Meaningful Tourism for cities in China and around the world
Dear reader,
in the last few days, your humble editor PROF M, had the pleasure of being invited to the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) Regional Tourism Conference Europe 2025 in Marbella/Spain.
WTCF is based in Beijing and has successfully brought together more than 160 cities from around the world. Most of them are first of all interested in attracting more Chinese visitors to their destination. However, WTCF is defining itself as a global organisation, publishing surveys about global city tourism. In recent years, WTCF has nevertheless also sponsored China-related activities at ITB Berlin. PROF M has been a member of the WTCF Expert Committee since 2017. From 2026, the Meaningful Tourism Centre will become a member of WTCF.
The conference in Marbella was given the title “Smart Visions for the Future: Reshaping High-End Tourism”, with AI playing an important role in all discussions. More than 30 Chinese delegates arrived from China on the Costa del Sol, together with about ten representatives from different cities, from Brussels to Tbilisi and from Thessaloniki to, of course, Malaga and Marbella. Your humble editor, as a member of the Experts Committee of WTCF, took part in a panel discussion chaired by Prof. Karl Wöber (Vienna/Austria) about how Technology can empower All-season Operations in High-End tourism.
The participants all agreed that AI offers both opportunities and threats at the same time. Some Chinese participants provided a very real example by using translation apps on their smartphones to speak in English with immediate automatic translation into English.
PROF M, of course, pointed out that the need for a holistic development of tourism also includes the integration of AI into the KPIs for all six main stakeholders. The need for SMART KPIs to make developments more transparent and result-oriented was also supported by several panellists, including Patrick Bonfinck, CEO of Visit. Brussels and also Vice President of the City Destinations Alliance (CityDNA), the most important knowledge-sharing network for cities and urban regions in Europe.
In addition to the official program, a meeting of the WTCF Expert Commission took place, concentrating on the question of how Beijing can attract more international visitors. Fortunately, the air pollution has been greatly reduced and Beijing is much greener than it was a decade ago. However, this image has not been successfully distributed to potential travellers, especially potential repeat visitors.
Mayte Redondo, the Certified Trainer for Meaningful Tourism for Spain, had also been kindly invited by WTCF and shared the results of an ad-hoc research among Spanish tourism experts. The result confirmed again that there is in many European minds still an image of the “authentic” China, which is rather a farmer's boy with a water buffalo than a modern megacity like Beijing.
The expert committee members Tylon Tong, Vice President of Fliggy, the travel arm of Alibaba, and Tokumura Shisei of the Hangzhou Normal University, also confirmed that there is a need to develop customised special interest offers for international visitors and to create new distribution channels outside the traditional tour operator relations as well as paying more attention to the training and consequently service quality skills of the staff working in tourism and hospitality.
In all discussions, the term “meaningful” appeared again and again; however, there is still a lot of work to do to move to “Meaningful” with a capital M.
As always, all good wishes from Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg Arlt (PROF M) and the entire Meaningful Tourism Weekly team in Kathmandu and Manila!
Meaningful Tourism Online Lecture series starts, concentrating on five African countries from December 1, 2025
As reported here in Meaningful Tourism Weekly earlier, MTC, in cooperation with the Certified trainers, the Tourism Institute and industry partners, is starting a series of 30 country-specific Online Lectures, with each series consisting of four lectures of 60 minutes each.
The first wave will concentrate on Africa, with one lecture dedicated to a specific country and three more lectures focusing on Meaningful Tourism for Africa as a continent.
Dates of the first Online Lecture:
- Dec 1st (Monday): South Africa
- Dec 2nd (Tuesday): Kenya
- Dec 3rd (Wednesday): Tanzania / Zanzibar
- Dec 4th (Thursday): Cameroon
- Dec 5th (Friday): Zimbabwe
Online Lectures 2-4 for Africa will be offered on December 9, 16, and 23, 2025.
The lectures will start at GMT +8, which is 10 am in South Africa and Zimbabwe, 9 am in Cameroon, and 11 am in Tanzania and Kenya.
One week later, the first wave for South Asia will start.
A second wave for Africa is planned to start on January 19, 2026.
Participation in Lecture 1 is free for participants from Africa; however, if participants want to receive a Participation Certificate, they will have to pay 30 USD.
Participation in all four lectures costs 99 USD; however, for participants living in Africa, the price is reduced to 49 USD.
The first Online Lecture 1 includes the following:
- an introduction to the Meaningful Tourism paradigm and tools
- an introduction to Meaningful Tourism in the specific country by our Certified Trainer
- a presentation by a member of the Tourism ministry or organisation talking about current actions with regard to sustainable tourism development in the specific country
- a brief introduction into Carbon Credit Trading
- a Q&A session with the opportunity to ask questions
The other three Online Lectures will give information about the Africa-specific Meaningful Tourism holistic approach and tools, about customised KPIs, practical application examples, and a guide to a step-by-step development and application of a Meaningful Tourism strategy. Each lecture includes a Question and Answer section.
If you are interested in participating, please send an email to office@meaningfultourism.org.
Eco-Path Adventures – Slow Travel in Kenya
By David Cogswell
Eco-Path Adventures, a safari operator in Kenya, has its own take on the safari experience. Brigit Murugi, the founder and director of Eco-Path Adventures, wants to tweak the standard industry model just a bit with its own style of travel, which she calls Slow Travel.
In terms of travel to Kenya, Slow Travel is a revisioning of the safari experience that takes the concept of sustainable tourism one step farther in its historical progression. It’s the next logical, inevitable step of the present path of sustainable tourism, according to Brigit Murugi.
When I met Brigit at the Magical Kenya Travel Expo last October, she told me that the objectives of sustainable travel can only be truly fulfilled through the principles of Slow Travel.
“For a travel consultant who is trying to practice sustainable tourism, which is being promoted currently,” she said, “Slow Travel is the only way we are able to achieve that.”
Over the last two decades, the principles of sustainable tourism have been embraced by a widening circle of travelers and travel industry professionals, who share a developing set of best practices to achieve their common goal.
At its core, sustainable tourism is a commitment to care for the environment, including its wildlife and its people, making sure that you bring more benefit than harm by your presence, that you help to maintain and develop the environment to help ensure that tourism benefits both present and future generations. Brigit Murugi has a point. Slow Travel does seem to be a next step in the effort to try to reach true sustainability, beyond buying some carbon credits.
Ms. Murugi worked as a travel consultant herself, then had an apprenticeship working with another safari operator before taking the leap to start her own safari operation based on her vision of the Kenya travel experience, and on needs she felt were not being adequately addressed in the marketplace.
“What we promote is Slow Travel,” she said, “whereby you don’t have to go through a rushed safari. You go visit a destination, get to interact with the people there, get to have more time to engage and also get to understand their way of living, how they do their things, how they have their daily operations, and all that. As opposed to having a rushed safari whereby you are rushing from one destination to the other. So, we want to change it, and bring it to a way whereby you don’t have to visit Kenya within seven days. Just come, get to one destination, get to immerse yourself in that destination and get to learn more.”
The Eco-Path Adventures website elaborates further: “At Eco-Path Adventures, travel is not escape-it’s a return. A return to wonder, to connection, to the quiet truth that the world is richer when we slow down enough to feel it. We believe a journey should do more than move you across a map. It should move you within.”
David Cogswell
Meaningful Tourism Community: The Meaningful Tourism Transformational Game Workshop Trainer
Brigit Murugi, Trainer for Kenya
Brigit Murugi is a passionate Tour Operator and Sustainable Tourism Advocate at Eco-Path Adventures, where she designs immersive safaris that connect travelers to Kenya’s nature, culture, and communities.
Alongside her work in tourism, she is an HR & Payroll Automation Consultant, helping organizations streamline operations, improve compliance, and enhance employee experiences.
She holds a Diploma in IATA Tourism and Travel Services Marketing Operations from the Air Travel & Related Studies Centre and a Certificate in Customer Experience from Brand Love Education.
With a strong foundation in customer experience management and business development, Brigit combines empathy, innovation, and structure to create meaningful connections—whether with travelers, teams, or systems.
Meaningful Tourism Weekly: What is the current situation of tourism in Kenya and how can the Meaningful Tourism Paradigm help to support its development?
Brigit: Kenya, Through the Lens of Eco-Path Adventures
Kenya's tourism sector is on a strong path of recovery and transformation. Beyond the traditional safari model, travelers today are seeking experiences that connect them with people, culture, and nature in a genuine way. This shift aligns perfectly with our philosophy at Eco-Path Adventures, where we champion slow, meaningful travel journeys that are immersive, responsible, and rooted in purpose.
While Kenya remains one of Africa's most iconic destinations, the challenge ahead is ensuring that growth benefits both visitors and local communities without compromising our natural heritage. Mass tourism can create economic opportunity, but if unmanaged, it can also dilute cultural authenticity and strain fragile ecosystems. That's why we believe in the Meaningful Tourism paradigm one that emphasizes balance between experience, sustainability, and impact.
At Eco-Path Adventures, we design safaris that invite travelers to slow down to spend time engaging with local communities, walk through conservation areas with local guides, and experience Kenya beyond the lens of quick sightseeing. By doing so, travel becomes more than recreation; it becomes a bridge for understanding and empowerment.
Meaningful Tourism offers Kenya a path to redefine success in travel, not by the number of visitors, but by the depth of experience and positive impact created. When tourism honours people, preserves nature, and tells authentic stories, it becomes a force for development and connection.
Through collaboration and consciousness, Kenya can continue to lead Africa as a model of purposeful, meaningful tourism.
MTC Certified Trainers
Please find below the updated overview of all our Certified Trainers for the Meaningful Tourism Transformational Game Workshop, along with the updated World Map showing the countries directly and indirectly covered at present.
With almost 50 Certified Trainers, many countries and regions of the world are already covered. However, MTC continues to look for professionals with experience in training or lecturing and a passion for sustainable tourism.
If you are interested in becoming a Certified Trainer for the Meaningful Tourism Transformational Game Workshop for a country not marked in dark green on the map above, please contact us at office@meaningfultourismcentre.org.
2025 Tropical Coastal City Tourism Event
Meet PROF M at the 2025 Tropical Coastal City Tourism Event in Sanya/Hainan, China, on November 18 to 21, 2025.
About Meaningful Tourism Weekly
Meaningful Tourism Weekly is published every Thursday by Meaningful Tourism Centre (MTC) - London and Kathmandu in collaboration with Travel Asia Now, led by Rhea Vitto Tabora. This partnership enhances the newsletter’s professional production and distribution, bringing added value to our readers.
Each issue features an Editorial, updates on MTC activities, a Best Practice Example, a profile of an MTC-certified trainer, news about upcoming events, and, occasionally, additional op-ed pieces from guest authors. Carefully selected news items, including videos and podcasts, are also included, with links to their original sources in the Meaningful Tourism News section.
Subscription to Meaningful Tourism Weekly is free, with the addition of a paid content section that includes a library of surveys, exclusive articles, conference presentations, and statistical data, offering subscribers invaluable resources.
Sponsorship opportunities are available for those interested in supporting this initiative.
For more information about MTC's training programs, market research, product adaptation, consulting services, conferences, strategy development, and marketing, visit our website or email us at info@meaningfultourismcentre.org.
