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From the Amazon to the Serengeti: 8 Travel Companies Empowering Local Communities

These travel companies support the surrounding communities and preserve local culture and heritage, from the jungles of Nepal to the islands of French Polynesia.

There’s more to sustainable travel than your carbon footprint, and in today’s era of corporate greenwashing, it’s more difficult than ever to quantify just how eco-conscious your vacation truly is. Sure, you can try to neutralize your impact on the environment by purchasing carbon offsets, but the flight itself is inherently harmful to the atmosphere, and most likely, so is your presence in a foreign place. It’s nearly impossible to leave no physical trace, so why not focus on ways in which your tourist dollars can improve local communities instead?

We’ve all been to hotels or resorts that feel spiritually bankrupt. The owner of your Caribbean all-inclusive is a corrupt landowner in Texas, or the staff at the Mediterranean chain hotel appears brutally disillusioned by the onslaught of daily tourists. As a travel writer who’s visited over 100 countries and stayed over 1,000 nights in (occasionally nondescript) hotel rooms, I can relate. Which is why travel brands that put the same emphasis on preserving local culture as they do on protecting wildlife—and actually elevate the surrounding communities with their success—are truly remarkable. And yet, they’re not as rare as you might imagine. (See again: 100-plus countries.) 

For me, travel is, ultimately, about other people. Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to visit places that are as dedicated to protecting and elevating people and communities as they are committed to the surrounding landscapes and wildlife. I’ve explored the Amazon rainforest with Indigenous guides native to the region, and stayed in the highest lodges in the world in the Peruvian Andes, hosted by local communities who split the tourism profits to maintain their traditions and livelihoods. In an increasingly jaded, globalized world, it is possible to find places that are dedicated to giving back.​

For Earth Month and beyond, we’re spotlighting travel companies around the world that empower one of the planet’s most crucial resources—humanity, of course—and emphasizing travel that sustains local communities. Whether it’s preserving Indigenous knowledge and traditions, educating local schoolchildren, or funding health clinics, there are so many ways your tourist dollars can contribute to a positive impact. From the Andes Mountains of Peru to the Arctic tundra of Canada, read on for eight travel brands that practice cultural sustainability—in enchanting foreign locales, of course.

The Travel Companies That Put Local Communities First

Andean Lodges: Ausangate Trekking in Peru

Natural Selection:Safari Outfitter in Southern Africa

Amazon Nature Tours: Sailing Expeditions in Brazil

Entara: Safari Camps & Lodges in Tanzania

The Brando: Private Island Resort in French Polynesia

Tiger Tops: Safari Lodges in Nepal

Frontiers North: Wildlife Adventures in Northern Canada

Souljourn Yoga: Retreats in Africa, Asia, North America

Andean Lodges: Ausangate Trekking in Peru

Cusco, Vilcanota Mountain Range (Cordillera Vilcanota), Peru

How do you save a sacred place? You tell the world it’s about to be lost forever. Such was the case with Rainbow Mountain, which nearly became a victim of the international mining industry before tourism initiatives intervened to protect the multicolored peak and its high-altitude communities. “Show the world this place, and then it becomes the world’s property,” said Roger Valencia, Peru’s former Minister of Culture. “That’s how you protect sacred places.” We were hiking along the Ausangate Trek, staying in the highest eco-lodges of the world, and........

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