Winter issue of TTG Luxury, out now
ALL EYES ON ASIA. The region is on an upward curve after a delayed post-pandemic restart, offering a raft of impressive new hotels and experiences at great value.
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Coming out of the pandemic, survival was probably most people’s sole business objective. But for some, it’s also been a chance to take a long, hard look at how we do things – and in the future, business survival, and that of the planet, could both come down to one thing. Purpose.
The Japanese have their word for it: “ikigai”, meaning “life purpose”, the concept of understanding your true passions and professional drive, and what you can give to the wider world. Or maybe we all start reading Simon Sinek’s Start With The Why, a popular book that has inspired many business leaders and individuals. Managing director of Carrier Natasha Towey is a big fan, and advocates that his philosophy can truly work. Once you start assessing your purpose, “your why”, and creating strategies around that, everything starts to fall into place, she said at our recent TTG Luxury Travel Summit. She’s not the only one – Black Tomato and Kinsfolk were other businesses telling a similar story at the annual event.
With the climate crisis raging on, thoughtful business purpose will also inevitably (well, hopefully) translate into the emergence of powerful change-makers and personal activists. The writing is on the wall if we don’t. In its new report with The Future Laboratory, Intrepid Travel said it expects there to be annual limitations imposed on travel by 2040, and for a string of emerging destinations to come to the fore as the impact of climate change becomes more prevalent.
In this responsible travel-focused issue, we’ve highlighted some of the brands and destinations trying to do better. We all have a very long way to go, but maybe stopping to ask ourselves “what’s our purpose” will help formulate plans that have wider-reaching positive outcomes beyond just “selling holidays”.
April Hutchinson
Editor, TTG Luxury
@aprilhutchinson