responsible travel Archives - Nightborn Travel

Nightborn Travel has provided information about ecotourism in the past, but today we have an exciting announcement! We are launching our new partnership with People-First Tourism – we’ll tell you a little more about their travel philosophy and look at why the experiences they offer are both unique and responsible.

What is People First Tourism?

People-First Tourism is a company with the goal of connecting local tourism entrepreneurs with the greater tourism market. They help supply authentic, sustainable experiences to travelers, while bringing better opportunities to local people around the world by giving control of tourism to the people that live in different destinations.

What is their philosophy and why should I support it?

People-First Tourism has an amazing manifesto that shows why traveling with them is a great idea if you are interested in being responsible and sustainable, but it also might inform your personal travel philosophy.

“All people have knowledge and experiences that they want to share with others.” This is at the heart of an authentic experience in any destination, learning the story that local people want to share with the rest of the world. Giving residents the ability to run their own tourism businesses, rather than massive, international companies, assists local people in telling their stories.

“Communities are complex with constantly evolving factions that use their various capitals to compete, complement, and collaborate with each other.” There are people in every community that are more able than others to benefit from industries like tourism. People-First Tourism helps extend this opportunity to more people in the community.

“Immersive experiences into other ways of living bring perspective on what is important in life and fosters tolerance towards others.” We live in an increasingly connected world, but one that is still plagued by misunderstanding and sometimes hatred. Having authentic experiences that are beneficial for hosts and guests can help us build a better, more understanding world.

“Visitors are guests in their destination communities.” This means that we travelers should appreciate the hospitality of the people welcoming us into their community, without taking advantage.

“Travel writers must act as ambassadors for host communities.” Whether we’re travel bloggers, visitors, journalists, etc., it is our responsibility to help share the stories that local people in the places that we visit want to tell. In this way, we can help share the lessons we learn with the rest of the world, and encourage more people to help support small businesses around the world.

What experiences do they offer?

Right now People-First Tourism is offering experiences with hosts in North Carolina, Costa Rica, Portugal, and Guatemala. They include things like exploring natural sites, and learning more about local art and culture.

These host experiences would be great additions to any trip that you might be planning to take to these destinations. The complete People-First Tourism Manifesto is on their blog page.

A guest post by Ryan Davila

Ecotourism is commonly defined as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education” (TIES, 2015). Simplifying this definition, ecotourism exists at the intersection of conservation efforts and sustainable development. While the idea of ecotourism sounds promising, there are many instances of ecotourism operators not delivering on the stated goals of the industry, creating concern that ecotourism is doing more harm than good on both conservation and sustainable development fronts.

In order to combat these potential negative impacts and identify those businesses that are living up to the promises of the industry, many international organizations, national governments, and non-governmental organizations have implemented ecotourism certification programs. Certification programs are defined as “a voluntary procedure that assesses, audits and gives written assurance that a facility, product, process or service meets specific standards. It awards a marketable logo to those that meet or exceed baseline standards set by the certification program” (definition by Martha Honey). The key word that I want to emphasize in this definition is the word “voluntary.” Explaining further, only the ecotourism operators that want to go through the certification process will be assessed.

The first programs were developed in 1985 and most focused on the environmental impacts. Many of these initial programs existed at the international level, meaning that these certification programs certified ecotourism operators all over the world. Fast forward to the present day, there are now roughly 200 ecotourism certification programs in existence. These programs are very diverse and, as mentioned, exist at virtually all geographic scales, ranging from international to local, and can include a variety of criteria and standards used to evaluate ecotourism operators. Although most, now include criteria that assess the socioeconomic impacts in addition to the environmental impacts of ecotourism.

Today, certification programs and certified ecotourism operators can be found all over the world in virtually every country (and to make is easy on you, you can find information on most online). Some of the most common certification programs to look for include, but are not limited to: Green Globe, Green Key, Rainforest Alliance, Green Leaf, and TravelLife. If there are multiple certification programs available in a specific destination (which there usually are since an operator can apply for as many certification programs as desired as long as the operator is within the geographic scope of the project), it’s a good idea to see which operators are certified by multiple certification programs. This is not to say that these highly certified operators are the best in the destination, just that they are more likely to be dedicated to accomplishing the goals of ecotourism.

As ecotourism continues to grow and become more and more popular, it is important that we, as ecotourists, begin paying more attention to the impact that we have on both the communities and the natural areas that we visit during our expeditions. If we research certification programs and choose ecotourism operators that are certified at our destinations, we starting on the right path to becoming more conscious travelers.
*If you desire more information on ecotourism certification, please visit The International Ecotourism Society website (http://www.ecotourism.org/) or the DESTINET website (http://destinet.eu/who-who/market-solutions/certificates/fol442810).*

Tag: responsible travel

People First Tourism: Prioritizing Local People Creates Responsible, Authentic Travel Experiences

Navigating Ecotourism Certification

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