A collective memory work reflection on planning and pivoting to a virtual TEFI11 conference

Abstract

COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill, resulting in the most severe disruption to the global tourism sector in modern times. According to The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO, 2021) Barometer, global international tourist arrivals fell by 44% between January and April 2020. The disruption caused by the pandemic resulted in a loss of US$195 billion in international tourism receipts. Prior to the pandemic, urgent concerns about the impact and sustainability of tourism were mounting (Boluk et al., 2019). Overtourism and the anti-tourism sentiment, the climate crisis, the availability and quality of tourism work, oppression towards minority and marginalized groups, and concerns regarding the capacity of communities to absorb tourism, continue to attract both media and scholarly attention. As global travel restrictions begin to ease and the world looks towards a “new normal”, the immediate priority is to protect jobs and businesses. However, if the unsustainable nature of tourism is to be addressed, the unlocking of the sector is an opportunity to think radically about the purpose of tourism for a more sustainable future. Accordingly, the return to tourism should occur by recentring our purpose. This will require a radical, racial, ethnic, intersectional, ability lens, and set the standard for other sectors and disciplines to follow. It was within this context, and in support of the Tourism Education Futures Initiative’s (TEFI) ambition to move beyond business as usual, that the 11 TEFI conference invited contributions from educators and practitioners to radically challenge and debate the purpose of tourism. Purposeful tourism is about creating sustainable places to live, work and visit, based on creating value that is more than the pursuit of profit. Purpose is intentional and requires a commitment to iterative learning and reflexivity about one’s decisions, behaviours, and choices. A purposeful tourist must be honest and demonstrate restraint regarding the amount and types of travel one chooses to embark on. A forpurpose business strives to deliver more than just profit, often delivering social, cultural, economic, and environmental benefits because it’s the right thing to do. The goal of TEFI11 was to reflect on the transformative role of tourism to peoples, places and the