Responsible and Fair Trade Tourism...Get in Touch with the Real World!

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Have you heard of responsible, eco and fair trade tourism? There are travel companies now who specialize in responsible tourism.

Check out these fantastic adventures and guilt-free travel destinations.

Or, write your own travel adventures story! Just scroll to the bottom of this page and share it with us.



INTREPID TRAVEL My personal favorite, this company represents responsible travel to amazing places in a small group setting. Intrepid Travel was founded by two Australian friends in 1989 with a borrowed typewriter and a dining room table. They now have 15 offices across 5 continents. This company focuses on real life experiences, and its core values embrace the spirit of fair trade, human rights and cultural understanding, bringing the real world to travelers who love to get off the beaten path.

Intrepid is committed to traveling in a way that is respectful of local people, their culture, local economies and the environment. With your participation we can help conserve the areas we visit and bring positive benefits to our host communities.

REAL ADVENTURES Although not all of their trips are fair trade or sustainable, or qualify as fair trade tourism,there are so many choices that you can find them.

Visit an Amazonian Healing Center, play with wild horses, swim with wild dolphins, stay at a fair trade hotel...there are so many adventures to chose from that you can feel good about!

SELVATURA PARK, in the Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica. Check out the spectacular zip line tours, forest canopy and butterfly and hummingbird gardens! Eco-tourism AND lots of fun.

The Global Exchange Fair Trade Store is your Online Source for Socially Conscious Gifts who offer reality tours to over 30 countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Travelers learn about womens' struggles, the effects of oil exploration on Ecuador's indigenous communities, fair trade in Tanzania and more. This is serious fair trade tourism.

They also offer tour for Americans to travel as "citizen ambassadors" breaking down stereotypes and getting to know cultures to break down borders and create understanding.

ECO-SPAS --I had to include eco-spas, my favorite luxury experience. Check out these amazing places.

GREEN SPA NETWORK --If you'd like to find a sustainable spa, or learn how to "green" your spa, check this out!

JOURNEYS INTERNATIONAL --Culturally respectful and environmentally sensitive travel to almost anywhere! I love this company.

The FAIR TRADE FEDERATION members offer travel, and these companies are listed on the Fair Trade Federation site.

Green Ecotourism offers lots of great ideas for eco travel including work and travel programs, visiting organic farms, volunteering, and lots of eco-friendly activities.

Have you heard about eco and fair trade tourism?

Here's how it works.

Let's go back to the basic principles of fair trade. Remember, fair trade isn't just about fair prices, it's also about safe working conditions, environmental sustainability, creating opportunities for the economically disadvantaged, child protection and promoting fair trade.

Now let's take a look at how a typical tourist area is impacted by tourism.

Environmental quality and local culture is essential to tourism, but tourism doesn't always look after the local populations, indigenous people and the environment. The relationship is complex.

Developers of tourism construct roads, airports, resorts, hotels, restaurants, golf courses and marinas that can eventually destroy the environment and tax the water supplies where water is often scarce to begin with, causing local populations to compete for resources.

Local people make money from tourists, but often, the businesses that drive tourism and make money for them don't give them incentives to look after the environment.

This type of tourism is not sustainable or desirable in the long run. It creates soil erosion,pollution of land and sea and natural habitat loss.

The people making most of the profits are the big developers, hotels, and tour operators while locals are losing farm land and small businesses. These local businesses are then replaced with retail shops aimed at tourist consumerism.

Sustainable tourism ensures that the economic benefits of tourism go to those whose land, natural resources, knowledge, labor and culture are used for tourism activities.

Responsible tourism and fair trade tourism aim to foster environmental development and income distribution in rural communities which produce fair trade products through mutually beneficial and equitable partnerships between national and international tourism stakeholders in the destinations.

Many of the world's least developed countries have the warm climate, cultural diversity and beauty that make them valuable as tourist locations, but these same countries need more protection.

By traveling more consciously we can offer them income and sustainability. Responsible tourism supports communities economically and environmentally.

Give us your greatest travel story!

We're looking for your coolest cultural experience! Have you been on safari or met a tribe in their village? Have you been down the Amazon or climbing Mt. Everest? Please give us your best, most shocking, funny, embarrassing or just plain interesting travel experience. And if you have one, we love pictures! Fair trade travel is about the cultural education, but it's also about FUN!!!

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