coastal migration from Asia is now the theory. And modern DNA research shows migration patterns that follow the ways of language Josephy wrote about in “The Indian Heritage of America” — in 1968!

Language is the lens through which we see the world. My mother saw her world in Norwegian first, and then, embarrassed that his daughter didn’t know English, Grandpa Hagen said that they’d speak English at home. Mom hung onto the language enough so that she could talk secrets with her Minnesota friends in front of me growing up. I didn’t learn it.

I spent a summer working on a farm with Mexican laborers who’d come to California for the higher wages — 90 cents an hour. I had two years of high school Spanish and that summer of Tex-Mex Spanish. What a pity that I let it go.

***

The first colonists, from the British Isles, understood the confluence of language and culture. They saw Anglo-America as the arrow of civilization, led the new government with borrowings from England, engulfed immigrant populations with school and church English and sought to totally incorporate and assimilate American Indians by taking children from parents and putting them in boarding schools, outlawing their languages.

The wheel has turned, and American Indians are openly speaking old languages and reviving ones at the edge of extinction — about 250 individual languages, among them Nez Perce and Umatilla. I wish I knew enough to understand their complex family relationships — I only know that brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles have no direct translations and broader meanings than anything in American English.

And, thanks to an old Turkish roommate who has prodded me regularly on the phone for 50 years, and to a wonderful trip back in 2004, my four years of living in that language in that country is coming back — not totally of course, but enough to say please and thank you, to know what to call elders and children, to say “Hos bulduk” — “I find my coming back good,” when I arrive on Saturday.

———

Rich Wandschneider is the director of the Josephy Library of Western History and Culture.

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While playing with language is fun, it also has a serious side in relation to knowledge and culture preservation.

Every two weeks, an elder dies, taking the last traces of a language and a part of humanity’s knowledge with them.

Language shapes our worldview, and letting one go is a real loss.

Familects, or family dialects, show how language evolves and becomes a means of personal expression.

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Familect: Unveiling the Secret Language of Families and Its Cultural Impact

Explore the fascinating realm of familects - the fusion of family and dialect. Delve into how these unique linguistic creations form bonds, spark creativity, and reveal the essence of family communication.

BNN Correspondents
New Update

The phenomenon of familect, a term that blends 'family' and 'dialect', was first introduced by linguistics professor Cynthia Gordon in 2009. It emphasizes the unique linguistic fabric that families weave through the repeated use of specific words and phrases, crafting a distinct identity. This intriguing aspect of communication was thrust into the spotlight by a BBC TV show in 2021, showcasing its significance in both linguistic evolution and personal expression.

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The Genesis of Familect

Professor Cynthia Gordon's seminal work, 'Making Meanings, Creating Family', delves deep into how familects are not mere linguistic anomalies but pivotal in forging a family's identity. Through pet names, inside jokes, and creatively altered words, familects enable a deeper connection and mutual understanding among family members. This unique form of communication often originates from the need to name new concepts or streamline conversations, incorporating both fun and functionality.

Cultural Recognition and Evolution

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The broader cultural recognition of familects, highlighted by their feature on the BBC TV show Quite Interesting, underscores their role beyond the confines of familial communication. Bill Lucas from the English Project celebrates the creativity inherent in familects, noting how they inject humor and novelty into everyday language. This public acknowledgment has spurred interest in how familects contribute to the dynamism of language, encouraging the adoption of new expressions within wider societal discourse.

Familect's Impact on Language and Identity

Familects serve as a testament to the fluidity and adaptability of language. They are not only a source of amusement or a means of efficient communication but also a mechanism for language evolution and personal expression. As families invent and adopt unique linguistic forms, they contribute to the tapestry of language, influencing its growth and transformation. Additionally, familects offer insights into the values, experiences, and histories of the families they originate from, serving as linguistic markers of identity.

The exploration of familects throws open the doors to understanding the intricate ways in which language shapes and is shaped by human relationships. It invites us to consider the powerful role of communication in creating shared identities and experiences. As we delve deeper into the study of familects, we uncover the rich, complex layers of language that bind us, revealing the beauty and diversity of human connection.

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AI usage fees are up to 15 times cheaper for English than for other languages, reflecting the greater availability of English-language training data.

Title:

Content: AI Usage Fees Up to 15x Cheaper for English Than Other Languages

The language you're using for a Large Language Model (LLM) can have a huge effect on its cost and create an AI divide between English speakers and the rest of the world. A recent study shows that, due to the way services like OpenAI, measure and bill for server costs, English-language inputs and outputs are much cheaper than those in other languages with Simplified Chinese costing about twice as much, Spanishing costing 1.5x the price and Shan language going for 15 times more.

Twitter user Dylan Patel (@dlan522p) shared a photograph that leads to research conducted by the University of Oxford which found that asking an LLM to process a Burmese-written sentence cost 198 tokens, while that same sentence in English cost just 17 tokens. Tokens representing the computing power cost of accessing an LLM through an API (such as OpenAI's ChatGPT or Anthropic's Claude 2), this means the Burmese sentence cost 11 times more through the service than the one written in English.

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The tokenization model (which sees AI companies convert user input into computational cost) means that in a less-than-ideal world, models accessed outside the window of English language are much more expensive to access and train on. That's because languages such as Chinese have a different, more complex structure (either grammatically or by number of characters) than English, which results in their higher rate of tokenization.

For example, according to OpenAI's GPT3 tokenizer, giving someone a token of "your affection" would be just two tokens in English but eight tokens in Simplified Chinese. This is true even though the Simplified Chinese text is just 4 characters (你的爱意) and the English one is 14 characters. Aleksandar Petrov et al's Tokenization Fairness page has a number of charts and tools you can use to see the disparity between languages.

OpenAI itself has a pretty helpful page explaining how it monetizes API access and usage of its ChatGPT model, which even includes access to a tokenizer tool that you can use to test the token cost per prompt. There, we see that 1 token is around 4 characters in English, and that 100 tokens would be around 75 English words. But that math just can't be applied to any other language, as OpenAI clearly puts it

There's really no competition against the cost-effectiveness of English in AI-related costs; Chinese, for example, costs twice as much as English in terms of required tokens per output. But it's simply a reflection of the available training data that AI companies have (until now) used to train their models on. If there's one thing the AI explosion has done for the world is show just how valuable high-quality emergent data (that which is created as a record of life) really is.

This issue directly links with AI companies' desire to achieve recursive training, or the ability to train AI models on their own outputs. If that's achieved, then future models will still show the same cost-effectiveness of English compared to other languages whose complexity and more limited availability of base training data. And when that happens, it's not just this vicious cycle of algorithmic bigotry we have to contend with: it's also that for now, research points to AI networks going MAD when trained over five times on their own outputs (synthetic data).

To further complicate the issue, it seems that other ways of quantifying costs (other than tokenization) would end up running into the same problems. Either via bit or character-counting, apparently no language can beat the pragmatic practicality of English - it would still present lower costs due to its inherently higher "compressibility" into a lower token count.

That means the issue isn't in the way models have been monetized; it's an actual limitation of the technology and base models considered for training. And it should be no surprise to know the issue impacts multiple language models across their versions. They're all built mostly the same, after all.

This issue looks like a predictable one when we consider that the companies actually introducing Large Language Models (such as ChatGPT) or Generative Image networks (such as Midjourney) are mostly based in America. Lower usage costs and higher availability of quality data comes with the territory, in a way.

This cost difference has already led to a number of countries launching their own initiatives to train and deploy a native-language LLM. Both China and India have done so, and both claimed the same thing: that their plans were needed to accompany the pace of innovation allowed by English-based AI networks. And that rate is mostly limited by access and training costs.

It's only natural that everyone is looking to pay as little as possible for as much as possible; and these dynamics directly affect the cost of LLM training and deployment according to the base language. It's almost like this AI business is so complex, and its consequences so far-reaching, we have to be very careful with every little step we take.

Freelance News Writer

Francisco Pires is a freelance news writer for Tom's Hardware with a soft side for quantum computing.