January 2020 was a horrible time for Australia - 186,000 square kilometres of Australia burnt in bushfires (that's an area half the size of Germany); 34 people lost their lives and they estimate up to a billion animals perished. Yep - it was awful, and the aftermath has been awful for the tourism industry too, because many people had to cancel trips during our peak travel season.

So, what to do? I'll put on an episode later in the year about the specific parts of Australia you can travel to in order to help out with bushfire recovery but for now, I've interviewed two Australian women who have told me all about the efforts to restore tourism so far, and talked about the far-reaching effects - and possibly some benefits - arising out of the post-bushfire chaos.

First up, I chat with Louise Southerden, firstly about some of the great tourism initiatives helping out and then about the bigger picture and the opportunity to do good. Lou also touches on the Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency movement, which we will talk about more in a later episode, too.

Next I talk with Caro Ryan who lives in the heart of one of the areas seriously affected by the bushfires, the beautiful Blue Mountains in New South Wales. We also chat about the great innovations in tourism since the fires and also the bigger picture and hopes for the future.

Links:
Louise Southerden - No Impact Girl - http://www.noimpactgirl.com
"Open for business, not business as usual" - Louise's blog post about post-bushfire tourism - http://www.noimpactgirl.com/2020/02/after-bushfires-open-for-business-not.html 
Caro Ryan - Lotsa Fresh Air - https://lotsafreshair.com 
Call to Revive Australian Tourism by Catherine Marshall - https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/call-to-revive-australian-tourism
Holiday Here This Year - https://www.australia.com/en/travel-inspiration/holiday-here-this-year.htmlholidayherethisyear.com 
Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/179

January 2020 was a horrible time for Australia - 186,000 square kilometres of Australia burnt in bushfires (that's an area half the size of Germany); 34 people lost their lives and they estimate up to a billion animals perished. Yep - it was awful, and the aftermath has been awful for the tourism industry too, because many people had to cancel trips during our peak travel season.
So, what to do? I'll put on an episode later in the year about the specific parts of Australia you can travel to in order to help out with bushfire recovery but for now, I've interviewed two Australian women who have told me all about the efforts to restore tourism so far, and talked about the far-reaching effects - and possibly some benefits - arising out of the post-bushfire chaos.
First up, I chat with Louise Southerden, firstly about some of the great tourism initiatives helping out and then about the bigger picture and the opportunity to do good. Lou also touches on the Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency movement, which we will talk about more in a later episode, too.
Next I talk with Caro Ryan who lives in the heart of one of the areas seriously affected by the bushfires, the beautiful Blue Mountains in New South Wales. We also chat about the great innovations in tourism since the fires and also the bigger picture and hopes for the future.
Links:
<ul>
<li>Louise Southerden - No Impact Girl - <a href="http://www.noimpactgirl.com">http://www.noimpactgirl.com</a></li>
<li>"Open for business, not business as usual" - Louise's blog post about post-bushfire tourism - <a href="http://www.noimpactgirl.com/2020/02/after-bushfires-open-for-business-not.html">http://www.noimpactgirl.com/2020/02/after-bushfires-open-for-business-not.html</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Caro Ryan - Lotsa Fresh Air - <a href="https://lotsafreshair.com">https://lotsafreshair.com</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Call to Revive Australian Tourism by Catherine Marshall - <a href="https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/call-to-revive-australian-tourism">https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/call-to-revive-australian-tourism</a></li>
<li>Holiday Here This Year - <a href="https://www.australia.com/en/travel-inspiration/holiday-here-this-year.html">https://www.australia.com/en/travel-inspiration/holiday-here-this-year.html</a> <a href="http://holidayherethisyear.com">holidayherethisyear.com</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers -&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers">https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers</a></li>
<li>Show notes: <a href="http://notaballerina.com/179">https://notaballerina.com/179</a></li>
</ul>

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle is a show for travel lovers. Each episode is packed with travel stories from fellow travel addicts on topics like using foreign languages, meeting the locals, getting lost and what we learn from our travels.

Tales from travel-lovers about why we travel and what we learn from it.

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle - established 2016 - is a weekly show which helps travellers think about how our travels can be good for us and good for the world. We talk about how to make ethical decisions on our trips, sustainable and regenerative tourism, bringing back what we learn from the people and cultures we meet to improve our lives back home, and share the most memorable stories from travelling: fun, scary, educational and more. Most episodes include extracts from conversations with three different guests, centred on a particular topic, but you'll also hear occasional deep dive interviews, recordings from the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, and Amanda's own experiences from travelling past and present.

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle - established 2016 - is a weekly show which helps travellers think about how our travels can be good for us and good for the world. We talk about how to make ethical decisions on our trips, sustainable and regenerative tourism, bringing back what we learn from the people and cultures we meet to improve our lives back home, and share the most memorable stories from travelling: fun, scary, educational and more. Most episodes include extracts from conversations with three different guests, centred on a particular topic, but you'll also hear occasional deep dive interviews, recordings from the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, and Amanda's own experiences from travelling past and present.