NFE’s Founder, Rachel Parsons, has been out and about meeting some Eco legends… aka ‘Change-makers’…in today’s interview, Rachel met with Dr Demos Parapanos…
Since Jan 2023 the University of Cumbria Tourism faculty have been collaborating with New Forest Escapes to pioneer a social innovation project seeking to understand if sustainable holidays make us happier.
The GDP of Happiness project seeks to measure – happiness!
In the UK we measure Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a Western framework used to assess a countries financial success. The idea is famously weak, and even the author said it shouldn’t be used to measure ‘the good in the world’, because it focuses solely on financial gain. We all know money can’t buy happiness, right?
Conversely, Tibet adopts a philosophy of ‘Gross Domestic Happiness’ (GDH), in which the collective happiness of the nation is the goal of governance and harmony with nature and traditional values are the emphasis. The four main pillars of GDH are:
- – Sustainable and equitable socio-economic development
- – Environmental conservation
- – Preservation and promotion of culture
- – Good governance
We hope to show that a guests happiness can be positively affected by homeowners ‘doing the right thing’ and delivering greener- living holidays in a positive way. After all, isn’t that what we all want from our holidays?
Dr Parapanos runs the project from the beautiful Lake District in Cumbria.
Q. Why is this project important? And what change do you want to see in the future?
“Well, I really want to see people becoming more aware of sustainable living, including sustainable holidays. I want agencies, hotels, activity providers to provide this as standard. But importantly guests have to start asking for these changes.
I’m really excited about what this means for tourism in the future. Because if we can prove that greener homes make people happier, that is a profound piece of credible academic research and will help the tourist industry move toward Net Zero faster. And since it’s a legal requirement in Britain – we all need that!
It’s a current buzzword, but few really understand what it means to deliver an all-round option. The New Forest Escapes team are trying to do this. It’s not easy. They have a high social and environmental certification with BCorp, but the homes they are selling do not (yet!), and bridging that gap is critical. This project monitors how good sustainability delivery affects people.
My team at Cumbria University are really onboard with this important study.”
Q. What annoys you?
“Oh, don’t get me started! What really grinds my gears is how people (I have been guilty of this myself) tend to ignore or dial-down the concept of responsible, sustainable living when we are on holiday. It’s like a switch flips and, to use a hotel example, suddenly changing towels and bed sheets daily becomes the norm’. I know The NFE team are working to help set self-catering houses up so people feel luxury without the need to create negative impacts, so this will be interesting to see how people rate this longer term.”
Q. Can you share one idea that you think could make a big difference?
“Sure thing! Although it’s not exactly a groundbreaking idea, I’d love to see hotels collaborating more with local communities. I’m not just talking about supporting local suppliers (although that’s important too), but actually working hand in hand with the community and problem-solving community issues together to create shared projects of shared value; any business has to have community-permission to operate and bring in people. Whilst it employs locals, it also creates more people to use local facilities, extra traffic, waste, smell, noise, pollution etc. Solutions might be hotels (etc) organizing community events or investing in local sports clubs, wild spaces, providing community discounts on using its facilities etc. . It’s about giving something back to the community that graciously hosts both the hotels and their visitors. It has to be a win-win situation or communities will turn against businesses and then they’re in really big trouble!”
Q. How did you get to where you are today?
“Ah, it’s been quite a journey! I’m from Nicosia, Cyprus. I entered the hospitality industry as a chef. I absolutely love cooking. I wanted to own my own restaurant. So, I pursued a bachelor’s and master’s degree to prepare myself for that dream. I worked for Intercontinental Hotels for a couple of years. Funnily enough, while I was working and studying, I discovered how much I enjoyed sharing my knowledge and helping others improve. I also LOVE computer gaming. So when the opportunity to do a PhD and teach came along, I wanted to explore the concept of using gamification in tourism to create positive behavior change. I love the My Green Butler project that New Forest Escapes is working on – it sits right at the intersection between green-tech, edu-tainment and sustainability. That, and this GDP Happiness Project helps gain a deeper understanding of people and the world around us.”
Q. Let’s talk about downtime. How do you unwind?
“Ah, downtime is crucial! For me, it’s all about combining tech with nature. I absolutely adore taking long walks at the local castle in Kendal, breathing in the fresh air and immersing myself in the stunning views. And, not surprisingly, for someone who did their PHD in gamification, I love video games and catching Pokemon while immersing in nature. Oh, and I’m also a sports fan, so you’ll often find me cheering for the local football team. Lately, I’ve been trying to wrap my head around cricket too, although I still have a lot to learn!”
Here’s what Dr Angela Anthonisz (PhD) Principal Lecturer in Tourism Management, University of Cumbria has to say about Dr Parapanos’s work.
“The tourism and visitor economy subject team at the university of Cumbria is based in Ambleside, the only campus in the UK to sit within both a national park and a UNESCO world heritage site. Our focus is on applied research and impact, adopting a transformational business philosophy that encourages the development of innovative thinking and contemporary approaches to planning and management that are linked to supporting a broad range of resources across the sector. This acknowledges the need to focus on an appraisal of the mixed economy and the contributions each sector makes to sustainable rural and urban environments. This involves showcasing business, supporting small business growth, encouraging knowledge exchange and identifying best practice in sustainable management. Dr Demos Parapanos is best placed amongst the team to be involved in the research with New Forest Escapes given his research and publication track record which focuses on innovation in digital technologies and human behaviour.”
Q. Finally, give us some tunes that embody your change-maker vibes?
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Big yellow taxi – Counting Crows
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Fans – Kings Of Leon
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Dancing in the moonlight – Toploader
To take part, scan the QR code below and complete our survey (you do need to have stayed with us)
If you are interested in contacting Dr Parapanos to find out more about his exciting work please email him here: demos.parapanos@cumbria.ac.uk