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The new pursuit of happiness also has
implications for national tourism organisations.
Measuring the success of travel and
tourism has been entirely based on statistical
indicators such as visitor arrivals, economic
impact, investment and job creation.
That, too, could become a thing of the past.
Measuring the happiness level of satisfied
tourists after visiting a destination could
become a complementary means of
measurement, one that would be far less
at the mercy of an accounting process
and far more within the control of the host
destinations themselves.
At the macro level, having agreed that
existing lifestyles and economic and
business models are unsustainable, the next
step has been to decide
how to expand the
“happiness” campaign by making it part of
public policy. This is a whole new ball game.
A policy needs to be backed by some kind
of indicator, a formula for tracking progress
from problem to solution.
That’s where much of the discussion is
ensuing.
This dispatch excerpts some of the papers
and presentations at the International
Conference on Happiness and Public Policy
organised by the Public Policy Development
Office (PPDO) of the Thai government.
Possibly the first time this subject has
been covered in the travel trade media, it
will quickly gain traction. Branding gurus will
latch on to it, conferences will feature it and
industry experts will seek to outdo each other
with the perfect solutions and answers.
If that happens, and the world becomes
even a slightly better and more happy place,
the purpose of this dispatch will have been
well-served.
The full set of papers can be found at:
ppdoconference.org.