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Our mission is to create a safe space where voices that have been ignored or less-heard can flourish, connecting individuals from diverse backgrounds on a deeper level. We believe in the power of collaboration and the collective growth of our community, centered around humanity and meaningful relationships.
Our magazine serves as a platform for changemakers to share their personal narratives, highlighting the ups and downs of their journeys. We celebrate honesty, vulnerability, and the courage it takes to make a difference in the tourism industry. Through these shared stories, we inspire each other, acknowledging the good, the bad, and the ugly, while celebrating the unwavering resilience that keeps us moving forward.
We stand firm in our commitment to amplifying the voices of indigenous, marginalized, and less-heard individuals, irrespective of their backgrounds. By providing a platform for these changemakers, we aim to bring about innovative solutions that can emerge from the remotest parts of the world. We also strive to create opportunities for better resources and networks, ensuring that our community members in need can thrive.
At Tourythm Community, we envision a future where the tourism industry is transformed by the power of collaboration, empathy, and shared aspirations. We believe that by placing humanity at the center of ourr vision, we can create positive change not only within our community but also in the world at large. Together, we will pave the way for a more inclusive, sustainable, and inspiring future for global tourism.
Our global community is a vibrant tapestry of diverse individuals united by a shared passion for transforming the tourism industry. It encompasses changemakers from all walks of life, including indigenous, marginalized, less-heard, and unheard voices. We are hoteliers, tour operators, tourism boards, private and government entities, NGOs, and all other stakeholders within the tourism and hospitality ecosystem.
Tourism is as diverse as this world, but united in the way to serve tourists to enjoy their vacations. In this century tourism was celebrated as one of the largest economic activities ensuring one out of 10 jobs worldwide and tourism was hit by many crises including COVID-19 that stopped tourism around the world.
Both extremes are associated with many challenges and include a call to rethink tourism. Tourism is the world in a nutshell and therefore faces all the challenges that we face in the world: The loss of biodiversity, climate change, pandemics or the social injustice etc..but if you turn this around: Tourism could also be a blueprint for our common future as it could be a thought leader, a lighthouse as well as a large network of change.
During the times of the pandemic, Andreas had many discussions with industry experts about this. Based on these discussions, he had the impulse to look for and co-create initiatives for a new rhythm of tourism that he consciously called tourythm.
In the idyllic setting of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, a serendipitous encounter unfolded one Sunday afternoon, leading to the inception of Tourythm Community. Co-initiators Andreas Koch and Pooja Akula found themselves engaged in a scheduled meeting that effortlessly stretched into a passionate conversation lasting five hours. It was during this exchange that they realized their shared commitment to storytelling and giving back to the tourism industry. Thus, Tourythm Community was born, initially as a magazine centered around celebrating the personal narratives of tourism changemakers. As time progressed, the community evolved beyond mere conversation, becoming a space of collaboration, knowledge exchange, and a spirit of unity.
Andreas, with his extensive expertise in sustainable tourism, is bringing years of experience and a vast network to enrich the community. Pooja, a storytelling expert, is weaving words together to connect and unite the community, solidifying their shared vision. Completing the dream team, Patricia has joined as a designer and is also serving as the team’s tech support, contributing her exceptional skills and versatility.
Driven by his passion to make this world a better place, Andreas believes that tourism can play a unique role by showcasing what the future could look like. His dream is that every destination - every tourism actor become ambassadors for this new tourism, which Andreas calls tourythm. He already works with many destinations and tourism actors on this shared vision.
A traveler at heart, Digital Nomad by lifestyle, and Content Curator by profession, Pooja's love for mother earth and travel translates into her responsible tourism work. She is passionate about helping brands establish their communications effectively, keeping storytelling and community upliftment at the focus of her projects. She slow travels the world, and seeks new experiences everyday!
Patricia is a tourism industry professional, cultural heritage aficionada, and journalism enthusiast passionate about languages. Through her work, she is combining her background in hospitality with her love for media. Patricia is interested in all things sustainability and innovation and is looking to work towards positive change.
"I still have a warm feeling thinking of that first Tourythm meeting for me. The sense of community. The shared values and the interconnectedness with people who are on a similar journey in the travel industry from all over the world. I clearly remember that I signed in to that Tourythm community meeting feeling rather discouraged and when it finished I couldn’t help but smile and feel more energised and inspired."
Esther-Hanna
Hungry Birds Food Tours Amsterdam
"My experience with the community has been absolutely amazing because the platform keeps me updated on the untold experiences of the multiple tourism warriors across the globe. The more the stories find the voices, the better it is for sustainable tourism."
Kingshuk Biswas
UNWTO panel of tourism experts