Episodes
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Folashade (Boundless Travel) talks to Wesley about the close relationship between food and tourism. Wesley kicks off the conversation by quoting a ChiShona saying, 'hukama igasva hunozadziswa nekudya' which means that we fulfil our personal relationships by sitting together and sharing a meal. To which Folashade adds that food is a gate way, you learn the world and experience it one bite at a time.
This episode is filled with sustainable practices for hotels and how travellers can quickly and easily assess a provider prior to travel. Plenty of tips on choosing a destination and curating an itinerary that goes beyond the 'touristy' places and connect with locals, local heritage and culture.
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Darryl from Welcome to Travel shares why Melbourne, Australia has won the award for 'most liveable city' in the world 7-years in a row. He even gives a tip for the best spot when you are thinking of proposing to your partner during a working holiday. From sports like F1, Cricket, UFC and football - to the coolest bars you have ever been to, with some decent craft beers, and his number 1 recommendation: four pillars shiraz gin - all of which are surrounded by quirky street art. The city as Darryl describes in this episode, is a cultural melting pot with food flavours from Indigenous Aboriginal communities as well as Greek, Italian and Chinese cuisines.
We also discussed their Welcome to Melbourne Tour, with a full itinerary of what you need to know for an epic gap year or working holiday trip. He of course let it be known that Welcome to Travel are number one ranked on TripAdvisor, and this is a result of a solid customer feedback loop.
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Crystal shares her passion for impacting the lives of young people and in this episode, she shares how as faculty they prepare students for the study abroad trips. Crystal highlights the internship sites they chose for the student placements and how such placements facilitate the learning they do in classrooms back in the States. There are a few stories from the trip itself that shows the group dynamics and the fun stuff that comes with being a mom, teacher, and psychologist.
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Wesley chats with volunteer coordinator Doug who takes care of projects based in and around the newest city in Zimbabwe; Victoria Falls. During the chat, Doug talks about WHY folks should visit Zimbabwe and Victoria Falls. He shares the health projects and the education projects that all run by locals and how the financial strains associated with the economic decline in Zimbabwe led to the development of exchange programmes as a means to an end (resource mobilisation).
Doug also shares interesting facts about Victoria Falls: you are more likely to bump into an elephant than car traffic! The episode is jam-packed with useful insights for people who want to travel with a purpose. Find out more about accommodation, things to do and how to make an impact in Victoria Falls but more importantly, an even bigger impact on your own life.
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Wesley chat with Lisa, Programme Manager at Fair-Trade Tourism; a certification body for travel operators. Lisa is an expert on certification and so this episode is very insightful and has helpful information for both travellers and travel businesses. She kicks us off by stating that, 'Tourism creates better places to live and work, and better places to visit'. Lisa does not like to be bogged down by strict definitions and so she alludes to common sense being the best way to decide what is sustainable and to inform your sustainable travel choices.
Some of the points Lisa raised including, sustainable travel businesses embrace what it means to be truly local and it comes through in the experience they provide. She urges travellers and operators alike to make deliberate choices when choosing laundry service, where to buy beverages and food from. It's important to look through the entire chain to ensure even the suppliers conduct ethical practices.
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Wesley had a wonderful chat with Valerie of Valerie Merut Consulting Ltd about the best way for conscious travellers to communicate their travel stories using social media. We are inundated with tons of information and as a social media consultant, Valerie breaks down using her own travel stories as illustrations. She was so generous with information that is also helpful to operators who could be struggling with how to make the most of their social media presence.
In the episode, Valerie takes us to Poland, England, Peru and Morocco where she encourages folks to open up and talk to people on the ground. Her experience in Japan stands out and so listen in and experience Japan through her eyes!
She was lucky to learn about travel and how to do it responsibly from her parents who would choose locally owned restaurants when they travelled. Her parents were interested in culture, history and art and these natural interests informed their travel choices. It led to Valerie looking towards travel to help open her mind and cultural exchanges.
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Wesley chatted with Jan on educational trips abroad for students & it turned into a two-part series. This is the second part of thrilling stories from a university professor and study abroad guru.
In this episode Jan shares all about what to pack for a study abroad trip - Advise to faculty leaders like bring gifts & business cards but don't allow students to borrow your hairdryer hahah (she actually laughs because it's based on true stories). She also talks about how to engage study abroad providers that are operating in the destination you want to take your students for short-term summer or winter trips: how to verify credibility, ethics, and their alignment with the SDGs.
With over a decade of leading groups of diverse students, Jan is the best person to share insights on what makes a good internship placement site for students & aligning the internship with the university curricula.
Importantly, Jan reminisces on the leisure activities in Zimbabwe & tells Wesley about Victoria Falls, which she describes as a once in a lifetime experience. Jan says the best hiking experiences are found in Zimbabwe & the safari experience was exceptional, something that surpassed expectations, but most important are the people you interact with and how they make you feel welcome.
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Today, Wesley is joined by Michael from 10 Gates Matrix Inc - a sustainability activist and advocate for purposeful travel. Michael is very passionate about engaging with local people when travelling and highlights the importance of avoiding messing with the indigenous way of life. For Michael, it is important to listen to their story and engage in two-way communication that enriches your own as well as their experience of hosting you. Through stories in Mexico, Canada and Vietnam, Michael shares over 30-years of travel stories that will inspire you to discover authentic cultural places.
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Today, Wesley is joined by Dawn from Pack Light Global who shares stories from journeys she has had alongside other black women around the world. Dawn is an awesome storyteller and has a bag full of stories accumulated over the years. Most importantly, her travel experiences are inspired by her academic background and Master's dissertation that focused on authentic cultural experiences. Listen to Dawn and Wesley as they go around the world in one hour.
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Today, Wesley is joined by Stephen from Kated who also hosts the daily podcast: Kated Travel Podcast. Stephen has spent the last 14 years travelling for work and leisure and he gives us a glimpse into his journey of discovering sustainability through his travels. Clicking beyond page one on Google is one of the hacks Stephen says really works well when looking to find and connect with local tour guides and attraction providers. Stephen also shares his experiences living host families in Zimbabwe among other countries around the world.
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Today, Wesley is joined by Christina from The Local Way who shares her views on how you can travel to new destinations with guidance from locals, while you do not have to necessarily meet the locals. It's a very fascinating way to travel around the world for people who may not be in a position to have a local guide join them physically during their trip. Christina describes it as visiting a local buddy who happens to be on vacation during your stay.
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Today Wesley is joined by Nikki from Trip Kinetics who has a world of knowledge on working and travelling with locals. She takes us to the canals of Venice, then to the volcanoes in Iceland among many more destinations that have operators and tour guides leading the way with authentic experiences only locals would know!
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Today, Wesley is joined by Nathalie from Rethink.Travel who for over a decade has been working with hotels around the world. Nathalie shares her personal sustainability journey and how that has impacted the way she works, including the influence it has along the tourism ecosystem. In this episode, there is so much to learn for both accommodation providers and travellers - the sustainability criteria that Wesley Discusses with Nathalie towards the end of the episode, including some best practice examples, which should inspire you for what you should look out for when choosing your next stay!
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Today, Wesley is joined by Sarah from Sosu Events who shares insights on the MICE sector. The episode is a must-listen for those attending events, meetings and conferences. Sarah shares her thoughts on why we all should care about sustainability when either thinking of attending events or when hosting ourselves.
You can reach Sarah on her IG: @sarahsharingtravels.
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Wesley speaks with Anca, a sustainability leader and avid traveller from Eco-Coach Inc. Anca has travelled to more than 50 countries and continues to travel deeper. She shares tips to help tourism businesses become more sustainable in their operations so that they can meet traveller demand for more sustainable options. Anca, through her own travel stories to places such as:
Croatia (where she connected with nature) Romania (where she enjoyed handcrafts from old ladies in the villages) Tanzania (where she struggled to find local providers for a long time but eventually climbed Kili) Denmark (where she first encountered the public bike system)She walks travellers through sustainability elements they should be on the look out for when choosing travel providers. It's a jam-packed episode!
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On this episode, Wesley talks to travel podcast guru Chris from Amateur Traveler who has a gift for storytelling & relies on his travel stories to inspire his listeners, friends and family to travel more sustainably. It's a jam packed episode with amazing stories from diverse destinations, including Zimbabwe, South Africa, Tanzania, Jordan and Ecuador among others.
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Graeme provides ideas on itineraries that have a massive impact on local communities, whilst ensuring travellers have an enhanced experience in South Africa. We talk about the different age groups and the things each demographic can do and see in the 10 provinces of South Africa. If you are looking for South African highlights that you can visit responsibly, this is an episode for you!
Find out more about Graeme's company by following this link.
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Hear from Jan, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who has been leading groups of pre-health students on educational tours for over 10-years. She provides advice on how to engage the university study abroad department as faculty to establish a faculty-led study abroad programme & how to work with third-party providers based in the destinations.
There are lessons for students and parents alike on how to prepare; including when to apply for a passport & ethical responsibility while travelling as well as how students can talk about their time abroad, so that they can differentiate themselves in gad school and job applications.
Jan also shares a few hilarious stories about some of her trips leading students abroad in this episode. You can watch Jan's testimonial video on YouTube.
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Hear from Sola, an alumna on the Tiritose Sustainable Travel global health clinical rotation internship in Zimbabwe! She shares with Wesley stories on why she chose to go abroad for an internship & how she navigated the diversity of culture and way of doing things, which was different from er own.
Sola talks about a typical day in the life of an intern in a rural hospital, the food and accommodation as well as leisure activities, including dancing to Nigerian music.
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Today Wesley is joined by Ken, who as a medical student came to Zimbabwe for a global health clinical rotation internship; spending time at city and rural hospitals and then some adrenaline leisure activities.
Ken shares tips on what to pack, making the most of your time abroad by arriving with an open mind and doing things the local way!
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