Travelling is one of the most expanded experiences you can have throughout your life, whether short trips to a nearby town or long-distance trips to remote destinations.
Choosing the destination, what to visit, what to eat, what things you can’t miss, asking for recommendations, sometimes you prefer to organize it yourself, other times you leave it in the hands of professionals.
Picture by Felix Rostig in Unsplash
If it is a professional who organizes it, make sure that they care about generating a positive impact on the communities and places you will visit, otherwise, you may be contributing, without knowing it, to perpetuating extractive activities that do not leave any benefit to the local communities and that may also be damaging the natural or historical resources of the place.
For this, I recommend some travel agencies with which you can contribute positively:
«A journey only makes us grow if we reach the authentic and natural side of the territory we tread on, the intrinsic nature of each place, hand in hand with those who live there, cultivate it and work it: the locals.»
Trip to Help the online responsible and regenerative travel agency founded in Barcelona in 2022, received the Gold Award at the WTM Africa Responsible Tourism Awards 2024, held at the Spotlight Theatre in Cape Town, South Africa.
They create travel experiences with a positive impact. Unforgettable adventures for you, with a direct return to local communities, NGOs or sustainability projects in each territory.
They are specialized in Tanzania, Kenya, Marruecos and Perú.
Hinoki Travels is a boutique travel agency that specializes in crafting personalized, high-end travel experiences. With a focus on cultural immersion and sustainability, Hinoki Travels offers tailor-made itineraries that explore the destination’s rich history, natural beauty, and modern innovation. Hinoki Travels aims to provide travellers with an authentic and transformative journey, blending local tradition with contemporary luxury.
They offer travel experiences in reciprocity with the communities and lands they visit. Reciprocity means that they collaborate with community-based experience providers to create an equal exchange and mutual benefit between us. Their priority as a company is to provide the communities at each destination with the opportunity to improve the protection and conservation of their land and cultures.
They do that following some rules:
- They partner with local hosts in each destination
- They require all service providers (accommodations, etc.) to present their sustainability management practices
- Advocating for the working and human rights of all their local partners.
- Their leadership team has completed professional sustainable tourism training
They work with 10 destinations in Asia (Bhutan, Japan, Northern Thailand, Laos), Europe (Puglia, Albania and Greenland), the Americas (Dominica, Great Lake Regions) and Australasia (Tasmania)
G Adventures is a global travel company specialising in small-group tours designed to offer authentic, immersive travel experiences. Focusing on sustainable tourism, G Adventures emphasizes responsible travel that benefits local communities, respects the environment and supports cultural exchange. The company offers various travel styles, from adventure and cultural exploration to wellness and family trips, catering to diverse interests and budgets. Through their tours, G Adventures aims to create meaningful, life-changing experiences, fostering connections between travellers and the places they visit while supporting ethical tourism practices.
Some of the characteristics of their approach are:
- Small groups
- Locally based guides
- Tourism for good; working with local communities to create experiences that support both development, visitors and locals
- They make sure that 50% of the ownership of the business they work with is from locals
- For every day on tour they plant a tree
Lokal Travel is a travel agency focused on providing authentic, community-based travel experiences that prioritize sustainability and social impact. The company connects travellers with local guides, artisans, and communities, offering immersive tours that highlight cultural traditions, nature, and local craftsmanship. Lokal Travel partners with local businesses and communities to create itineraries that not only provide meaningful experiences for travellers but also contribute positively to the regions visited. Their mission is to promote responsible tourism that supports environmental conservation and empowers local populations through travel.
And if you want to go deeper into what regenerative tourism means take a look at their award-winning documentary ‘2.5% – The Osa Peninsula’ which follows the inspiring stories of Xinia, Johnson, and Carlos, three Osa residents who are fighting to protect their land and build a sustainable tourism industry that benefits both the environment and local communities.
OneSeed Expeditions is a travel company that specializes in creating sustainable, adventure-focused tours, with a strong emphasis on responsible tourism and community development. They offer small-group expeditions to remote and culturally rich destinations, focusing on trekking, hiking, and outdoor exploration. OneSeed’s unique approach includes a commitment to supporting local economies, as a portion of their profits are invested in micro-loans for women entrepreneurs in the regions they visit. The company aims to provide travellers with authentic, immersive experiences while fostering positive social and environmental impact through their travel experiences.
Intrepid Travel is a dedicated ecotourism operator that focuses on low-impact, nature-based tours aimed at conserving the environment. In line with their Climate Emergency declaration, they have developed a seven-point commitment plan to guide their sustainability efforts. Additionally, Intrepid Travel established the Intrepid Foundation, a nonprofit that supports community-led sustainable development and empowers local partners to address global challenges at the grassroots level. To encourage regenerative travel, Intrepid Travel donates to the foundation on behalf of every traveller, helping to fund initiatives that create lasting, positive impact.
“We’re here to create positive change through the joy of travel.”
Those are some of the travel agencies you can check when organizing your trip. What you should know is that once you travel in a regenerative way you can’t do it in another way, the experience, the connection with the place and the people, everything is different, and the feeling will remain long after your trip.
Enjoy travelling while contributing to a reciprocity win-win relationship.
