top10

media type="custom" key="28917126" align="right" Planeta.com's Top 10
editing: [|Planeta.com]

2017 Country Spotlight
Australia China Egypt Italy Mexico New Zealand Poland South Africa Turkey USA

On the Radar in 2014: Cities
Berlin, Germany Las Vegas, USA Lima, Peru London, England Macau, China Mossel Bay, South Africa Oaxaca de Juárez, México Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Quito, Ecuador Sydney, Australia Wellington, New Zealand

Countries
Flickr Twitter YouTube Radio
 * || =new zealand= || Top 10

Friends and colleagues working on responsible travel and ecotourism have shared a number of inspiring stories from [|New Zealand], the Land of the Long White Cloud. We’ve been updating our guides to Auckland, the Bay of Plenty and Queenstown in addition to essays on Maori Culture and travel tech tips featuring Flickr New Zealand. In development is a guide to New Zealand Slang just in time now for the World Rugby Cup. On the playlist we recommend New Zealand’s national radio broadcaster [|Radio NZ] with programs including [|Te Ahi Kaa] and the [|Darwin Lectures]. On the [|twitter front], check out [|Simon Young], [|Te Ara] and [|Good Magazine].

What we’d like to see: On top of our wishlist for New Zealand is the development of the proposed Indigenous Ecotourism Conference. Could we be seeing friends in Hokianga? Stay tuned. If I do get the chance to visit NZ in the near future, it will include a visit to Wellington’s Te Papa where we’ve had an ongoing a [|Conversation with OurSpace].

Call for photos: [|Ecotourism Oceania]

[|Blog] || media type="custom" key="7956504" ||


 * || =mexico= || Let's be optimistic about [|Mexico] . I've written about the country since 1992 and it has been a labor of love with rich personal rewards, but I'm getting frustrated that many of the proposals developed in the past decade simply have not come to fruition.

This month Oaxaca plays host to a responsible tourism fair which begins Sunday with a very slow walk and photo safari in Llano Park. It's the 10th annual event which we've pleased to partner with artisans, language schools, travel operators and other friends in Oaxaca and it promises to be best event yet.

Online I'm collaborating with editors on the wiki i updating regional resources, including guides to Mexico City, Guanajuato and Copper Canyon (Barrancas del Cobre). On the Planeta 1.0 site, look for updates as well on the popular [|Mexico Guide]

What we'd like to see: On top of our wishlist for Mexico is an integrated strategy for tourism development and marketing. Tourism development has been on the menu for various government ministries and ngos, but there's little evidence that the players are communicating with one another and very little to show how the services can be accessed by, well, tourists. Efforts seem hit and miss because too many players are competing with one another instead of cooperating. Tourism promotion remains a top-down affair with rhetoric about ecotourism and adventure travel, but little conversation with the communities and visitors. On my personal wishlist is finding new places to sell postcards from Oaxaca!

Call for photos: [|North American Ecotourism] ||


 * || =usa= || Among the signs of all-around positive change, Ken Burns' wonderful documentary about the park system and the [|National Park Service on Twitter!]. For those who love responsible travel, ecotourism and indigenous tourism options, the pieces of the puzzle appear to be falling into place.

On top of our wishlist for the USA is a big ask - less politics as usual and more integration. If we can't agree on some things, can we search for common ground? I'm disappointed that we had zero U.S. nominees for the Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award from the USA and would be keen to see some examples of what indigenous peoples would like Usians and foreign visitors to know. We'd also like to see some forwarding-thinking U.S. universities walk the talk of responsible tourism and participate more in open forums and dialogues about tourism.

Keep an eye on state guides such as Nevada. In the past few years I've been lucky enough to visit some beautiful parks and museums including

[|red rock canyon]
Call for photos: [|North American Ecotourism] || media type="custom" key="7956458" ||


 * media type="custom" key="7956474" || =**australia**= || We are consistently impressed by what's happening across [|Australia]. Before my first trip Down Under, I started my research with Radio National programs such as [|Bush Telegraph] and [|Late Night Live]. No wonder Australia ranks high on our playlist. The home to aboriginal tourism, we're a big fan of the SBS series, the [|First Australians] and Radio National's [|Awaye]. Australia even does the dead tree well with Martin Hugh's exceptional slow guides to [|Melbourne] and [|Sydney].

Over the past few years I've been working with locals in updating the wiki's regional guides: Queensland, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. These feed into the more traditional features on Planeta.com.

What we'd like to see: On top of our wishlist for Australia is a more concerted effort on part of the tourism leaders to work with local entrepreneurs, including indigenous tourism owners, to better communicate what's on offer through the Web. From this side of the Pacific, the efforts seem fragmented and hard to find. Here's to a new and improved use of Web 2.0 as documented in our presentation [|Victoria 2.0]

Call for photos: [|Ecotourism Oceania]

[|blog] ||  ||


 * media type="custom" key="11781412" || =england= || [|England] makes the Top 10 list thanks to Ron's first trip to England in 2011. Kudos to our editors updating the guides to London and the UK-focused who’s who in responsible tourism? (also available as a popular, 2,000+ views [|presentation]) on Slideshare. Highlights elsewhere on the Web include the work of our friends at ICRT (and the beautifully titled and irreverent [|Irresponsible Tourism Forum]) and the always inspiring [|Green Traveller]. Twitterfans, join the [|Carrotmob!]

What we’d like to see: On top of our wishlist for England is improved contact with government officials. Currently, we have none, zero, naught. Over the past 20 years we have heard a lot from the journalists, academics and ngos, but nothing from anyone protecting parks or leading tourism campaigns. We’d also like to see discussions that aren’t [|parrot shagging] or holier-than-thou soapbox guilt trip diatribes … something more along the lines of [|Fighting Talk], please! Finally, we would like to follow-up on a comment made by [|Valere Tjolle] – could we see more travel events with free wi-fi?!

Call for photos: [|Ecotourism Europe]

[|blog] leohickman on the hot seat ||  ||


 * media type="custom" key="7956648" || =ireland= || [|Ireland] deserves a top spot with the publication of the [|Ecotourism Handbook for Ireland] available for [|download as a PDF file].

What we'd like to see: On top of our wishlist for Ireland is for national leaders to incorporate the eco-friendly tips into tourism promotion. Also ... podcasts explaining Irish culture and heritage A new edition of [|Ecoescape Ireland] ... in print and something for the e-book reader/ipod crowd that doesn't want their travel info bound in a dead tree format

Call for photos: [|Ecotourism Europe]

[|blog]

Flickr Stars: [|Tourism Pure] ||  ||


 * || =peru= || We're keeping an eye on Peru, home to the Nazca Lines and [|Machu Picchu]. The capital Lima is ...

What we'd like to see: More info on cycling and tips for foodies interested in the potato. ||  ||


 * || =south africa= || The sporting world looks to [|South Africa] in 2010 for the Fifa World Cup and we are paying attention to how the country connects the thousands of sports fans with places to go and people to meet in between the games. We're inspired by the work of Kurt Ackerman via [|twitter] and the always inspiring [|Afrika T Blog] . The government offices have also taken up Web 2.0, including Cape Town with its own [|Live it, love it Flickr group] and the country could easily qualify for the Spotlight Award.

What we'd like to see: On top of our wishlist for South Africa is a successful World Cup that shows the world good sport and good tourism. Over the coming months look for updates including a revised guide to Cape Town and Things to do. In the works is our guide to South Africa slang.

Call for photos: [|Ecotourism Africa]

Storify: http://storify.com/ronmader/inspiring-change ||  ||


 * || =**sweden**= || Sweden enters the Top10 thanks to the participation of ITBW Award winner Nutti Sami Siida and the numerous edits on this wiki about local culture. ||  ||

About this list
How was this list created? It's based on a number of factors, including:
 * number of planeta.com articles
 * editors who contribute to this wiki
 * number of reliable contacts
 * commitment toward developing specific projects
 * momentum carrying forward
 * number of travel operators featured in the [|world travel directory]
 * programs on the playlist
 * participation in our awards
 * ron's invitations to speak or deliver workshops

We'll revisit this list to see how things are progressing. [|Suggestions are welcome.]

Albums
Music for Airports Poi Dog Pondering Green, rem

Top 10 Foods in Oaxaca
Champurrado Chapulines (Grasshoppers) Chocolate con Agua Chocolate Atole Conejo = Rabbit Guajalote = Turkey Mezcal Mole Tepache Tlayuda Versa (Kale)

Wiki
2012 2011 2010 wishlist

On the radar

it couldn't get any nower

Facebook [|Comala Bar]

Livestreaming Audio http://doublej.net.au

Tweets media type="custom" key="27749337"