The founder of G Adventures says a documentary film financed by his company is a “message of hope” despite its focus on issues in travel such as overtourism, orphanages and animal welfare.
Bruce Poon Tip, the chairman of G Travel Community, is in London for the UK premiere of the film, The Last Tourist, which will be shown tonight (May 24) to an audience of 250 travel industry people. It is also available now in the UK on iTunes, Sky and Amazon.
The Last Tourist was directed and written by Tyson Sadler, with Poon Tip as executive producer, and features travel and tourism visionaries, and conservationists such as Dr Jane Goodall.
Poon Tip told a Travel Weekly webcast: “It’s not about G Adventures at all, it’s about travelling; it’s actually a message of hope and how travel can be a transformational industry.
“We don’t introduce anything new [in the film] but you are confronted with the realities of where we were pre-Covid as an industry.
“The message is overall a positive message…but in order to get there, yes, we have to confront the realities of where we are: overtourism, there’s a bit on animal welfare, a bit on voluntourism, the different things that impact tourism.
“We’re sending people on luxury holidays to some of the poorest countries in the world and, if we to do things right, travel can be transformational – not just for the traveller, not just for the industry, but for local people and communities.
“That’s been G Adventures’ message for 33, 34 years.”
Poon Tip told the webcast how the idea of a 15-minute short film six years ago developed to a 90-minute documentary – with the pandemic delaying its release in the US and Canada until 2022.
Asked about reactions to the film in other markets, he said: “It’s been overwhelming. It’s actually been shocking, because it’s been really embraced – I’ve not actually heard a single negative thing, to be honest.
“People just really love the film, they embrace the story. Most people say it’s shocking to them because they never thought [about the issues] – and that’s the best type of documentary that gives you enough information to think on your own.
“That was really the goal when we were putting it together, the creative process, that we didn’t want to dictate.
“We wanted to just present some ideas, and have people think for themselves, and I think I think we’ve accomplished that with the film.”
He said the film’s message chimes with post-Covid travel trends which are seeing more staying “longer and deeper” in destinations.
“Just before Covid, I think the destination was no longer relevant in travel; we were buying amenities,” he said.
“I think that’s a very dangerous place to be in travel, when people no longer care about where they’re going.
“Coming out of Covid…travel has to mean something to you and so people are rethinking and being more purposeful in their decisions for travel.
“That can only be a great thing for our industry.”
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