It’s Remembrance Day in Canada today, and it’s impossible to simply “remember” the past right now without being hyperaware of everything that’s happening in the world in the present.
The idea of tourism as a path for peace is something I’ve been passionate about since coming into the tourism industry. In my early days as a newbie tour guide, I realized the mind-opening potential of tours that brought together travellers from all over the world to experience new places, cultures and ideas together. I saw travelers on my tours make friends with people from countries their own countries weren’t friends with. I became passionate about facilitating these kinds of mind-opening experiences, convinced that this was one way I could make an impact, contribute to making the world a better place.
But in the darker moments recently I’ve wondered if that is even still possible or just a pipe dream.
So I’m happy to be able to share something today I’ve been working on for awhile: for an article for my current job, I spoke with tour operators in Israel and Palestine who are working as partners to build bridges through the tours they lead, and while those tours are currently on hold, hope remains.
The article is published here now, I hope you’ll take a moment to give it a read and let me know what you think: https://arival.travel/another-blow-to-tourism-operators-in-israel-palestine-look-to-future/
Header photo: Unsplash / Christian Wiediger
Breaking Moulds 
Don’t give up on the hope. Some days that is all we have.