Remote Talks

Conversations that lead to mind-changing discussions

Every year, Remote Latin America invites inspiring guests to share their experiences and thoughts about important subjects related to the travel industry.

In 2019, Responsible Tourism is the main theme that will guide our conversations. On a planet that faces challenging conflicts like mass immigration and intolerance of cultural differences, we believe our pioneering experience of bringing a travel show to a virtually unknown village like Barichara is a great opportunity for us to discuss – and to practice – responsible tourism in a way that respects local people and the environment.

By bringing influential figures to talk to our community, Remote Latin America intends to demonstrate for everyone the urgency in promoting sustainable tourism, fair business practices and mind-changing discussions to make Latin America a better place in which to live and travel.

Remote Talks Keynote Speakers

Special guests encourage us to rethink the way we work with tourism

JONATHAN BEREZOVSKY
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR

Partnerships with Social Impact

The travel Industry can support refugees and immigrants with programs based on win-win partnerships

Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Jonathan lived in California and Tel Aviv before settling in Sao Paulo. In 2015, he founded Migraflix in Brazil, a social startup that empowers refugees and immigrants by promoting their cultures. In the years since, Migraflix has developed various cultural entrepreneurship programs in partnership with the United Nations Refugee Agency and companies such as AirBnb, UberEats and Facebook. In 2016, Jonathan received the Global Business & Interfaith Peace Award from the UN Global Compact for his work on Intercultural dialogue. In 2017, he was selected by the University of St.Gallen in Switzerland as one of the 200 Leaders of Tomorrow. In his talk, he will address the immigration context in Latin America, focusing on opportunities for the tourism industry to support refugees and immigrants through win-win partnerships.

MARCELA FERNANDEZ BARRENECHE
PEACE ACTIVIST

Colombia in the post-conflict era

How tourism has been essential in reinventing the nation’s image and economy

Born in Medellín, Colombia when it was one of the most violent cities in the world, Marcela began a quest at an early age to find her own definition of peace, working on a project aimed at connecting former guerrilla fighters with kids in her hometown. An idealist and a globetrotter – also thanks to her role as brand ambassador for Selina nowadays –, she founded such projects as PAZabordo (Peace on Wheels) in which 35 activists traveled around Colombia in a traditional chiva vehicle for 40 days visiting the “red zones,” territories most affected by conflicts during the hard FARC times. At Remote Barichara, Marcela Fernandez will share lessons she learned from her meetings with peace leaders in Colombia and explain how tourism became a fundamental tool in providing new life opportunities for Colombian people.

THIERRY TEYSSIER
HOTÊLIER

The value of the local host

Locals are essential in creating ephemeral experiences for permanent impact

Former theater director and event producer, French businessman Thierry Teyssier has always focused on creating unforgettable moments, especially in his projects in the hospitality industry. He created the luxury hotel Dar Ahlam in Morocco, a modern day caravan, La Route du Sud, in Southern Morocco, Quinta da Romaneira in Portugal's Douro Valley and the “wandering hotel” 700’000 heures – which changes places every six months. With a singular vision of hospitality, he works like a creative director: staying at his hotels feels like being part of an ephemeral spectacle. Thierry believes travelers want storytelling and a chance to discover the real local culture. In his speech, he will share some ways he learned to increase value for locals in hospitality and explain how cultivating relationships with local communities is also a way to give back for mutual benefit.

Remote Seeds

An opportunity to hear our own community’s voice

Remote Seeds are short talks, straight-to-the-point 5-minute messages that Remote Community members share with our audience of travel leaders. By planting these seeds, individuals give life to projects that can grow and be fruitful.

The first edition of Remote Seeds will happen in Barichara as part of the Remote Talks, our now traditional series of conferences featuring guest keynote speakers who present 20-30-minute non-commercial speeches about relevant themes in Latin America’s travel industry.

The microphone will be open to our community’s inner voice. Representatives of the most charming small hotels and boats, passionate local experts, innovative travel designers and all other participants will have the chance to sum up an idea, a project, a personal experience or one of their company in order to inspire, inform, get support or provoke other members of this growing Remote family.

Remote Seeds Speakers

Voices of our community to nourish trends and ideas

GUILHERME PADILHA
Auroraeco Viagens (Brazil)

Responsible tourism can change the world

Supporting small scale tourism, working with local communities, preserving nature and traditions. These are some ways that travel industry professionals can do their part to promote responsible and sustainable tourism, according to Brazilian Guilherme Padilha, CEO of Auroraeco Viagens. He will talk about how travel designers, local operators and hotels have a key role in emulating clients to also be positive travelers.

JIMMY ROGERS
Maya Trails (Guatemala/Belize/Honduras)

Secrets of the lost Mayan City of Holmul

In 2013, while excavating a looter's tunnel in the buried Maya city of Holmul, Guatemala, archaeologist Dr. Francisco Estrada-Belli stumbled upon a 1500-year-old Mayan pyramid decorated with what is now known as the largest intact Mayan frieze ever discovered. James Rogers, CEO of Maya Trails, who recently visited Homul with Dr. Belli, will tell us how visitors can do the same while also supporting future research.

MARIANA CALIUOLO
Finca Valentina & Hostería El Peñon (Argentina)

The essential role of women in adventure travel

Even in the tourism industry, where women represent around 50% of workers, the top jobs are still dominated by men – a reality that has always vexed one of the owners of Socompa. The daughter of an active feminist congresswoman, Mariana will share a few practices that companies can easily adopt to support their female co-workers in their profession growth.

MARCELO MENESES
Opuntia Hotels (Ecuador)

The Sapara plight inspired me to help save the Amazon

After a transformative trip to a nearly extinct and isolated Sapara community in the Ecuadorian Amazon, Opuntia Hotels CEO Marcelo Meneses decided to join in support of their cause. There are only 500 remaining Sapara members and they continue to be threatened by major government oil and mining projects. What can individuals and the travel industry do to support this cause?

PAOLA PERELLI
Lares (Uruguay)

Adopting a community can change many lives

Paola is so passionate about her home country of Uruguay that she decided to go back to being a tour guide, even as the CEO of Lares Tours. The close contact with locals was important in her decision to invest in their training and even to support education for some of them. She will talk about how tourism can be a life-changing alternative for local people in the communities where we work.

SAVAS KAZANTZIDES
Farscape Travel (Greece, France)

How would travel look like in the year 2049?

For travel addict and founder of Farscape Travel Savas Kazantzides, the future of tourism will be influenced by four factors that will change and revolutionize the way we travel in the next 20-30 years: the use of technology, changes in the planet's demographics, the global climate and the cultural transformation of the population. What can we do now to get ready?

Click below to watch some of the Remote Talks from the 2018 edition.

The future of tourism: Lessons learned from 20 years of expertise in sustainable tourism and ecotourism

Hans Pfister, entrepreneur

Co-founder and president of the Cayuga Collection of Sustainable Luxury Hotels and Lodges, German-born Hans Pfister is a global thought leader on sustainable hospitality. Cayuga won the 2018 Tourism for Tomorrow Award in the “People” Category given by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

Empathy in Tourism:
The role of travelers in promoting peace

Alvaro Cedeño Molinari, diplomat

Former Costa Rican Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Molinari is a specialist in Peace Studies and Conflict Transformation, bioliteracy and regenerative development. He speaks about how tourism can promote peace by respecting human cultural diversity and nature.