Travel Tip 54
How to find tour agencies that give back
Kaypi Kunan is an after school activity center in the village of Umasbamba, funded by Kuoda Travel.
Every year more travelers are looking for companies that give back.
I don’t think this is a fad. Many people prefer buying fair trade chocolate or buying Warby Parker glasses because they donate a pair for every pair bought. People increasingly care where their tourist dollars go and want to buy from companies that give back in some way.
Check a company’s website.
Most companies that give back brag about it on their website. Look for a page about community support or a cause that the company donates a percentage of their profits to. Many travel companies sponsor events or causes in the communities where they take tourists.
Of course, when you’re signing up for a safari in Botswana or a scuba trip in Malaysia, it’s often impossible to know if the claims on the websites are true. For example, does the safari company really donate 20% of their profits to early childhood education programs? Does the scuba company really pay their employees to clean plastic trash off beaches? You can ask for proof, but from the other side of the planet it’s hard to know for sure.
At Kaypi Kunan, teenagers volunteer to work with younger children who don’t have anywhere to go after school.
Look for certifications
The best one out there is B-Corporation certification. A company that is “B-Corp certified” has achieved a score of 80 or higher on a comprehensive assessment of a company’s social, economic and environmental impact. It’s not an easy process, so don’t rule out a company just because it isn’t certified. It’s especially difficult for small, family businesses to have the time and resources to get through the certification process.
Companies like Say Hueque in Argentina have a page about their environmental programs which also shows their B-Corp certification. You can also search the B-Corp website for tour companies, or just about anything else.
The bottom line
Even if a company doesn’t live up to everything that it claims to do for the local community or environment, look for a company that’s trying. Tour companies that take tourists to visit NGOs or who offer volunteer opportunities are probably doing something right. Take your tourist dollars to a company that’s giving back in some way.
The women of Umasbamba share their traditional art and cuisine with tourists who visit the village.
Article
Mery Calderón Helps Indigenous Communities Share Their Culture
This is my first piece published in Resonate, one of my favorite publications that highlights local culture and stories. I met Mery Calderón last year and recently accompanied her to the village of Umasbamba, where she’s coaching women on how to share their culture with international tourists. Mery is the only Peruvian woman I’ve met who started her own tour agency, Kuoda, which specialized in bespoke itineraries.
Blog
I worked for two years at an international school in Dhaka, Bangladesh where part of my job was to be the community service coordinator. Bangladesh isn’t a common tourist destination, but it does have a lot of interesting volunteer opportunities. This blog may give you some idea for the kinds of volunteer opportunities you can find on your travels, especially if you’re going to less developed places like Bangladesh.