Skift Take
The idea of starting with the community rather than tourist demand is an unusual strategy and will be tough to repeat elsewhere. But there's a lot of potential.
Zita Cobb founded a radically different model of travel when she went home to Fogo Island, Newfoundland, over a decade ago.
To create the Fogo Island Inn, Cobb called on the remote island’s 2,500 residents to contribute their ideas to boost the local economy with tourism while not disrupting their way of life.
The high-end inn has three Michelin keys and was designed to look like a local home on stilts with wood in keeping with the island’s traditional style. Almost everything in the rooms, from beds to chairs, were made by the people of the island.
“To understand the architecture of the inn, you have to understand the vernacular archi