In our journey towards a more sustainable world, “impact travel” solutions can provide travellers with experiences that positively mark the destinations they visit. However, there are a few considerations that are crucial to a major breakthrough in impact travel: 1. The paradox that “going mainstream” is not sustainable by its very nature (e.g. mass tourism) 2. Protecting the authentic essence and brand value of “impact travel” so it doesn’t become another marketing tagline 3. Moving beyond simple KPIs to ensure we make a measurable, positive change in the real lives of people Do you think "impact travel" is feasible for the tourism industry to achieve at a wider scale? What other challenges does impact travel face to become a significant force and transform people's lives and society? Appreciate your feedback! PS: If you are interested in this topic, we invite you to join the TravaPowa impact travel community (follow the links in my profile).

On my visit to Europe this month I decided to use trains whenever possible. Here's what I learned. I took the following trains in Germany (Deutsche Bahn) and Poland (PKP): Hamburg to Flensburg. Berlin to Hamburg. Hamburg to Poznan. Poznan to Warsaw. All up, I probably spent about 20 hours on trains over the past few weeks, so I feel I've had enough experience to form some opinions — although I'm certainly not an expert. Good things about train travel • Trains are comfy and easy to use your laptop on them • Train stations are central and easy to get to • It's fast to get through a train station (no security screening, etc) • Some stations have lounges (e.g Deutsche Bahn lounge, not really advertised!) • Nice scenery to look at on the way 🌳 🚊 🏞️ Not so good things about train travel • In my experience, trains were almost always late, by at least an hour • Buying tickets (as a tourist, like me) requires queuing at a ticket office • Central train stations are jammed with food store...