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How Your Travel Choices Can Empower Women Around the World

One of my favorite days of the year is International Women’s Day which is held on March 8th.  International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity and improving the lives of women around the world. For years, I have written about the progress that has been made and the work that still needs to be done to help lift women out of poverty and improve their health, their lives and their livelihoods.

One area that can certainly help improve women’s lives is sustainable employment and as the travel industry booms around the world, there is a great opportunity for women to increase their livelihoods through sustainable tourism.

As travelers, we can use our travel choices and purchasing power to help enhance gender equity around the world and provide more women with sustainable employment through the travel industry. Travelers can support women’s jobs in the global hospitality industry by choosing women-led travel outfitters, employing female guides, supporting women-owned businesses and local non-profits in the places they visit.

Last year, on International Women’s Day I collaborated with the  Impact Travel Alliance, the world’s largest community for impact-focused travelers and travel professionals, to highlight six amazing female-run travel businesses and tour operators supporting women’s programs around the world.  This year, as a member of Impact Travel Alliance, we are sharing four tips you can help empower women through your travel choices.

Four Tips on how your travel purchases can empower women:

It is no surprise that the global travel industry is booming. Per the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC): “In 2018, the Travel and Tourism sector experienced 3.9% growth, outpacing that of the global economy (3.2%) for the eighth consecutive year. Over the past five years, one in five jobs were created by the sector, making Travel and Tourism the best partner for governments to generate employment“. In 2018, the global tourism industry contributed a record $8.8 trillion and 319 million jobs to the world economy.

Therefore, the opportunity for women to find employment in the travel industry is huge. However, only if we ensure that women are being hired. Of course, there are a lot of obstacles in the way such as gender biases, lack of education and patriarchal countries that make it difficult for some women to work, especially in the travel and hospitality industry. But women are persevering like Becky, East Africa’s first female overland driver. We too as travelers can make a big difference in supporting and empowering women by the choices we make when we travel. Check out these four tips on what you can do to make a difference and support women’s livelihoods when you travel:

Seek out female tour guides

It comes as no surprise that finding a female tour guide is a rarity. In fact, over all of my years of travel I probably only had a dozen or so female tour guides and not a single female tour guide on any of the multi-day treks that I’ve done. I remember when I was traveling in Belize last year with G Adventures, that we had one of the only female tour guides in Guatemala for our tour of Tikal. She was quite proud of her role and attributed it to her rare opportunity to go to a bilingual school where she was able to learn English. She was the only girl in her family that had this opportunity and it allowed her to lift herself and her family out of poverty.

Dos Brazos de Tigre Lokal Travel

Xiña leads the way to her jungle cabin with her walking stick ready. Lokal Travel in the Osa Peninsula.

I was fortunate to have traveled to the remote Osa Penisula of Costa Rica where I met Xiña, whose chance encounter with one of Lokal Travel’s founders, changed her life and launched her tiny business in the tourism industry offering traveler’s a chance to spend a night in her cabin up in the jungle.   Spending the night at her cabin in the Costa Rican jungle was one of the highlights of my trip and it also helped Xiña earn a much-needed income.

However, finding female tour guides can be a daunting task. Sustainable travel outfitter, Responsible Travel, does the work for you. Check out Responsible Travel’s amazing, curated list of women-led vacations ranging from Mongolia to Cuba. Adventures in Good Company also employs female-guides for their female trips.

Chose travel agencies and tour companies run by women

The great news is there are tons of fantastic travel agencies and tour companies run by women.  While most are based in North America, Europe or Australia or New Zealand, they still help empower and employ women around the world. I’ve highlighted some of these companies before in prior posts and added a few new ones to the ever-growing list. I’ve learned about all of these companies thanks to the Impact Travel Alliance and readers’ recommendations. So if you know any more to add to this list, please let me know in the comments.

Adventures in Good Company

Founded by Marian Marbury, Adventures in Good Company is an active travel company for women with adventurous spirits. Adventures in Good Company offers small group adventures that encourage women of all ages to (re)connect with their adventurous selves, physical abilities, other women, different cultures, and the natural world. From hiking to sea kayaking, backpacking to multisport adventures, their vacations are for women who love being active, whether they’re first time travelers or lifelong outdoorswomen. Destinations: Worldwide.

 

Adventures in Good Company

Adventures in Good Company hiking trip

Andeana Hats

Andeana Hats is a female-owned company that operates sustainable tours for travelers to support Quechua weaving community in rural Peru. Through their partnership with the non-profit organization, Awamaki, Andeana Hats provides sustainable tours that not only are fun and educational, and provide a positive impact in the Quechua communities. Destination(s): Peru

Andeana Hats (Photo credit Laura Grier)

Andeana Hats (Photo credit Laura Grier)

Community Homestay

Community Homestay in Nepal provides local women the opportunity to become entrepreneurs and ready their homes to house guests. Select a homestay online and meet with the local women and communities in Nepal. Community Homestay also offers such cultural experiences as cooking classes, jungle walks, wildlife viewing and more. Every tour helps local women and their families. Destination(s): Nepal

Courtesy of Community Homestay

Picture of Village in Patlekhet Homestay. Courtesy of Community Homestay

Fernweh Fair Travel

Fernweh Fair Travel is a women-led nonprofit organization working to empower women, mostly young widows, and bring sustainable development to communities in India through responsible tourism. Fernweh Fair Travel offers authentic travel experiences along with mountain adventure sports in the majestic Indian Himalayas. Their goal is to empower and support communities through travel that makes a positive impact on the local economy, culture, and environment. Destination(s): India

Homestay Team. Photo Credit: Fernweh Fair Travel – Uplifting Communities

Girls Trip Tours

Girls Trip is a transformative travel experience focused on female empowerment. Girls Trip Tours hosts trips to various African destinations with the goal of empowering future female leaders through mentorship while taking in the sites and dining around town with high profile businesswomen and local industry leaders.  Destination: Africa

Girls Travel Tours

This mentorship day photo was taken at the giraffe center in Nairobi and is credited to Samantha Kendi.

Global Family Travels

Global Family Travels’ was founded by Jennifer Spatz with the mission to “Learn, Serve and Immerse.” In partnership with community-based partners, schools and non-profit organizations, Global Family Travels creates and offers service-learning tours for families which include a unique mix of cultural and educational activities, homestays and participation in local service projects aimed at improving the lives of people in the communities they visit.  Destinations: Worldwide

Global Family Travels

Reading to new friends. Photo credit: Global Family Travels

GOOD Travel

GOOD Travel’s mission is to make it easier for travelers to have a positive social, economic and environmental impact on the places they visit. They do this through tours as well as advocacy, research and events focused on influencing tourist behavior for GOOD. GOOD Travel’s tours are carefully researched and designed to create unique, impactful and transformative experiences for travelers to have a positive impact on the destination being visited. For each trip, all accommodations and tour companies are carefully selected due to their focus on sustainability and community, and $100 per person is donated to a local project. Destinations: Bali, Iceland, Thailand, New Zealand, Zanzibar, and Peru (a mother-daughter trip).

 

Mother Daughter Trip to Machu Picchu

The girls enjoying the view at Machu Picchu

Purposeful Nomad

Purposeful Nomad runs female, small-group adventures around the world designed to empower women through responsible community engagement. Purposeful Nomad was created to inspire, challenge and bring together women from around the globe. Trips can include meeting leaders in sustainable tourism,  helping with community projects, living like a local and helping your host family harvest, feed animals or cook, engaging with women working to restore native alpaca customs and more. Destinations: India, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Ecuador, Orcas Islands, Guatemala, Morocco, Iceland, and Tanzania.

Cloud forest Ecuador. Working at Mashpi farm sorting cocoa seeds from the pods. Photo credit: Purposeful Nomad

Wild Women Expeditions

Wild Women Expeditions is a global leader in women’s adventure travel offering adventurous trips all over the world ranging from canoeing, cycling, and paddleboarding to kayaking, yoga, and hiking.  Their trips are founded on a love of the outdoors, a sense of adventure, and the joy of sharing a new experience with other spirited women. Wild Women Expeditions is passionate about environmental conservation and also seeks out opportunities to support programs that foster female empowerment, by partnering with social justice and women’s rights organizations in an effort to make a difference both locally and globally. Destinations: Worldwide.

Photo courtesy of Wild Women.

Book with travel companies that support nonprofits empowering women in the communities they visit.

Another fabulous tip is to book your trip with a travel company that supports nonprofits empowering women in the communities that they visit. Thankfully this is a growing trend in the travel industry and one that I love to see. Two stand-out travel outfitters that I have personally used include G Adventures and Intrepid Travel who both make it part of their mission and trips to support local nonprofits in the destinations that they travel to.

G Adventures

G Adventures is a social enterprise that provides responsible, sustainable small-group tours around the world. G Adventures spreads good around the world by working with local businesses and guides, promoting animal and child welfare, responsible travel with indigenous cultures, and other projects. G Adventures offers tours for families, solo travelers, age groups, classic tours, active tours, adventure tours, local living tours, National Geographic tours, and more. As a key funder for the nonprofit, Planeterra, in 2018 alone, G Adventures contributed $500,000 CAD to its nonprofit partner Planeterra to support community development in 42 countries, reaching 64,250 people and directly supporting 2,043 women, 491 youth and 2,758 community members around the world. In 2018, over 98,000 travelers visited one of Planeterra’s projects around the world and G Adventures has integrated the project visits into most of their tours. In my opinion, it is an excellent way to travel and do good. (To read about my visit to one of G Adventures G for Good projects in Belize click here). Destinations: Worldwide

San Antonio Women's Coop Belize

At the San Antonio Women’s Cooperative in Belize watching a Mayan woman show us how to make corn tortillas.

Intrepid Travel

Intrepid Travel -one of the world’s largest adventure travel companies – is changing the way we see and impact the world. With over 1,000 tours in 120 countries, Intrepid has done wonders to promote responsible tourism and help make a positive impact on where they travel. Intrepid is committed not just to treading lightly, but to making a real difference – by investing in local communities, human rights initiatives, wildlife conservation projects, and the environment. Intrepid is all about operating in a responsible manner and incorporating principles of sustainable tourism and development into the way they provide our travelers with real-life experiences.

Intrepid is committed to promoting gender equality, both within our business and without, which is why Intrepid is striving to double its number of female leaders by 2020. From Zina in Morocco,to Channa in Cambodia, Nadia in Iran, and Sana in India,  Intrepid is paving the way to empower women tour leaders.  I traveled with Intrepid to Jordan this past October and felt good knowing many travel dollars were supporting these causes.

Oval Forum, Jerash, Jordan

Me in Jerash, Jordan.

Intrepid also has a wide variety of Women’s Expeditions where you can break down the cultural barriers of traditional tourism” with their amazing range of all-female adventures ranging from such fascinating trips as Israel and the Palestine territories to Pakistan and India and more.

Break down the cultural barriers of traditional tourism with our range of all-female adventures.

Join and support female travel communities online

Another great way to support women in travel is to join female travel communities online. Thankfully there are tons out there and most provide a global community of women who love to travel and share their tips. We are Travel Girls is a community created to inspire, connect, educate and empower female travelers. They also launched Travel Girls Giving to raise money and highlight charitable organizations around the world and they host impact trips as well for women to see different inspiring projects in the field. The Travel Women is another online resource for women who love to travel and share their tips, stories and more online. Unearth Women is an online media outlet where feminism meets travel. Check out their list of over 40 Feminist Guides that give tips on how you can support women in cities around the world.

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Travel Companies Empowering Women Through Travel

 

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Wadi Rum
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The Best Sustainable Travel and Adventure Companies

Grab a cup of coffee or tea! This post is going to be a long one but I’m hoping it will be greatly appreciated. You may want to bookmark it for later as I’m certain that this constantly evolving list of the best sustainable and travel adventure companies in the industry will be an invaluable resource for future trip planning!  Enjoy!

The Treasury at Petra.

Love at first sight. The Treasury at Petra.

Although I have traveled all my life, sometime in my late twenties I became a traveler. For most of my life, I had been more of a tourist trying to rush around the world seeing as much as I could possibly see, never fully understanding what it all meant. It was in my twenties that I went on my first truly eye-opening trip to Peru. Within the first half-hour of being on the ground, I was mugged inside a taxi and it was at that point I realized that the world is not a giant playground for me to explore yet a place for me to search for answers and try to understand. Since then, I have continued to follow my promise to be a good, responsible traveler as best as I can.

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How Intrepid Travel is Changing the Way We See and Impact the World

Intrepid Travel -one of the world’s largest adventure travel companies – is changing the way we see and impact the world. With over 1,000 tours in 120 countries, Intrepid has done wonders to promote responsible tourism and help make a positive impact on where they travel.  As part of the Intrepid Group which includes fellow tour operators Urban Adventures, Peregrine, and Adventure Tours Australia and runs The Intrepid Foundation, Intrepid is on a mission to change the way people see the world by delivering sustainable experience-rich travel products while also harnessing the power of travel to benefit the places and people they visit.

As a global leader in sustainability within the travel industry and a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, Intrepid is dedicated to being a company committed to purpose beyond profit. Some of Intrepid’s accomplishments in responsible travel include becoming a carbon neutral business in 2010 and becoming the first global travel company to ban elephant rides on its tours in 2014. By 2016, Intrepid’s philanthropic fund distributed more than AU $6 million towards healthcare, human rights, child welfare and environmental and wildlife protection programs in the communities in which it operates. In June 2018, the company launched vegan tours and most recently, in August 2018, Intrepid became a certified B Corporation making Intrepid the largest Travel B Corp in the world.

I heard about Intrepid Travel by fellow travel blogger Alison Armstrong, the beautiful mind behind Adventures in Wonderland  who has written about her own experiences traveling with Intrepid to China last year. Wanting to learn more, I reached out to Rebecca Shapiro, the Senior Editorial Manager of Intrepid Group North America. We talked for over an hour about all the amazing work that Intrepid is doing to change the face of travel and improve the world. Here is what she had to say.

Intrepid Travel Tour in Iran.

Intrepid Travel Tour in Iran. Photo courtesy of Intrepid Travel

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United for Hope India
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United for Hope’s Sustainable Village Tours and Guesthouses in Rural India

Have you ever dreamed of exploring rural India and making a difference?  United for Hope is an international nonprofit that offers intrepid travelers the opportunity to discover the real India through their social tourism venture in Tirmasahun, India. Alongside their development work in education, social entrepreneurship and community programs, United for Hope’s social tourism is helping to truly transform the lives of both the villagers and the travelers who meet them.

Strategically located less than 30 minutes away from the popular tourist destination of Kushinagar (a famous Buddhist pilgrimage site) in the Uttar Pradesh region of India near Nepal is the tranquil village of Tirmasahun. Here tourists can enjoy the comforts of a guesthouse or do a day trip to the village through United for Hope’s social tourism program. This unique program is pioneering sustainable development and tourism in one of India’s poorest regions. During each visit, travelers will be able to embrace village life, enjoy a delicious home-cooked meal and experience meaningful cultural exchange, while also nurturing positive environmental and social impact in the community.  The impact of these visits is powerful, creating a socioeconomic ripple effect throughout the entire community while also affording travelers a magical glimpse into rural Indian life.

I had the opportunity to interview United for Hope about their sustainable tourism project and here is what they had to say.

Tell me more about United for Hope.  

United for Hope was founded by Tara McCartney in 2014 and is a registered tax-deductible NGO in Germany, France, India and the USA. Motivated by her love for development work and certainty that she has the skills to drive real change in rural India, Tara quit her corporate career to found United for Hope. The organisation launched its first pilot Smart Village in Tirmasahun, Kushinagar district (UP) in 2014. Just like in other areas of the world, rural populations here face a complex web of challenges: access to health, education and energy, income generation, lack of infrastructure, corruption, and bad governance. These aspects are all inter-connected and cannot be addressed separately. For this reason, after a process of testing, improving and learning, we developed a structured approach which aims to tackle all these issues.

Tell me a little more about Tara’s background.

Tara McCartney is an ex-corporate manager turned social entrepreneur with multiple projects and companies based out of India. From basic services for the rural poor such as water, solar energy and clean cooking stoves via her non-profit United for Hope and its partner for-profit, Shakti Empowerment Solutions to sustainable farming and dignified working conditions for farm labours via Grow Good Farms to ethical textile production for European retailers through her full service agency, Fairfactia, Tara has an in-depth knowledge of the challenges and the opportunities of social entrepreneurship in India. She has extensive experience in holding workshops, giving presentations, contributing to panel discussions and speaking to the media. Tara also works as a consultant for other international agencies.

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Above Safaris
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Earth Day Travel Guide: Top Tours that Help Protect Wildlife Around the World

On April 22nd, the 49th annual Earth Day is being celebrated around the world. This year’s theme – to protect the Earth’s endangered and threatened species – could not be more important. The world is facing unprecedented climate change and a mass extinction of many of the amazing species of plants and wildlife that make our planet so incredibly unique. Unlike the extinction of the dinosaurs 60 million years ago, the devastating changes to our planet are driven by us. As concerns grow, there is still hope that we can fight climate change and reverse the mess we’ve made of our planet. As travelers, we have a choice on how we spend our money and we can make a difference by supporting travel organizations that help protect the environment and its wildlife.

In honor of Earth Day’s Protect Our Species campaign and as a member of Impact Travel Alliance (the world’s largest community for impact-focused travelers and travel professionals), I am highlighting some of the amazing tour operators working to help travelers responsibly visit and protect wildlife around the world.

“Seeing wildlife in their natural habitat can become some of our most vivid travel memories. I was deeply impacted by a trip to Uganda where I watched gorillas go about their daily lives in the Bwindi National Park and I bonded deeply with elephants while interacting with them at a conservation park in Thailand,” said Kelley Louise, Impact Travel Alliance founder and executive director. “It’s important to take the time to research and book wildlife tours that put the animals and their environment first.” As an avid traveler and nature lover, I could not agree more. Whatever we can do as travelers to make a difference is better than not doing anything at all. By choosing to travel with an ethical organization, we are making a big difference in hope that these incredible animals will be around for future generations.

Photo credit Playa Viva and Dave Krugman

Leatherback Sea Turtles on the shore of Playa Viva, Mexico. Photo credit Playa Viva and Dave Krugman

Here is a list of sustainable tours that help travelers see and protect Earth’s wildlife:

Atlas Obscura

Atlas Obscura’s mission is to inspire wonder and curiosity about the incredible world we all share by offering unique trips, sharing stories, holding events and fostering a global community to create a comprehensive database of the world’s most wondrous places and foods.

Atlas Obscura offers some pretty fabulous trips such as tracking wild bumblebees in the wild with expert biologists. Travel to Sequoia National Park with Atlas Obscura and expert biologists to track, conduct research on and help protect wild bumblebee populations and explore this peaceful landscape. You will learn firsthand about the plight of the humble bumblebee while also supporting them.

Atlas Obscura

Giant sequoia grove near auburn california trees, nature landscapes. Photo credit: Atlas Obscura

Playa Viva

Playa Viva is a unique yoga retreat destination where you will enjoy the rugged, unspoiled beauty of Mexico in the guilt-free luxury of an environmentally conscious resort. Become immersed in nature, volunteer in the turtle sanctuary, give back to the local community, engage in a workshop, or just relax completely.

Stay in Playa Viva’s sustainable hotel in Mexico and participate in the Playa Viva Turtle Sanctuary’s efforts to protect leatherback sea turtle eggs from predators.

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GOOD Travel: Transforming the Tourism Industry into a Force for Good

Did you know that tourism is one of the largest industries in the world, employing 1 in 11 people and generating US $7.2 trillion annually? Imagine what can happen if we harness this powerful, global force with positive social, economic and environmental impact in the communities around the world we travel to. That is the vision and mission behind GOOD Travel, a social enterprise focused on changing the face and experience of travel in an effort to create a better world for all.

If you believe in having a positive impact on the places you visit, connecting with the communities you meet and learning through your journey, then GOOD Travel has the perfect trip for you.

I had the opportunity to talk with Eliza Raymond, one of the Co-Founders and the Director of Operations at GOOD Travel. Here is what she has to say.

When were you founded, by who and why? 

GOOD Travel was founded in 2013 by four women from Peru, USA, South Africa and New Zealand. Our vision is to transform the tourism industry into a force for GOOD. We believe that change needs to happen at a variety of levels for this to be achieved – our focus is on travelers. 
 

A Booking.com report concluded that while 46% of global travelers consider themselves a sustainable traveler, only 5% of travelers believe it is easy to travel sustainably. GOOD Travel exists to directly address this gap and to make it easier for travelers to have a positive social, economic and environmental impact on the places they visit. We do this through our GOOD tours as well as advocacy, research and events focused on influencing tourist behavior for GOOD. Our tours are carefully researched and designed to create unique, impactful and transformative experiences for travelers to have a positive impact on the destination being visited.

What is your mission?

Our mission is to inspire and empower travelers to have a positive social, economic and environmental impact on the places they visit.

What are five of your best trips?

Iceland

Iceland, September 23rd-28th, 2019– Discover stunning waterfalls and glaciers, support one of the world’s first eco-villages, explore your creativity with artist Baron Wright and experience Iceland’s famous (and secret!) lagoons. 

Good Travel Iceland

In Iceland, we’ll explore stunning waterfalls, national parks and glaciers. Photo Credit: Traveller of GOOD Travel

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Meet Six Companies That Are Empowering Women Through Travel

March 8th is International Women’s Day, a day celebrated around the world in honor of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It’s roots began back in 1909 by women in New York City and gained popularity in Russia after women gained suffrage in 1917. March 8th was officially adopted as International Women’s Day by the United Nations in 1975 and has been celebrated around the world ever since.

Over the decades much progress has been made in regards to women’s rights however there still remains a lot of work to be done in achieving gender parity and improving the lives of women. One area that can certainly help improve women’s lives is sustainable employment and as the travel industry booms around the world, there is a great opportunity for women to increase their livelihoods through sustainable tourism.

As a member of Impact Travel Alliance, the world’s largest community for impact-focused travelers and travel professionals, I am highlighting some of the amazing female-run travel businesses and tour operators supporting women’s programs around the world.

While I haven’t had the honor of traveling with all of these organizations, I was fortunate to have joined Lokal Travel on one of their early trips. In 2017, I went with Lokal Travel on a trip to the remote Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica where I met Xiñia, a former gold miner who has opened up her remote jungle cabin, “Descanso El Pizote” to rural tourism. Her story is one of heartbreak and hope as for years she had no choice but to continue the backbreaking work of gold-mining until she met the co-founders of Lokal Travel who changed her life. Today, her dream is to grow Descanso El Pizote into a full-time business sharing her beautiful rainforest property and her passion for the jungle with tourists. Then she can quit gold mining for good and it would be a win-win situation that promotes sustainable rural travel while conserving the environment.

Dos Brazos de Tigre Lokal Travel

Xiñia leads the way to her jungle cabin with her walking stick ready.

Xiñia’s story is similar to the hopes and dreams of many women around the world who are seeking to improve their lives through sustainable tourism. Not only does it improve these women’s lives, it also provides the traveler with a unique experience to do something different. For me personally, these kinds of trips have been the most rewarding travels of my life and I feel wonderful knowing that my travel dollars are making a difference on people’s lives.

In fact, I just returned from Belize with G Adventures and was thrilled to see that our trip included a visit to a Mayan women’s co-op to watch a live demonstration on making traditional pottery and corn tortillas. As part of G Adventure’s commitment to responsible travel and tourism, G Adventure trips always include a travel for good element to give back and support the local economy. In this case, it was to support the local Mayan women.

San Antonio Women's Coop Belize

At the San Antonio Women’s Cooperative in Belize watching a Mayan woman show us how to make corn tortillas.

Here are six amazing organizations that are working to help empower women through travel.

Sustainable Travel Organizations TRAVEL RESOURCES
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Why Ecotourism and Sustainable Travel Must Be the Wave of the Future

As much as I love to travel, there is no doubt I feel concerned about the negative impact that travel can make on a place due to overtourism and additional stress on the environment. As the world economy improves and more people are being lifted out of poverty, tourism is on the upswing as well. World Count estimates that approximately 1 billion people arrive in a new destination each year which translates into a new arrival every 30 seconds somewhere around the globe.

“Should we feel guilty for traveling”?  and “How is tourism the harming the environment and what we can do about it?” are excellent moral questions us as travelers have to often consider when planning a trip, especially to a threatened destination such as The Great Barrier Reef, Iceland, and Machu Picchu to name a few.

In this thought provoking piece, Dafina Zymeri of SUMAS (a Sustainability Business School in Switzerland), shares some areas where travel has negatively impacted the environment and the very culture of a city and how we as travelers can travel more consciously. I have added in my insight where I deemed necessary to expand upon a topic. I am hoping this is the first of many conversations on the importance of sustainable travel for we must protect and think responsibly about our impact as travelers upon the very world in which we desire to see.

It has been estimated that over half of the Great Barrier Reef has died since 2016. What impact does tourism have on this fragile ecosystem and should we go there? Photo credit: Pexels

The Burden of Overtourism

If you search on Google “How tourism is…”, the first suggestion to finish the sentence it will give is “How tourism is killing Barcelona.” Pretty sad, isn’t it? Well, we travelers – or tourists, whatever you call yourself – are destroying the environment of those beautiful countries we’re visiting. Of course, we don’t mean to do so but we are flying, visiting and trampling all over the planet. Our increase in visiting some of these destinations is undeniably having an impact and perhaps not such a positive one.

Let’s take the case of Barcelona. Check out the Guardian’s recent article “How Tourism is Killing Barcelona – A Photo Essay“. We have all seen and experienced beloved destinations like Barcelona that have sadly began to lost their charm and have become overrun with all things tourist. Trinkets, t-shirt shops and crowds and crowds of people is making a once culturally rich city feel more like a Disney-styled theme park. Will Barcelona eventually loose the charm and uniqueness that initially made it so popular with tourists in the first place?

If this isn’t sad enough, the huge increase in popularity of Barcelona is having its own negative impacts on its own people who live there. Barcelona native residents are enraged with the cost of living that they say was inflicted by tourism. Per The Guardian, it used to cost 250€ (or around $280) for a short-term rental permit but now that they are not being issued anymore. Needless to say, the average monthly rent in Barcelona (which is the most expensive in Spain) is around  700€. Residents are seemingly being forced out by high rents in Barcelona neighborhoods with a high presence of Airbnb. Since Airbnb’s intention is “revitalizing neighborhoods”, how is that possible when neighborhoods in their presence are actually losing population to a large degree?

 

Is tourism ruining the charm of such beautiful places as Barcelona?

 

Here’s another example to touch your conscience: The beautiful beach of Maya Bay of Phi Phi Lei Island in Thailand had banned, for a certain time, boats of tourists from landing on the shore. The tourists that want to take the trouble to visit need to do it by foot from the neighboring beach Loh Samah Bay. I was heartbroken when I read what the Chief of Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park said the reason behind the temporary closure was that the marine life and corals need time to recover.  How utterly devastating. The beach we go to see, swim in, and take pictures of to need a break from us!

And what about Machu Picchu, a World Heritage Site? Thousands of tourists are trampling across ancient ruins every day at a level that is truly unsustainable for keeping them around for further generations. Although UNESCO has strongly recommends that they cap the number of visitors to 2,500 per day, 5,000 tourists visit and walk across these threatened ruins daily. Don’t we want to safeguard and protect Machu Picchu for future generations to enjoy?

Isn’t this how Machu Picchu is supposed to look? Untouched?

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Backpacking with a Purpose with Operation Groundswell

For the past two years, I’ve been a proud member of Impact Travel Alliance, a global community of change makers, passionate about transforming the travel industry into a force for good. Through this amazing network of sustainable travel organizations, writers and travel enthusiasts around the globe, I’ve learned a lot about how we can use travel to make the world a better place.

For the next several months, I am working on putting together a searchable database of the best ethical impact-focused and sustainable travel organizations on the planet. While I’m researching these different organizations, I will be sharing guest posts to uncover each organization’s unique mission and how you can travel for good. This guest post is written by fellow Impact Travel Alliance Media Network member Marissa Sutera (creator of Little Things Travel Blog) who introduces us to Operation Groundswell a Toronto-based organization whose mission is to create a more equitable, just, and sustainable world through travel and backpacking with a purpose.

Operation Groundswell

Operation Groundswell Ecuador trip

Backpacking with a Purpose

When seeking out more purposeful work to do while traveling, it can be challenging to dig deep enough to find the best route to take and the organizations that are truly carrying out positive work. In this interview you’ll hear from Justine Abigail Yu, Communications and Marketing Director at Operation Groundswell, who will be sharing her insight into what questions to ask when volunteering abroad, where to begin, and how to know what sort of impact you will make.

Operation Groundswell is a non-profit organization that facilitates experiential education programs on a host of social justice issues around the world. With ethical travel at the crux of their philosophy, they always work in partnership with local non-profits and charities on community-requested projects to ensure true sustainability. Their aim is to build a community of “backpacktivists” that are socially, environmentally, and politically aware of their impact in the communities they travel to and live in. Their programs are intentionally designed to uncover the intricacies and on-the-ground realities of each region they go to. With ethical travel at the crux of their philosophy, they always work in partnership with local non-profits and charities on community-requested projects to ensure true sustainability.

Their aim is to build a community of “backpacktivists” that are socially, environmentally, and politically aware of their impact in the communities they travel to and live in.

Operation Groundswell

Meeting with our partners at De La Gente, a coffee cooperative in San Miguel Escobar in Guatemala

How can someone seeking a volunteer program abroad determine if they will actually be making a difference?

First and foremost, whatever volunteer project you work on abroad should be done in partnership with the local community. If you want to make even the slightest difference, be sure to find an organization that puts the needs of the local community first. Contributing to a project that your host community actually wants and needs is the first step towards responsible international volunteering.

But it’s also important to set realistic expectations of what exactly “making a difference” means. For many people, this requires a bit of a rethink. You’d be surprised (or maybe not) how many volunteers going abroad expect to “save Africa”, or Asia, or Latin America. And that’s just not the reality.

The majority of volunteer programs are often short-term projects that range from one week to a few months. So when you’re seeking a volunteer program abroad, consider the time you’ll be spending abroad and align that with your expectations. Because real talk – if you’re only going to be spending one or two-weeks in any given country or community, you may not actually make that much of a difference.

You’ll accomplish some things, of course: you’ll likely gain a deeper understanding of the complexity of development and what it takes to actually achieve social change, you’ll make a strong connection with a handful of people who you will hopefully stay in touch with, and you’ll contribute in some small way to a project.

But honestly, you’ll likely leave with more questions than answers. And that’s ok. This is a process.

“Change doesn’t happen overnight or even in a couple of weeks or months. Often, the work that you do when you return home, as a result of what you learned abroad, will be where you make the most difference.”

Just remember to have humility when taking part in work like this!

Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises Study Abroad Sustainable Travel Organizations TRAVEL TRAVEL RESOURCES Volunteering Abroad
CasaSur Charming Hotel, Santiago
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Staying at the CasaSur Charming Hotel in Barrio Italia, Santiago

One of the best ways to ensure a fantastic trip is to do your homework before traveling especially when it comes to finding the perfect place to stay. Thanks to TripAdvisor (and my dad is does all the research on it), we found the intimate CasaSur Charming Hotel – a boutique hotel with only six rooms in the lovely tranquil Barrio Italia. It was truly a treasure of a find!

The CasaSur has only been open for a little over two years but in that short amount of time, it is already ranked #1 on TripAdvisor of all 200+ hotels in Santiago. An impressive feat for this tiny little hotel. As soon as we arrived and met our hosts, the owner Eduardo and his delightful, charming staff, we realized what a special place it was.  Eduardo was awaiting and welcomed us by name. His charismatic personality made us instantly feel at home and that is how he intends his hotel to be: Something a little bit different and unique.

After traveling the globe as a Civil Engineer, Eduardo decided to change his career path and open up his own boutique hotel running it the way he thought travelers would like best. A place that surrounds and welcomes guests with harmony, serenity and peace. A home away from home with inspirational quotes written by hand on the chalkboard each day and where each guest is treated as a part of the family.

After a bit of searching, Eduardo found the perfect place for his hotel: The lovely, tree-lined neighborhood of Barrio Italia located only a short walk from the trendy, more rowdy Barrio Bellavista. In 2013, he purchased the old run-down house on Eduardo Hyatt street and put his skills as an engineer to use fixing it up. In 2015, the doors to CasaSur Charming Hotel opened for the first time and his gorgeously-appointed, intimate hotel has been open ever since.

CasaSur Charming Hotel, Santiago

The immaculate white CasaSur Charming Hotel with sits at the end of a quiet street outside and is walking distance to several amazing restaurants and shops.

Eduardo, the owner of CasaSur Charming Hotel doing what he loves best…talking to his guests

Eduardo put his engineering skills to work to create a lovely hotel with beautifully -appointed rooms, a stunning open air terrace and a delightful reception area. A freshly-made breakfast is served every morning on the outdoor terrace or inside if it is cool out. There is even a self-serve bar where you can purchase a bottle of Chilean wine or a beer without having to leave the comforts of the hotel.

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Every morning the quotes are changed on the chalkboard and the new guests are added to the list. It is a very welcoming place!

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The location of CasaSur couldn’t be more perfect. Located in the Barrio Italia (formally known as the Barrio Santa Isabel), this historic neighborhood has been up and coming for the past decade with dozens of fabulous restaurants to choose from, gorgeous boutiques and lots of interesting shops such as antiques and even furniture restoration. What I loved best is that I didn’t feel at all like a tourist in Barrio Italia. We walked, talked and ate with the locals. It was the perfect way to experience local culture and practice sustainable travel. After staying at locally-owned and run boutique hotels, I’d have a very difficult time ever staying at a big American hotel chain again. You miss half the experience of truly traveling and engaging with the country you are visiting.

Barrio Italia, Santiago

The tree-lined streets of Barrio Italia are loaded with open-air restaurants, boutiques and bars.

Barrio Italia, Santiago, Chile

View of the Andes from a rooftop restaurant and bar in Barrio Italia.

Barrio Italia, Santiago, Chile

And the jacaranda’s were all in full bloom and gorgeous!

Barrio Italia, Santiago, ChileBarrio Italia, Santiago, ChileWe had an endless amount of delicious restaurants to choose from for dinner. Every meal was fantastic and there is food from all around the world just within a few tiny blocks. Best of all, we ate dinner with all the locals and even at local time (normally 10 pm). It took some getting used to the late dining hour yet once we did, we loved it.

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Towards the end of the stay Eduardo and his staff felt like family. My only regret is that I didn’t have more time at the CasaSur. I would have loved to have learned more about Eduardo’s fascinating family history. Both his grandparents had escaped WWII and the Nazis, fleeing Berlin and Hungary before the mass extermination of the Jewish population. They met in Chile and were so afraid of being persecuted that they baptized their children and raised them Christian. I had no idea until that moment that Chile even had a Jewish population. These are the tiny pieces of cultural knowledge that I’d never have learned without staying at a small, locally-run boutique hotel, and these are the stories I will always remember from my trip.

If you go:

CasaSur Charming Hotel is very small and fills up fast. Book well in advance! Eduardo and his staff can also provide you will tons of fantastic day-trips and excursions. You will love it there!

Chile TRAVEL TRAVEL BY REGION TRAVEL RESOURCES
Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
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Lokal Travel Launches the Ultimate Sustainable Travel Sale

Exciting news! I’ve teamed up with Lokal Travel to share their Ultimate Sustainable Travel Sale. For the next month Lokal is offering discounted gift cards and deals on unique bucketlist adventures, so you can give (or receive) the gift of meaningful travel. From expeditions in the Amazon with indigenous guides to stays in family-run guesthouses in the Himalayas, Lokal makes it easy to book hundreds of incredible trips that support local communities, protect nature and preserve cultural traditions. Through Third Eye Mom you’re getting early access and month long deals to Lokal’s launch specials. Deals include:

  • $100 Gift Card for $50
  • $1,000 Gift Card and custom trip plan for $750
  • Over 30% off a Costa Rica Jungle and Community Adventure (which I did this past January and it was amazing!).
  • Lots more!

Lokal Travel, a platform that allows intrepid travelers to book immersive local experiences and adventures around the world has launched an incredible Indiegogo campaign. From November 12-December 12, 2017, the campaign is offering extraordinary travel adventures that will help Lokal launch in ten new countries and support 1,000 inspiring local business. It is a brilliant concept and as a traveler who has experienced one of Lokal’s life-changing trips this past January to the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, I am getting itchy feet just sitting here reading about the amazing deals!

From expeditions in the Amazon with indigenous guides to stays in family-run guesthouses in the Himalayas, Lokal makes it easy to book hundreds of incredible trips that support local livelihoods, protect nature and preserve cultural traditions. Better yet, at Lokal over 80% of every dollar you spend goes directly to independent, locally-run and vetted travel businesses who are creating amazing experiences and real benefits for communities. Pretty fantastic!

Here is more information on this exciting sale and a few of my photos from my past trip to get you wanting to click on over now and book your next adventure.

Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

Canoeing down a private lagoon was one of the many highlights I had during my week in the Osa.

Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

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Labadie, Haiti
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The Two Contradictory Worlds of Labadie and “Labadee” Haiti

“Sonje lapli ki leve mayo ou”. – Remember the rain that made your corn grow. (Haitian proverb)

After all the stark contradictions I’d witnessed in Haiti, the sharpest contrast of it all was seen during an afternoon spent at the beach in Labadie. Here along the northern coast of Haiti sit two vastly different worlds: Labadie, a small, poor Haitian seaside village and “LABADEE®”, the private trademarked beach leased by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines since 1986.

Labadee is the largest tourist draw in all of Haiti and its beautiful, luxurious compound is a far cry from the poverty and despair witnessed right outside its gates. No Haitians are allowed within the high-wired fences and security of its pristine grounds unless they are work on the property.  Inside the compound lies a fantasy world of crystal white beaches, zip-lines, inflatable rafts, watersports and all the food you can eat with a gigantic cruise ship floating in the background. Outside the compound lies poverty and despair and people living on less than the price of a beer a day.

I had heard that this was one of the most gorgeous beaches in all of Haiti and we were going to try our best to check it out even if it was supposedly private. I was armed with a few facts about the property and Royal Caribbean’s relationship to the community. A history that is shrouded in controversy yet filled with potential. A couple hundred Haitians are employed at the compound and Royal Caribbean has done some things to help the neighboring community. I was curious to see for myself what I discovered.

As we left, Cap-Haïtien I noticed a huge improvement in the roads. The same roads that took us over 8 1/2 hours to travel only 148 miles/239 kilometers from Port-au-Prince to Cap-Haïtien were dramatically better on the way to Labadee. Instead of rugged, washed out potholes some of the road was as smooth as silk and the roads that were in need of repair had an entire team of construction workers on the job with even a Chinese engineer. It was shocking to see that the roads leading to a major tourist draw were better than the roads in the nation’s capital. But it was a sign that the right money talks and perhaps it will enable Royal Caribbean to bring its estimated 600,000 tourists a year (1) who come to Labadee to get out of the private compound on excursions and visit some of Haiti’s fabulous historical and cultural sites.

The views leading up to Labadee were spellbinding. Rocky lush green shoreline and brilliant blue sea for as far as the eye could see. White sandy beaches and luxurious houses and resorts. It felt like we were in another country! This was not the Haiti I’d seen over the past five days.

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