Destination Resources
As a tour destination partner, you will have thousands of visitors come through your doors each week. Assuredly your establishment is well prepared to either educate, entertain, feed, house or transport (or all the above) your visitors. During the time you have to engage with them, we encourage you to consider adding elements of peacebuilding as part of their journey with you. Peacebuilding messages can supplement what the Group Leader, Travel Provider, and/or Tour Director is already offering. Your efforts can be impactful & will amplify the message of Peace through Tourism.
Consider these questions as part of your peacebuilding:
Can you collaborate with your either the Group Organizer, Travel Provider or Tour Director prior to visit to understand what Peacebuilding elements they have incorporated into their tour? Which elements can you support, by increasing awareness, add additional learning content, and/or through visual enhancement?
What does your establishment already do to promote peacebuilding (culture, services, environment)?
What positive impact do you want each visitor to leave your establishment with?
What transformative stories can you impart during their visit and what stories from their visit do you want them to share with other when they return?
Below are some suggestions destination partners can include to “Make Peace Part of the Journey”!
Pre-Trip Awareness
Create a Culture of Welcome – Greet with Intention and Heart
1. Train all team members to greet visitors with genuine warmth, not routine hospitality.
2. Provide a short "Welcome with Intention" briefing that includes gratitude for visiting, respect for culture, and a note about the site's values.
3. Display symbols of peace, such as local sayings, artwork, or a "Peace Wall" where guests can leave messages.
4. Offer simple welcome gifts like locally crafted tokens with peaceful quotes or nature imagery.
4 Peace Engagement
Enhance the Environment – Make Peace Visibly Present
1. Use signage, artwork, or décor that promotes harmony, diversity, and cultural appreciation.
2. Offer multilingual peace messages in your space.
3. Highlight your location's community contributions—charity partnerships, eco-efforts, local hiring, etc.
4. Provide rest zones or quiet nooks for reflection, meditation, or mindfulness
Encourage Connection – Make Human Interaction Matter
1. Encourage staff to share stories of local traditions, peace efforts, or personal encounters with visitors from out of town.
2. Create cultural opportunities by including local artists, musicians, or storytellers to be present as part of their visit and invite travel to connect through meet-and-greets/performance interactions.
4 Peace Sustainability
Model Sustainability – Show Care for People and Place
1. Use and highlight eco-friendly practices you employ (recyclables, water-saving, zero waste).
2. Promote local sourcing options for food, amenities, and souvenirs.
3. Acknowledge your role in preserving cultural heritage and the natural environment with signage like: "We care for this place, so you and others can keep learning from it."
4. Offer reusable or compostable alternatives to reduce waste and plastic use.
Post Trip - Pass It On
Invite Story Sharing – Be a Catalyst for Peace & Pass It On
1. Provide a "Peace Log" or “Peace Book” for travelers to sign and write messages of kindness or hope.
2. Set up a digital or physical wall for travelers to share what peace means to them.
3. Ask: "What's one thing you'll take home with you—besides souvenirs?" "Who back home needs to hear about what you saw or felt here?" "How will your time here influence how you treat others?"
4. In your closing remarks, ask: "What's one thing you've seen here today that inspired you?" and encourage sharing to spark deeper conversations.
5. "Take this experience and feeling with you—your story can inspire someone else."
6. Include take-home peace postcards or QR codes that link to stories about peace initiatives, local charities, or cultural projects they can support.
7. Travel in Peace… and Pass it On to others!
