"Safeguarding #heritage in the Middle East" My blog for Scotland's International Development Alliance. #Lebanon #Palestine

Celebration this evening of #hope and #humanity at #Edinburgh launch of "Daybreak in #Gaza" edited by Mahmoud Muna and Matthew Teller. Rejection of "resilience" and, instead, the imagining of a safe and joyful future. #Palestine Saqi Books with The Alwaleed Centre Lighthouse - Edinburgh’s Radical Bookshop

Fascinating first panel at #ITIC Global #Tourism #Investment Summit in advance of World Travel Market (WTM) London. All about record #growth, nothing of any substance about #sustainability. So much for #BuildBackBetter. #SDGs

Responsible tourism investment requires "political will", explains #Malawi's Hon. Vera Kamtukule Vera Kamtukule at #ITIC Global #Tourism #Investment Summit in advance of World Travel Market (WTM) London, emphasising the need for policy cohesion and strategic planning. #SDGs

Significant that #Ukraine's Mariana Oleskiv is first panellist to really focus on #sustainability at #ITIC Global #Tourism #Investment Summit in advance of World Travel Market (WTM) London. When well planned and managed, resilient tourism strategies can deliver positive and sustainable development.

"The Collaborative Journey to Net Positive Tourism" World Travel Market (WTM) London is delayed almost half an hour by a magnificent #greenwashing session on Saudi سعـودي 🇸🇦 #tourism. So much for #BuildBackBetter #ClimateEmergency #WTM

Save the orcas! First protest of the day World Travel Market (WTM) London during #WTM panel on #NetPositive #Tourism. tuiuk TUI Group

Great session World Travel Market (WTM) London on post-conflict tourism, emphasising that #tourism can contribute to sustainable social and economic development and recovery, and it's never too early to start planning! #WTM

Always a delight to catch up with #tourism friends old and new at World Travel Market (WTM) London. This year, as usual, I spent most of my time in #Africa, #Asia, #Europe and #MiddleEast. #Lebanon and #Yemen continue to be sorely missed. #WTMLDN

Great to be at World Travel Market (WTM) London. But, whereas 2023 was genuinely focused on #BuildBackBetter, this year was unashamedly celebrating record growth under a thin veil of sessions about #regenerative #tourism and #responsible #travel. #WTMLDN #SDGs #GlasgowDeclaration #ClimateEmergency

Wishing a happy and peaceful #StAndrewsDay to all family and friends in #Barbados, #Cyprus, #Georgia, #Greece, #Romania, #Russia, #Ukraine and of course #Scotland, especially in #StAndrews University of St Andrews!

A guid #BurnsNight wi ae fond kiss frae #Scotland via Duncan Chisholm

Madness! Thoroughly myopic move by Keir Starmer. Scotland's International Development Alliance Tracy Gilbert MP David Lammy Angus Robertson

#Heritage conservation also supports heritage #tourism, which contributes to social and economic recovery, especially for women and young people in rural areas. Great to see EUinYemen highlighting this opportunity in Hadhramaut! British Embassy Yemen 🇬🇧🇾🇪 UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳

Brutal but fair critique of Keir Starmer's myopic #ODA decision that will lead to more conflict and poverty. Great to see The Labour Party minister Anneliese Dodds taking principled stand against warmongering over human development. So much for UK's proud tradition of #SoftPower.

Bhutan?!

#Yemen's #heritage continues to be (deliberately?) damaged by military assaults. At a time when almost all #USAID programs and contributions to Food and Agriculture Organization, #UNICEF and other agencies have been suspended, this is magnifying the humanitarian disaster and undermining recovery prospects.

On #YomHaShoah, remembering my great-grandparents Gregory and Vera #Hornstein, born in #Odesa and #Simferopol, married in #Kharkiv, escaped to #Constantinople, then from #Berlin, arrested in #Paris, transported from #Drancy, murdered in #Sobibór. #HolocaustRemembranceDay #Shoah

Stunning testimony United Nations on #Gaza by Tom Fletcher Tom Fletcher. #GazaGenocide‌

So sad to hear of #GreatScot Sir Geoff Palmer's passing. A brilliant and formidable teacher with extraordinary patience and kindness, and a very good cook! We worked together on the Edinburgh Slavery & Colonialism Legacy Review, and plaques around St Andrew Square. RIP Geoff KT.