Sustainable tourism & alternative tourism
04:31, 21 January 2009
.. Posted in Development, Relief and Advocacy Efforts.. Link
As a long-time, avid traveler for both fun and for business, I've seen first hand the impact that tourism can have on a variety of countries and communities, and benefited from what traveling has given me. I love the good that tourism can do for small local businesses and for the traveler as well.
Combining my extensive travel experience with my professional experience in development, I've become very interested in initiatives that help build the capacities of communities, particularly those in transitional countries, to develop a sustainable travel industry that benefits local people and micro-businesses (not large foreign investors) and appeals to a variety of travelers - ecotourists, adventure travelers, budget travelers, business travelers, and women travelers from any of those groups, not just luxury travelers or large package tours (though those are important as well to some areas). I think that, too often, tourism initiatives leave out alternative tourists - people who don't want to go from site to site in a huge bus. They want to tour independently or in very small groups. They want a long time to experience a site, not just a half hour for photos. They want to go to small local restaurants that also serve local people, not just tourists. They want to know that most of their money spent stays locally, rather than going to a large multi-national company.
I've developed a new page on my web site that tracks my experience with sustainable tourism and alternative tourism -- tourism for development -- and offers my favorite resources on the topic. I'll update the page with my favorite resources, and would love to network with others on this topic.
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