Hello, World!
On a warm evening in Honolulu, it all began…
The place is Sans Souci Beach, a spot where Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote tales of the South Seas. I understand he expressed his thoughts in the hotel’s guest book. “If anyone desires such old-fashioned things as lovely scenery, quiet, pure air, clean sea water, good food, and heavenly sunsets hung out before their eyes over the Pacific and the distant hills of Waianae, I recommend him cordially to the Sans Souci.” Indeed, things have not changed that much?
I have been in Hawaii many times, thanks to circumstance and the good fortune to win “the only lottery that really counts” . It is one of my special places, where I spent a good portion of my childhood and where we were married at Limahuli O Mahana in Kauai’i. It is a place I have seen change dramatically over four decades or so, and a place that has shaped my understanding of place, people, and transitions. It is a place of frontiers- frontiers in the form of the cultural collisions between diverse immigrants, in the historic and ongoing contest between colonial powers, in the spatial positioning between East and West, and in the ever-shifting landscape of tourism development. The forces at work here are not so different from the forces in a thousand - a million? -other places, as the vague but powerful condition called globalisation continues to redefine our world and our identity within that interconnected system.
I am here to take part in a gathering of thinkers, a group of individuals devoted to understanding the concept of tourism and supporting the development of a better human experience. The summit is not a “sit and listen” affair. It is the physical manifestation of a growing global community and an opportunity to agree on a path for future action. It is one small meeting in a world of countless small meetings that collectively represent a response to the challenge of globalisation. For me, it is a chance to reflect on what I have learned in some 20 years as a university educator, traveller, and citizen. It is also an opportunity to renew my commitment to making the world a better place, one small step at a time. In this spirit I launch Dynamic Frontiers, a gateway to my thoughts and the efforts of like-minded individuals.
At the Summit, we agree to some core values of a new tourism. In what John Tribe has tentatively called an “Academy of Hope” (following on the thoughts of Bell Hooks and the Critical Tourism Studies group) this site strives to embody and advance the following:
Stewardship: sustainability, responsibility and service to the community
Knowledge: critical thinking, innovation, creativity, networking
Professionalism: leadership, practicality, services, relevance, timeliness, reflexivity, teamwork and partnerships
Ethics: honesty, transparency, authenticity, authentic self
Mutual respect: diversity, inclusion, equity, humility, collaboration
If you find these values to be idealistic and impractical, then thanks for reading this far. If, on the other hand, you share this vision for the future, welcome. I hope you will find something of value here. I also hope you will join our community and add your own special voice to the choir. Remember, our future is in your hands.