Can Travel Save the World?
Conde Nast Traveler's World Savers Congress was held in New York City's Gotham Hall on October 10, 2007.
All photos: Marion Curtis, Star Pix
That's a rather immodest title for a conference put on by a travel magazine, but it's the question that we at Conde Nast Traveler posed last week at our first-ever World Savers Congress. Some of the biggest players in the industry -- and also some of the smallest -- came together to discuss how travel can help preserve the planet and better the lives of the underprivileged.
Bill Clinton giving a taped address to the crowd gathered at the World Savers Congress.
First up on stage was Bill Clinton. Well, he was actually above the stage: Since he wasn't able to attend, the former president sent a taped message. The Clinton Global Initiative was the topic of our September cover story, for which writer Patricia Storace followed him on a disaster-relief tour of Southeast Asia. "The travel industry is in a unique position to influence change in the world through fair employment practices, career opportunities, responsible environmental initiatives, and deep engagement in community affairs," Clinton said. "Together we can make a better world." (Ever the world traveler, Clinton talked about a recent African safari when he was on the Late Show with David Letterman last month, and Ben Smith over at Politico has an interesting snippet of that conversation.)
Richard Holbrooke speaks at the World Savers Congress.
Next up on stage -- in the flesh, this time -- was Richard Holbrooke, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and current president and CEO of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Holbrooke was interviewed for the magazine's April Forum. Christopher Lydon over at ...OpenSource predicts that Holbrooke may well be our next Secretary of State, too, should Hillary win the 2008 election. Holbrooke congratulated the travel companies who've joined his organization -- Accor, Kerzner International, Micato Safaris, and Ritz-Carlton -- and threw down the gauntlet for the rest of the audience to do the same.
Later in the morning, John Paul DeJoria got up to speak. What does the hair care maven (he of Paul Mitchell) have to do with sustainable travel, you ask? I wondered the same thing. Read on to find out.
I was astonished to find out how much philanthropic work the man with the famous mane has done. DeJoria (at left) took over the fight against land mines after Princess Diana died, and he argued that such seemingly unrelated charity work can be good for business and the bottom line. I know I'll be more prone to buy that Paul Mitchell shampoo now that I know its CEO is one of the good guys.
Paul Brady from Jaunted was in the audience too, and posted his own thoughts about the conference last week. Stay tuned to The Perrin Post for a run-down of the panel discussions that put hotel chain presidents and anti-development campaigners on the same stage.
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