Catching up with Kelly Galaski
Director of Global Programs, Planeterra Foundation
Planeterra has been doing some great work to help communities around the world during the pandemic. Can you tell us a little bit about some of the initiatives and what you’ve accomplished during this challenging time?
Since international travel ground to a halt in March, the global Planeterra team has been working hard checking in with our 85 partners worldwide. We deployed a needs assessment survey early on in the pandemic to collect information on which project partners were struggling to meet the basic needs of their communities, and also asked questions about their resilience and training needs. We were concerned by what we heard back from our partners as around 40% of respondents said they were worried about their communities being able to access basics like food and medicine, so we jumped into action and launched our Turn Travel Into Impact from Home campaign, which has raised $100,000 over the course of the last four months, including a match by the founder of both Planeterra and G Adventures, Bruce Poon Tip. So far, we’ve given 19 grants to communities to help them access necessities such as food, water, medicine and sanitizers. Along with emergency assistance, these grants have funded sustainable initiatives like expanding food gardens and have helped our team on the ground coach many partners through this difficult time.
We also started focussing on training needs, as many partners told us they’d like to spend the time without clients investing in their communication skills, marketing, and product development. We fast-tracked a project we thought would take the year to complete, launching an online learning platform – the Planeterra Learning Hub – which consists of self-guided modules that can be used to improve their tourism experiences, diversify their income, improve their online marketing, understand new health and safety protocols in light of COVID-19, and upgrade their financial and human resource management. Partners have access to information on 30 different subjects, approximately 50 interactive worksheets, templates, and videos. All resources are currently available in two languages – English and Spanish – with plans to further expand translations.
“Agents should know that they can very much be part of our community, and they can help Planeterra directly through their bookings. We love agents! Some of our biggest supporters are travel agents who set up events where they highlight tours that include Planeterra projects.”
Kelly Galaski
Director of Global Programs, Planeterra Foundation
There’s been a lot of talk about the industry coming out better on the other side of COVID-19. What are your hopes?
There are a lot of discussions among sustainable travel NGOs, destinations, and in the industry right now about how we can “build back better” and put communities first in recovery plans. In fact, there are a number of initiatives in the making to assist destinations to develop new key performance indicators that go beyond arrival numbers to deepen impact measurement. This was starting pre-COVID with destinations that were concerned about overtourism and who had begun to make changes to their measures of success using indicators such as resident satisfaction, accrual of benefits to communities, and environmental protection as well as climate resiliency. My hope is that this trend is amplified and incorporated into more and more destinations’ and businesses’ plans for measuring success into the future.
What do you miss most about travelling?
Being able to interact with local people and experience cultures and learn new things, as well as see new sights. One of the greatest benefits of my role has been the opportunity to visit over 50 countries and meet such wonderful people, learn from Indigenous communities from Africa, to Asia to the Americas, and to try incredible food, and experience local life in each place.
Is there anything agents should know about Planeterra?
Agents should know that they can very much be part of our community, and they can help Planeterra directly through their bookings. We love agents! Some of our biggest supporters are travel agents who set up events where they highlight tours that include Planeterra projects and do small fundraisers by asking for a small fee for a webinar (or in-person events when that is possible again). Also, they can add a donation onto a G Adventures booking via the Sherpa system and let travellers know they have the opportunity to “Make Everyday Count” by adding on this booking donation. We are happy to support individuals with materials and information customized with their branding and to provide updates on how their donations have made a difference.
Where’s the first place you want to go and why?
Well the first place I am going is across the country. I am relocating to BC and my partner and I will explore the Rocky Mountains on the way, somewhere I haven’t been for many years but is the reason I’m returning to live there, and where my partner has never been. I’m excited to see more of Canada and live in a different part of the country! I’d like to get to Canada’s North some time soon, that’s high on the list particularly for the landscapes and Indigenous experiences that are unique and vast there. Internationally, Turkey has been high on my list for a long time for the architecture, history, culture, and variety of experiences from Istanbul to the coastal towns. It is up there with Morocco and Egypt for similar reasons. That is a part of the world I’ve yet to visit!
Do you have anything to add?
I’d like to add that the opportunities community tourism presents, both for the local people benefitting from visits and dollars spent locally, as well as for the traveller to forge meaningful travel memories should be top of mind for anyone planning travel as part of the next phase of our travels post-COVID19.
Food donations get delivered to TWE Kerala
