Harold Goodwin

” I wrote here last week about the wildfires in Europe, now increasingly accepted as the new normal, and suggested the adage, “Never put

As in so many places around the world, the locally available building materials have traditionally determined the local architecture, at least until the second half of the twentieth century. The Cotswolds cover 800 square miles of central-south-west England and form the UK's largest designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The Cotswold name comes from two Old English words: “cot” (meaning a sheep enclosure) and “wold” (meaning a hill or high open land). Together, the name translates to “sheep enclosures on the rolling hills”, reflecting the landscape and the region's historic medieval wool trade. The AONB is famous for its picturesque villages built of honey-coloured stone.

For the last couple of decades, we have been recognising tourism businesses as having a positive impact on nature, and this year we have recognised some great examples. The charismatic megafauna found in national parks and other protected areas, primarily in developing countries, attracts travellers from countries that have hunted out most of these species and where reintroduction initiatives are resisted.

I first travelled abroad in my early teens on a day trip across the Channel to France with my father. As we walked away from the dock, I recall my father saying, “Let's get into the backstreets.” And so we did. I don't remember much about that experience. Fast forward to 1973, when a friend and I were wild camping in the north of Scotland. We walked down the lane to a local bar. As we entered, the bar fell silent. Nothing was said, but it was clear that we were unwelcome and would not be served. We quietly retreated.

If tourists are effectively temporary residents, should we expect them to contribute to the taxation necessary to fund the infrastructure required by their presence?

I have heard people describe something as sustainable, meaning no more than that they expect to be selling it next year.

” Back in August, I wrote here about my first trip abroad and my father's preference for the back streets of Boulogne.

I live in a small market town fifty miles from London. When I moved here some fifty years ago, it had a good mix of social classes, many large extended families who had lived in and around the town for many generations and a strong sense of community. The town has attracted “unhelpful” stories in the national press about what a great place it is to live; I am not naming the town as I don't want to add to our problems.

Travellers increasingly want their holidays to have a positive impact on the destinations they visit, particularly when it comes to supporting local communities and economies.

Research by scientists at Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine estimates that more than 50,000 people died from heat across […]