In this episode of Soul of Travel, Season 5: Women's Wisdom + Mindful Travel, presented by @journeywoman_original, Christine hosts a soulful conversation with Samantha Smits. Samantha is a Sustainable Tourism Consultant with a passion for travel and a commitment to making a positive impact. She has dedicated her entrepreneurial journey to helping tour operators and travel agencies embrace sustainability. Samantha empowers them to integrate sustainable practices into their operations through hands-on project assistance, strategic coaching, personalized training, certification coaching, and more. With a background in tourism management, society, and environment studies and experience in the field, Samantha brings a unique blend of academic knowledge and real-world solutions. She loves diving into local contexts to expand her horizons and learn daily. Samantha offers her own Thrive Track course, helping tour operators, travel agents, and agencies jumpstart their 2024 sustainability goals. Samantha is an active Travellife coach within the African continent. Christine and Samantha discuss: · Following the curiosity to learn more about the world at a young age · The impact of graduating and beginning a career during the global pandemic · Acknowledging the mistakes of our past to travel and live more sustainably · The responsibility of individuals, as well as travel agents, tourism boards, and travel operators, to adopt more sustainable practices Join Christine now for this soulful conversation with Samantha Smits. 🌎​​​​​​​​ To read our episode blog post, access a complete transcript, see full show notes, and find resources and links mentioned in this episode, head to the Soul of Travel Website.  LOVE these soulful conversations? Make a difference by making a donation to Lotus Sojourns on PayPal.  Subscribe, rate, and review! 🌎​​​​​​​​ Visit SmitsSusTourConsultancy.com to learn more, and check out Samantha’s Thrive course.  Connect with Samantha on your favorite social media network: Instagram / Facebook / LinkedIn / LinkedIn. 🌎​​​​​​​​ Looking for ways to be a part of the Lotus Sojourns community? Learn more here! Find Lotus Sojourns on Facebook, or join the Lotus Sojourns Collective, our FB community for like-hearted women. Find solo travel trips for women over 50 on JourneyWoman. IG: @journeywoman_original, @lotussojourns, @souloftravelpodcast. Credits. Christine Winebrenner Irick (Host, creator, editor). Samantha Smits (Guest). Original music by Clark Adams. Editing, production, and content writing by Carly Oduardo. Support the show