Should I Travel with a Tour Company, or Shouldn't I?
What Is Sustainable Tourism?
How Do I Choose a Responsible Tour Operator?
Green.travel's Giving-Back Program

More and more travelers from around the world are discovering that it can be cost effective to take their vacations with tour companies. These vacations may, indeed, be cost effective, but as responsible travelers, we need to ask ourselves what kind of impact they have on...

• The environment


• Natural resources


• Local cultures


• The global economy

Should I Travel with a Tour Company, or Shouldn't I?

Great question! And the answer is: It depends on the tour company. Responsible travelers have long been critical of the tour industry. And, historically, much of that criticism has been justified. In the past, many all-inclusive tour packages have brought busloads of tourists to developing countries, but very little revenue actually remained in those countries. In fact, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP):

"In most all-inclusive package tours, about 80% of travelers' expenditures go to the airlines, hotels and other international companies (who often have their headquarters in the travelers' home countries), and not to local businesses or workers."

Fortunately, that's beginning to change. It's encouraging to see that some tour companies don't conduct business "as usual," but conduct business in positive, respectful, sustainable ways, bringing tangible gains to the people and places they visit. For example, Global Exchange (based in San Francisco, USA) consistently keeps as much as 80% of the revenue generated through its educational, humanitarian trips in the local or national economy of places visited.

→ Read more about the effects mass tourism has had on developing countries...

What Is Sustainable Tourism?

Sustainable tourism is a type of travel that benefits the economy, environment, and socio-cultural situations for local populations (while allowing people to travel in an authentic, meaningful way). These benefits allow tourism to become a viable, long-term (or sustainable) aspect of the local economy and culture.

Nowadays, you can take a sustainable trip just about anywhere – all you need to do is understand what sustainable tourism is, plan your trip accordingly, and practice sustainability as you travel.

Sustainable tourism encourages travelers to...

• Learn more about their destinations


• Help preserve the local culture and ecosystem


• Promote resource conservation


• Respect local communities


• Build cross-cultural understanding


• Focus on and support everything that is local: people, food, gear, activities, and services

Here's a list of useful words and phrases related to sustainable tourism...

How Do I Choose a Responsible Tour Operator?

Find out if the company is eco- or green-certified. That's a good place to start. However, because there are many certification programs in existence (and some are more credible than others), it helps to do a little research about the quality of the certification program. For example, Sustainable Travel International (STI), the non-profit organization that launched Green.travel, has administerd a rigorous, well-regarded, credible certification program for several years.

If the tour company is not eco- or green- certified, find out if any reliable sources recommend it as a responsible company. STI recommends many companies that have not yet been certified (for a variety of reasons) in its Eco-Directory. The International Ecotourism Society's website is another excellent resource.

However, if you can’t find a recommendation for a particular tour company and it's not eco-certified, that doesn’t mean the company doesn't sincerely embrace the principles of sustainable travel. Certification is just one of the indicators you can use to start your research. For other ideas about how to evaluate a tour company's committment to sustainable travel, please read more here.

And if you like the idea of arranging travel with a small, locally owned travel company, then you'll also want to learn about Community-Based Tourism.

→ Read about Community-Based Tourism...

Green.travel's Giving-Back Program

Wouldn't it be great to know that a portion of the cost of your travels went to a well-run, closely monitored, humanitarian program?

That's exactly what happens when you book travel through Green.travel.

All you have to do is let travel companies know that you heard about them through Green.travel, and those companies will donate one percent (1%) of the cost of your trip, adventure, hotel, etc., to a worthwhile program that supports sustainable travel.

→ Please read more about Green.travel's Giving-Back Program...