It’s the last working week of the year and Christmas is nearly upon us, but for some parts of the world, the festive season brings no cause for celebration thanks to devastating acts of Mother Nature that literally rocked their world.

Horrific earthquakes this year in Turkey, Syria and Morocco are just two examples of how nature can deliver such pain and anguish. And for those who have nothing left, the page turns to 2024 and hopes that life can be rebuilt.

One such catalyst that provides so much help is the global tourism industry, in two ways. First, initial fundraising helps to generate immediate assistance to those affected by such heartache. But secondly, travellers return to affected countries and spend their money with local businesses, rebuilding livelihoods and putting food back on their tables.

In this episode of Talking Travel, we chat to two people who work closely to ensure both of these are delivered to broken communities cleaning up from upended lives – Biheng Zhang from The Intrepid Foundation and Dennis Bunnik from Bunnik Tours.