Tourism operators make groundbreaking commitment to regenerative tourism. Video / Marahau
Jessica Wynne Lockhart checks out tour operators for travellers who care about sustainability
Guided package holidays have long had a bad rap for doing the equivalent of a hit-and-run on popular tourist destinations; just ask anyone who's ever watched dozens of plastic water-bottle-wielding tourists pile off a coach bus.
Inreality, the types of guided holidays available are as varied as the travellers taking them— and increasingly, tourists are seeking out operators that support the environment and local communities. In 2022, Intrepid Travel commissioned a survey of more than 1000 New Zealand travellers and found that 87 per cent are likely to choose sustainable travel options. The problem? Fifty-three per cent find it difficult to determine which companies aren't just greenwashing.
"People really want to choose sustainable, but to actually compare companies and understand if they're really a sustainable option is quite difficult," says Sarah Clark, Intrepid's managing director of ANZ.
This is only further complicated by the actual complexity of ensuring a guided tour has minimal negative environmental and social impacts. A good, ethical tour operator needs to consider everything from the amount of weight carried on its buses, to the size of its groups. It also needs to evaluate whether the long list of suppliers it works with — from inbound tour operators, to bus and airlines, restaurants, hotels and optional activities providers — are compliant with its standards.
The good news? Tour operators who are taking steps to ensure their tours are sustainable are proud of the work they're doing — so, they'll usually let you know exactly how they're doing it. Here are three top tour operators who are guiding for good.
Intrepid Travel
If you're concerned about greenwashing, certifications can be a helpful tool for determining whether a tour operator is truly sustainable. A leader in this space is Intrepid Travel, which is the largest B Corp-certified business in the travel industry in the world.
"We're ensuring that that we're having a positive impact on the communities we're visiting, the people in them, and the planet," says Clark. She notes this includes everything from looking at the carbon footprint of a tour, to examining Intrepid's entire supply chain to ensure workers are being compensated fairly and have good working conditions.
On Intrepid's five-day Sibenik and the Kornati Islands itinerary in Croatia, for example, the company has partnered with MEET, a non-profit organisation that supports local providers in national parks by helping them develop community-based ecotourism projects. As a result, travellers can visit protected islands that are truly off-the-beaten-path, while helping to support their protection and biodiversity.
On the Kornati Islands itinerary in Croatia, Intrepid Travel has partnered a non-profit organisation supporting national parks. Photo / Supplied
G Adventures
Another innovator in responsible group travel, tour operator G Adventures assesses each of its trips based on its "Ripple Score." This rating lets travellers know how much money is spent locally by G Adventures on all the services it takes to run a tour. The higher the score, the more money stays directly in the community.
"People should know where their money is going," says Sean Martin, G Adventure's managing director of Oceania. "We genuinely believe that travel can be the world's greatest form of wealth redistribution, which is why we focus on community tourism. It's also a more immersive and memorable experience for travellers."
He points to G Adventure's itineraries in Peru. As the world's largest operator on the Incan Trail, the company has focused on giving back to the surrounding communities. On G's 12-day Classic Peru itinerary, for example, travellers have the opportunity to visit a local women's weaving co-op. Thanks to G's support, the co-op is able to create livelihoods for local women while actively preserving cultural traditions.
As the world's largest operator on the Incan Trail, G Adventures has focused on giving back to the surrounding communities. Photo / Supplied
GOOD Travel
Founded in 2013, this New Zealand-based tour operator isn't just committed to positive social, environmental and economic change for the communities it visits. It's also deeply invested in moving beyond "sustainable" travel to "regenerative" travel, as demonstrated by its acclaimed GOOD Awaits podcast, which examines best practices in the emerging sector.
"We've spent all this time learning about these concepts and we want to share them with travellers, by inviting travellers into this conversation and this way of way of travelling," says Debbie Clarke, director of regenerative development and a co-host of the podcast.
While all the company's itineraries are founded on sustainable best practices, in March 2023 it will launch a first-of-its-kind regenerative tourism itinerary across Aotearoa. Starting in Auckland and finishing in Christchurch, travellers will have the opportunity to see regenerative tourism in action and learn how it differs from sustainable travel. GOOD Travel's hope is that its passengers will be inspired to explore how they can live their own lives in a way that's truly regenerative.
