Did you know your clients can help boost economic opportunities for women in the Sacred Valley of Peru, or join a walking tour that improves the lives of migrants in Naples? 

These are just two of more than 450 community tourism projects supported by community enterprise development organisation Planeterra, which co-hosted the fourth TTG Sustainable Travel Ambassadors workshop. 

The organisation’s global projects and partnership manager, Thomas Armitt, has seen first-hand how travellers can have a positive impact on local communities and habitats. Planeterra works with companies including Iberostar and G Touring’s Travelsphere to develop experiences for visitors, including at Sthree Craft Shop and Cafe in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It provides a platform for women to gain financial stability, and at the cafe, women and young people serve meals to travellers, who hear how the project supports a local shelter for abused women. 

Planeterra monitors the ripple effect of these social enterprises, which can span areas including women’s empowerment, community development, helping youth gain skills for the future and environmental regeneration and protection. 

Armitt says these visits are often the highlight of clients’ holidays, and Planeterra is currently in discussions to work with airlines, major cruise lines and travel agents. He explains: “We want to prove that community tourism can be integrated into any part of the tourism sector.” 

Clients can also visit more than 20 community-based tourism projects with Intrepid. They aid in the protection and preservation of the environment and local culture, providing training and employment to local people and creating new economic opportunities to members of specific communities.

SWITCH SELLING 

All of these projects are ideal suggestions for clients interested in spending a day volunteering during their holiday. While these requests are based on good intentions, during the workshop the TTG Sustainable Travel Ambassadors in Training heard how short-term volunteering can, in some cases, have a negative impact. Research by Intrepid found a steady stream of short-term volunteers can reduce jobs for local people, mean resources aren’t directed to where they are most-needed, and can even place the safety of children and communities at risk. 

Ambassador and Travel Counsellor Marie Rowe now plans to switch-sell clients to a community tourism project if they enquire about volunteering. She explains: “Historically, I could have spent ages trying to find something to please a client, because they think they want some kind of volunteering experience, where they can have the feeling of giving back. But now I’ll say, why don’t you consider some of these community projects, because you’re going to have a much more positive effect on the community and get the feelgood factor? I can easily sell them on how much more impactful it can be to get involved in different kinds of projects.” 

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

There are a host of other simple, enjoyable and fascinating ways clients can have a positive impact during their travels. They can support important scientific research by joining Citizen Science projects, such as those available on Hurtigruten sailings. To take part in the Happywhale project, travellers submit images of whales and dolphins they spot, helping map the movement of marine mammals around the world. Hurtigruten also operates clean-ups on all expeditions, and in 2022 guests collected 2,350kg of litter. 

Last year, Intrepid launched its first-ever Citizen Science programme in Antarctica, where clients report cloud movements to Nasa and record wildlife viewings to help scientists better understand seabird migrations in the Southern Ocean. 

Highlight the work accommodation providers are making too. Iberostar’s Wave of Change pledge is to ensure all coastal environments surrounding its properties are improving in ecological health, and clients can see the behind-the-scenes work in action during their stay. 

And don’t forget, by hiring a car for their holiday, visitors can explore towns and villages and support local businesses that often get overlooked. Try suggesting one of Avis’s 30,000 hybrid and electric vehicles available across its fleet. 

Planeterra’s Armitt has noticed a shift in consumers’ mindset since he started working in the sector 16 years ago, explaining: “There’s so much interest in how tourism can have more of an impact. Since Covid, people seem to have developed this interest in how they can have less negative impacts, but more importantly, positive impacts in destination.”