You Can Call Me at the Beach

Well, it seems that my plans to take it easy this year may be changing. Life has tossed me a few ups and downs over the last month and it is now time to rethink and take sock of some plans

I am thinking now that working remote from the stunning shores of Costa Rica for a while may be just what the Dr ordered.

I have a place to stay
I have internet and other required connections
I have aeroplan points to get me there
I woud be paid to be in paradise

Is there really anymore to consider ...

$40 a Day

Interesting article from bootsnall.com on how to traverse the globe on just $40 a day.

I stuck to a budget of $30 a day during my 4 months in Africa and South East Asia and it was dead easy. I cant imagine how much more I could have gotten for that extra $10. It would have been pure luxury!

How to Travel Around the World for $40 Per Day | BootsnAll Travel Articles

International Voluntourism Guidelines Research Launched

Press release that popped into my email this morning. Very interesting stuff:

Industry Leaders Collaborate to Create Global Initiative

 to Transform Good Intentions into Best Practice

WASHINGTON, DC and TORONTO, April 5, 2011 - The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) and Planeterra, a leading non-profit foundation dedicated to sustainable community development and environmental conservation through travel, are collaborating to develop a set of criteria that will help international voluntourism providers plan and manage their programs in a responsible and sustainable manner.


An increasing number of travel companies are adding volunteer opportunities to their tour itineraries worldwide, and the trend, which is now commonly known as voluntourism, is growing rapidly. The 2008 Condé Nast Traveler/MSNBC poll, for example, stated that the number of regular volunteer vacationers has doubled since 2002, and the number of those who have volunteered at least once has tripled. According to the 2009 Green Traveler Study by CMIGreen, 59.1% of those surveyed said they were interested in volunteering during a future trip.


With this growth, a myriad of issues and challenges has emerged, including: project development concerns, impacts on host communities, travelers' skills and experiences, and the potentials for positive change. There is an increasing need for effective tools that help providers and travelers make smart decisions. The goal of the TIES-Planeterra effort is to address these challenges and to outline parameters that will guide both project leaders and travelers alike.


"Travelers are searching for new authentic experiences worldwide, like voluntours, that put them face to face with some of our most important global challenges," says Megan Epler Wood, Executive Director of Planeterra. "There are now more opportunities for travelers with skills, in areas like engineering and health care, to assist local communities and help develop beneficial projects, like assisting with clinics and developing clean water systems for villages that lack adequate services," says Epler Wood.


To ensure that this project incorporates a diverse range of industry knowledge and experiences, TIES and Planeterra are working with an International Expert Committee representing a variety of industry sectors and regions:

• Bodhi Garrett, Co-Director, Andaman Discoveries, Thailand
• Valeria Gracia, Asociación Civil Voluntario Global, Argentina
• Sallie Grayson, Programme Director, People and Places, U.K.
• Nancy McGehee, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Virginia Tech University, U.S.A.
• Paul and Thandi Miedema, Founders, Calabash Tours, South Africa
• Kristin Lamoureux, Ph.D., Director, International Institute of Tourism Studies, The George Washington University School of Business, U.S.A.
• Lelei LeLaulu, President, Community Benefit Development and Co-chairman, Innovation for Sustainable Development Centre, U.S.A.
• Daniela Ruby Papi, Founder, PEPY Tours, Cambodia
• Gopinath Parayil, Founder and Chief Executive, The Blue Yonder, India
• Marnie Heim-Stafford and Jeremy Stafford, Owners, Voluntours, South Africa
• Andy Woods-Ballard, Director of Operations, Global Vision International, U.K.
• Dr. Stephen Wearing, Associate Professor, University of Technology, Australia

“We are thrilled to be collaborating with industry leaders and voluntourism experts from around the world,” says Dr. Kelly Bricker, Chair, TIES Board of Directors. "We believe that there are a number of opportunities to apply lessons learned from the ecotourism community’s experiences in the past couple of decades to effectively support voluntourism in order to maximize positive impacts of the power of travel."


"Our first priority is to develop, through an interdisciplinary approach, sound guidelines for voluntourism activities that will serve as a practical tool for voluntourism providers," says Megan Epler Wood of Planeterra. "This tool will both complement existing knowledge and make an important contribution to ongoing efforts to develop and grow voluntourism in a socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable manner."


Planeterra was founded in 2003 by Gap Adventures, the largest independent adventure travel company in the world, and is a leading international organization promoting voluntourism activities, which give back to destinations and contribute to the sustainable development of communities.


"It’s very rewarding to see Planeterra and TIES leading this work to establish guidelines that will ensure the long-term health and well-being of communities and destinations around the world," says Gap Adventures Marketing Director, Richard Edwards. "We believe the guidelines will serve as an important tool for voluntourism providers – from large global companies like Gap Adventures to small-scale local community enterprises."


The research project will incorporate a global survey program to be undertaken in May 2011 and stakeholder meeting, which will be held Sept. 19-21 during the upcoming Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference organized by TIES in Hilton Head Island, SC. TIES will produce the final draft for expert committee review and publication in early 2012.


For more information on the TIES-Planeterra Voluntourism Guidelines project, see updates on: www.ecotourism.org/voluntourism.

ESTC 2011

I would kill to attend this, but alas, this year I will be 8 months pregnant and flying will not be an option:



Hosted by Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA, the ESTC 2011 will be held from September 19th-21st, 2011. Bringing together 500+ business leaders, industry professionals and community stakeholders, the ESTC 2011 will feature dynamic sessions, public forums and social functions that offer eye-opening insights into the latest on sustainable business strategies and unparalleled networking and knowledge-sharing experiences.

http://www.ecotourismconference.org/

Update on Japan

Dear friends of GLOBIS & KIBOW,

This is my 4th email to you after March 11th. The reasons why I am sending emails to you are simple. I feel that foreign media are not doing their jobs and I guessed that you would love to hear what an entrepreneur living in Tokyo is thinking about.

One Canadian student who has flown from Toronto on March 13th to Tokyo to join GLOBIS International MBA Program (our academic year starts from April) said to me, “CNN and Fox are disgusting; I thought BBC was fair, but this time even BBC is over exaggerating”.

One female Malaysian student who has flown into Tokyo just two days ago said “If you are in KL, you think that all of Tokyo is contaminated by radiation. My parents strongly begged me not to come to Tokyo. After arriving here, everything is amazingly normal.”

This is the typical reaction you get when you talk to people in Tokyo now.
In this 4th issue, I would like to draw your attention to just 3 points.

1. Fukushima Nuclear Reactor seems to be stabilizing:

Hong Kong Radiation Exceeds Tokyo Even After Nuclear Crisis -Businessweek

http://buswk.co/gSUS9P

If you live in Tokyo, the radiation you get in the air is minimal. The level of the air and water is decreasing and most of us are back in business as usual. My wife who has to take care of 5 kids does not mind drinking tap water now.

2. You get all the attention just being in Japan now!

If you come to Tokyo now, you will get all the attention. After the exodus of foreigners, Roppongi is quite a different place and hotels are filled just with local residence. Shangri-la Hotel has decided to close down for one month. We would just have to question their level of commitment to Japan.

At the last email that I had sent to you, I have criticized French
Government for having caused panic in Tokyo by sending chartered flight to evacuate French people out of Japan, but recently French is showing strong sing of coming back. President Sarkozy and CEO of French nuke firm Areva has visited Japan, and vowed to support Japan.

Saudi Aramco has grabbed the headline by CEO Al-Falih visiting Japan on
March 22nd when no foreigner even thought about touching Japan, and offered
a $20 million donation to help Japanese recovery efforts.

Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of Renault- Nissan Alliance, visited a Nissan factory in Iwaki, which is within 40 KM radius from Fukushima Nuclear Reactor on March 31st has gained the support of people in Iwaki by showing his commitment to Fukushima and Japan. GE chief executive Jeff Immelt is now in Japan.

You will get all the attention just by visiting Japan now. On the other hand, if you do not show your commitment, you will just simply be disregarded after Japan recovers.

I am still shocked with Lufthansa who stops in Seoul-Incheon to allow for crew changes. “That way the crews no longer have to stay in Japan overnight”. What a bad message that Lufthansa is sending to Japan. Japanese people are so frustrated with this policy that some of my friends told me that they would never fly Lufthansa. After all, we have not heard strong messages from German, yet.

3. Going back to business as usual

Most of the houses in Japan except for the region that was hit by Tsunami have regained electricity, water and gas. The roads have been fixed and trains have gradually started running. The speed of the recovery of factories is acclaimed by an Israeli friend of mine as “amazing”.

As for me, GLOBIS has just finished Entrance Ceremony for newly entering students of International MBA program today. We have 12 different nationalities, such as French, Canadian, Thailand, Chinese, Korean, Nigerian, Danish, etc. All together, the number of students who entered GLOBIS MBA in both Japanese and English languages is 348, which makes us as the largest business school in Japan with best ranked by Nikkei Career Magazine for 2 consecutive years.

I have attached a speech memo that I have used today. Japanese are working hard to go back to business as usual, but we still have three issues hanging in front of us.

1)Perceived danger & uncertainties on Fukushima

2)Power shortages caused by the shutdown of most of nuclear reactors in Greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area.

3)Supply chain problems: The tsunami has washed out some of the critical factories in Touhoku region, and Radiation is forcing some factories operating within 20‾30km radius from Fukushima to cease operation.

However, cherry blossoms have started to bloom, so the mindset of Japanese people is becoming much more positive now. Furthermore, I can feel that there is strong energy coming out from within us. We can say that Japanese people are truly committed not only to rebuild Japan, but to create and innovate something new after this disaster.

So hopefully, you can spread words that Japan is coming back.

Yours,

GLOBIS & KIBOW Leader
Yoshi Hori

Facebook:YoshitoHori
http://twitter.com/YoshitoHori
http://blog.globis.co.jp/hori_english/