Community Roundup (16 Aug 2014) - News, Discussions and Members to Watch

News in the community

Earlier in July we held an exclusive screening of Tom Allens award-winning film Janapar: Love on a Bike followed by an AMA with Tom on the fascinating story behind the film and his philosophy of travel.

In response to widespread debate around that TBEX-dolphin issue we organised a HangoutOnAir with a number of experts, prominent bloggers and TBEX to explore the issue in detail, contributing to widespread media coverage and eventually the cancelling of the tours in question.

Along with tireless responsible travel advocate Ron Mader of Planeta.com, we hosted a weeklong Q&A to mark Indigenous Peoples Week, followed by another HangoutOnAir with a panel of indigenous tourism specialists.

Recent hot discussions

Animal welfare and tourism continues to be a hot topic on the site with the captive marine issue still burning strong and more recently an excellent discussion on elephants in tourism with Joe Keogh, maker of An Elephant Never Forgets, Geoff Manchester of Intrepid Travel, Chris of Care For The Wild and many others.

Travel writer qualifications were debated when Stuart McDonald asked What makes a travel writer notable? This inspired much discussion on a perpetually hot Outbounding topic.

Iain Manley asked a good variation on the old dinner party question: where would you choose to take a walk anywhere in the world, and with who?

There was unease over the representation of North Korea in this technically brilliant but ethically dubious video. There was a fascinating discussion on Pakistan and the role new media can play in reversing stereotypes.

Finally there were a number of additions to the debate around voluntourism, another perennial issue for the community, particularly from star new member Sallie Grayson of People And Places.

Remember you can always catch up on the most recent Hottest Discussions here.

People to watch

Particularly active members to watch include Ron Mader, Sallie Grayson, Jeff McAllister and John Williams - many thanks all for your recent input!

Suggestions/feedback?

Ideas for future AMAs, screenings, Hangouts and any other discussions and community events are always welcome.