How I Became a Champion for Responsible Travel

Women Who Travel | Condé Nast Traveler

Condé Nast Traveler

Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.4 • 636 Ratings

🗓️ 8 July 2021

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We've been thinking a lot about responsible travel here at Women Who Travel. You may have noticed: It's been a theme in a number of our recent episodes. And today, we're continuing that trend, sitting down Condé Nast Traveler advisory board member Harsha L’Acqua, whose nonprofit, Saira Hospitality, is built around helping new hotels make mindful, local-focused hiring choices. We first heard about her work when Liz Lambert mentioned Saira's pop-up and permanent hospitality training centers on a Women Who Travel episode back in 2019—and in this episode, we catch up with how Saira's been faring amid the pandemic, how its mission feels more important than ever, and how hotels can help travelers make better, more impactful choices while on vacation.

Read a full transcription of the episode here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/how-i-became-a-champion-for-responsible-travel-women-who-travel-podcast

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi everyone and welcome to Women New Travel, a podcast from Kani Nas Traveler.
0:08.4	I'm Meredith Carey and with me as always is my co-host, Thala Eric Hobleu.
0:12.4	Hello!
0:13.4	This week we're joined by Harsha L'Aqua, the founder and CEO of Cyra Hospitality,
0:18.1	a nonprofit with pop-up and permanent training centers that connect locals
0:21.6	with skills and employment at soon-to-open resorts and hotels. She's also a member of
0:26.3	Kanaas Traveler's Advisory Board this year. We first heard of her work back in 2019 when
0:31.5	Master Hotelier, Liz Lambert, named dropped her in a live episode of Women Who Travel at South
0:36.3	by Southwest.
0:41.7	As we start traveling more, we're looking to make more responsible, locally minded choices,
0:44.9	something Harsha has built her entire business model around.
0:48.8	We're so excited to catch up with you and talk all things responsible travel today.
0:52.4	Likewise, I'm so excited to be on this. Thank you for having me.
0:58.4	It's easy, at least for me, to think of responsible travel in quite sort of vague terms.
1:02.1	What does responsible travel mean to you?
1:09.3	Responsible travel, I think, means to be mindful when you travel in a nutshell. So I think it's about just being thoughtful.
1:13.0	The word responsible for me brings up,
1:16.1	kind of conjures up these images of school and rules
1:19.6	and, you know, this is how one should be
1:22.5	and this is how one should live their lives.
1:24.5	So I prefer to think about traveling responsibly, like traveling
1:29.6	mindfully and to think about what you're doing, where you're going, how you're interacting,
	...

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