This week’s Video Spotlight features the work of film-makers Krista Lee Weller and Sharon Boeckle. The American duo and their team have spent several years documenting the challenges facing the Italian region of Cinque Terre, a beautiful section of the Italian Riviera that has been strained by tourism and the desire to capitalise on it.

Tourism expert and owner of WHL Egypt, Sherif Abd Elwahab is thrilled that his team of local from Alexandria, Egypt, is now available to assist in planning a fun and responsible Alexandria holiday. “We at WHL Egypt are committed to promoting sustainable tourism and to using the tourism industry as a vehicle for protecting Egypt’s great historical sites,” said Elwahab. Alexandria joins the growing list of whl.travel destinations in Egypt, including Cairo, Sharm el Sheikh, Aswan and Luxor, Safaga, Ein Sokhna and Port Said.

Co-management of protected areas by both the state and local communities is one of the best ways to guarantee that tourism will provide economic and social benefits to many people who would otherwise be marginalized, at the same time that it ensures protection for the environment on which these communities rely for their income. An excellent example is the Soncor Sector of Los Flamencos National Reserve, in the Atacama Desert of the Antofagasta Region, in northern Chile.

Deep in the South Pacific, in the Solomon Islands, is an atoll called Rennell Island. Like so many other natural World Heritage Sites that have gained UNESCO recognition for their unique biogeography, Rennell faces a dilemma: It wants to realise its high potential for ecotourism, but this can only happen if the infrastructure remains basic and little or no development is imposed on the area’s natural and cultural attractions. Can this precarious balance be achieved?

December 21, 2012, is the last day of the 13th baktun of the Mayan calendar, a day on which many believe that something big is going to happen. Rather than preparing for the apocalypse, why not plan a 2012 tour of the Mayan pyramids and prophesies in Guatemala? Explore the grand ruins of ancient Mayan civilisations. Meet a traditional living Mayan community of today and find out firsthand what they are thinking and doing as you take part in sacred rituals and ceremonies.