Trends in Eco-Friendly Travel

“I’d rather donate my vacation money than actually visit. Is this not a better option?” That's a real comment I received this week. Let’s talk about it. Because on the surface it sounds noble. But underneath, it reveals a deeper misunderstanding of how recovery works in small island nations. Here’s what most people don’t realize: 1. After a disaster, donations help people survive. 2. Tourism helps people recover. Two VERY different outcomes. When you donate: → A family buys food for a week → A community replaces a few damaged items → A temporary need gets met When you visit: → A driver gets booked for the whole day → A cookshop sells 20 plates instead of 2 → A craft vendor makes enough to restock → A hotel keeps its staff employed → A farmer receives another order from that same hotel → And all of that money circulates through the island multiple times One is relief. The other is livelihood. Here’s what the data shows: → Tourism accounts for over 30% of Jamaica’s GDP (direct + indirect) → Each tourist dollar touches up to 7 different sectors → 1 in every 5 Jamaican jobs is linked to tourism → Community tourism is one of the fastest ways to stimulate local recovery So when someone says: “I’ll donate instead of visiting,” what they’re unintentionally saying is: “I want to help… but only in the least impactful way.” Let me tell you a quick story. After the hurricane, the first businesses to reopen in the west weren’t the big ones. It was the small ones. The ones with no PR team. No insurance buffer. No investors. Just people. A fish vendor at "border" who rebuilt his stall with scraps. A boutique hotel staff member who went to work even though her roof is gone. A guide in Ocho Rios who showed up with a smile even though he has no light. These are the people donations reach last. Tourism reaches them first. Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Donations help Jamaica. But tourism sustains Jamaica. The blueprint if you want to help for real: → Visit local communities, not only the resorts → Eat at the small cookshops that reopened against all odds → Book local guides, local drivers, local experiences → Share their stories on social media, that’s modern word-of-mouth → Support community tourism projects that keep money in the parish You want to help? Beautiful. But help in the way that creates long-term impact, not short-term comfort. If you want to support Jamaica in the most effective way, participation beats distance every single time. ♻️ Repost so your network sees what recovery looks like here.

Does your money fund a community or some big, overseas corp? 😅 Let’s keep money where it’s spent! 💚 Ever wondered where your money goes when you visit a destination? Ideally, it should stay within the community, right? But too often, it doesn’t. This is called economic leakage, and it’s a big issue for local businesses, workers, and communities. Why does it matter? ➡️ Supporting Communities: By reducing leakage, you ensure local shops, restaurants, and workers benefit directly from tourism. ➡️ Building a Sustainable Future: Keeping money where it’s spent helps build long-term prosperity for the destination, not just short-term gains. ➡️ Creating Authentic Experiences: When local businesses thrive, visitors enjoy a more genuine experience, enriched by the culture and traditions that make a destination unique. How can you help? As a tourism business, choosing local products and services ensures that tourists’ money stays in the community. This fosters goodwill with the residents, who will welcome businesses that support their livelihoods instead of creating friction. Always recommend local restaurants, accommodations, and experiences to your clients. How are you prioritising local suppliers in your tourism business?  Have you noticed how local recommendations impact the experiences of your clients? What does economic leakage look like in your destination? Please let me know in the comments! 👇 #EconomicLeakage #SupportLocal #SustainableTourism #TourOperators #Accommodations #SustainableTourismConsultant Smits SusTour Consultancy

In my early days of travelling, circa 2011, I serendipitously landed up in a remote, rural, agricultural village in North Kerala, surrounded by rice fields, bamboo forests and mist-clad hills. There I learnt that local families took turns to host travellers like me in their homes, and local guides took turns to lead walks and other activities. The majority of the money I paid went to to the host families and guides, but a small percentage was channeled into a ‘village development fund.’ The entire village voted to decide how that money was to be used – from setting up eco-friendly infrastructure to upgrading the school to ensuring water security for agriculture. This way, tourism in the village not just benefitted one or two enterprising individuals, but the entire community. I didn’t know it then, but this is what is known in the tourism industry as community tourism or CBT, short for community-based tourism. In the years since, I have actively sought out community tourism initiatives around the world. From Thailand to Peru, this has allowed me to spend time with local communities and experience their way of life, while also ensuring that the money I spend as a traveller can be spread out to have a positive impact on the people and places I visit. In my latest blog post, I delve into what community tourism is, its potential benefits to communities, the environment and travellers, and tons of inspiring examples from India to Uzbekistan to Taiwan. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/ea9x3Bcz Do you seek out community tourism initiatives on your travels? #communitytourism #communitybasedtourism #sustainabletourism #regenerativetravel #travelblogger #travelwriting Featuring Himalayan Ecotourism, Planeterra, Grassroutes Connect, Bangrong Community Based Tourism, Spiti Ecosphere, Bio-Itzá Association, Tinkuy Peru, Himalayan Ark, Salaam Balak Trust Delhi and others!

Deutsche Bahn's “No Need to Fly” campaign is a rare example of climate-positive marketing that doesn’t scold or scare. Airlines hated it and yet I admire it. Instead of moralising, the campaign relied on smart, data-driven creativity. It paired real-time location data with striking local visuals, then layered in price comparisons and hyper-personalised ads. The message was simple and clever: you don’t need to fly to Arizona when a train ride to Saxony offers landscapes that look just as dramatic—for a fraction of the cost and a fraction of the emissions. The campaign was a massive success, driving a 24% increase in sales revenue, selling two million train tickets, and achieving the brand's best-ever ROI. Travellers discovered they could choose a lower-carbon option without giving up adventure or beauty. The genius of the campaign lies in how it reframed sustainability. It didn’t make it feel like a sacrifice. It made it feel cooler. Smarter. More personal. This is what powerful marketing does: it moves people—emotionally and physically. We need more campaigns like this, where meaning and performance reinforce each other instead of competing. P.S: Of course, it remains to be seen how many of these trains arrived on time =p #marketing #travel

💡 Businesses That Engage With Local Communities WIN in the Long Run What do travellers really want? Authenticity. Connection. Meaningful experiences. But the reality? Many tourism businesses overlook the communities they operate in. Why local engagement matters: ❌ A hotel that only hires foreign staff misses the opportunity to empower local talent. ❌ A tour company that doesn’t work with local guides disconnects visitors from real cultural experiences. ❌ A restaurant that imports ingredients ignores the chance to support local farmers. How businesses can engage with communities while improving their brand: ✅ Hire Locally – Invest in local employees, fair wages, and career development ✅ Source Locally – Work with local farmers, artisans, and suppliers to strengthen the economy ✅ Collaborate with Local Guides & Experts – Who better to tell their story than the people who live it? ✅ Create Give-Back Opportunities – Volunteer programs, skill-sharing initiatives, or funding for local projects. The best travel experiences aren’t just about seeing places, they’re about connecting with people. How much do you value the connection with the local community? 

REIMAGINING TOURISM: A MANIFESTO FOR PEOPLE, PLACE & PLANET. This manifesto reflects a collective call for change, shaped by more than 2,000 tourism-focused comments and ideas we’ve been sharing here during the last couple of months. The old ways—obsessed with stats and quick wins—are failing communities and the environment. What if we built tourism on shared values and true collaboration with those most affected? These principles are a starting point, not a rulebook. Let’s shape a new future for tourism—side by side: 1. Governance & Power-Sharing - Communities co-lead tourism decisions - Free, prior & informed consent for all tourism development - Cultural IP rights protected and compensated - Local ownership mandated and supported 2. Safeguards for People & Planet - Community wellbeing and ecological capacity guide planning - Visitor caps & tourism-free zones to protect balance - Cross-sector collaboration: tourism + housing + climate + labor - Sacred and sensitive areas protected from exploitation 3. Economic Redistribution - Tourism taxes reinvested in local services - Local supply chains prioritized - Grants and training for community-led tourism ventures 4. Regenerative Experiences - Quality over quantity: fewer visitors, deeper impact - Slow, meaningful travel as the norm - Visitor education: impact, culture, and local etiquette 5. Monitoring & Accountability - Community-led oversight bodies - Transparent impact reporting - Worker protections and complaint mechanisms 6. Education & Future-Proofing - Local training in tourism leadership and enterprise - Heritage and environmental education in schools - Peer learning among destinations Tourism must serve the community—not the other way around. What if every destination valued dignity over dollars?

Eco lodges. Community-led tours. Flight-free packages. These are experiences that you may want to promote and sell, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁. Not really. Hear me out 👇 Back in the '60s, Harvard Business School professor Theodore Levitt said, "𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝘆 𝗮 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿-𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗮 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿-𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲." The same applies to responsible tourism. Travellers don’t want to book an eco lodge—they want what staying at an eco lodge 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. 🌿 A nature-based experience? Yes, but that’s not the full story. 🏕️ An escape from city life? Closer, but we need to go deeper. 💭 A way to align their values with their actions? Now we’re getting somewhere. ❤️ 𝗔 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁? Bingo. The decision to book isn’t just about 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 they’ll stay—it’s about 𝘄𝗵𝘆 they’re staying there. They’re not booking a lodge; they’re booking: ✅ 𝗔 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻—the chance to unplug and reconnect with nature. ✅ 𝗔 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁—knowing their stay contributes to conservation and local communities. ✅ 𝗔 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻—a travel experience that leaves them feeling different, even changed. Many responsible tourism brands market 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 (solar panels, certifications, carbon offsets) rather than 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀. Don’t get me wrong, those features are still important, but travellers don’t choose a destination based on sustainability checklists alone—𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽. So, instead of just saying "We’re an eco-lodge," tell them: 👉 "𝗪𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝗱𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗴, 𝘀𝗶𝗽 𝗰𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀." Instead of "Our tours support local communities," say: 👉 "𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀-𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱." Sustainability is the how—but 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝘆. Sustainable travel brands that connect on this level will attract the right travellers, build loyalty, and inspire word-of-mouth marketing. For more tips, join my mailing list and download 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 here: https://lnkd.in/eWJSXmu2 And, if you need help 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲, book in a friendly chat with me here: https://lnkd.in/efn22GnY #SustainableTourism #TourismMarketing

We’ve built a whole industry around tracking visitors—how many came, how long they stayed, how much they spent. And don’t get me wrong—those are important numbers. But I want to ask a tough question: What if your DMO’s most important KPI isn’t a visitor metric at all? More and more, I’m having conversations with tourism leaders who are starting to prioritize things like resident satisfaction, local business participation in campaigns and community sentiment about tourism. Because here’s the truth: If your residents don’t feel like tourism is working for them, then eventually it’ll stop working at all. The most successful destinations I’m seeing today are treating their community like their first audience. They’re building trust. They’re telling authentic stories. And they’re making sure their marketing aligns with what locals want the world to know about their home. If we only measure visitor volume, we’ll never understand visitor value. If we don’t track how locals feel, we risk building destinations they don’t even recognize. Tourism done right is a community asset. Let’s make sure we’re measuring what really matters.

Is tourism as we know it dead? That’s the question Hawaii's leaders are boldly asking, and one the rest of us should be, too. The extractive, volume-based model of tourism no longer works. Not for communities. Not for ecosystems. And, increasingly, not even for travelers. At a recent leadership forum in Hawaii, a new vision emerged, one that prioritizes place, people, and purpose. That doesn’t mean fewer tourists; it means better tourism. One promising path forward? 👉 Meaningful Tourism: travel that creates value for more than just the tourism industry, benefits visitors and host communities, aligns with sustainability goals, respects cultural integrity, and contributes to long-term resilience. Here’s what that looks like: - Cultural experiences that are authentic, not staged. - Local communities, even those outside the tourism sector, helping shape and benefit from tourism. - Climate adaptation built into tourism infrastructure and storytelling. - Businesses recognizing that employee wellbeing and guest satisfaction are two sides of the same coin. The old model won’t survive the coming challenges. But tourism itself can thrive if we’re brave enough to redesign it. 🧭 What’s one shift you’ve seen (or made) that aligns with Meaningful Tourism? 👇 Let’s share ideas and examples. The future of travel depends on it. #MeaningfulTourism #SustainableTravel #TourismLeadership #Hospitality #TravelForward #RegenerativeTourism #FutureOfTourism Pic from Travel Weekly, Foto credit: Dave Miyamoto

While the travel industry races to dominate Instagram and TikTok, many sustainable travel brands, especially those who are unbranded, local or community-driven are missing out on a quieter but incredibly powerful platform: 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭. Unlike traditional social media, Pinterest isn’t designed for likes or virality. It’s a visual search engine where users go to plan their lives, not scroll through them. And that’s precisely why it’s one of the most aligned platforms for sustainable tourism. Pinterest is where people search for how they want to travel, not who they want to travel with. And here’s where it gets interesting: as of now, 96% of all searches on Pinterest are unbranded. That means users are typing in things like “eco retreats in Latin America”, “cultural trips for women”, or “offbeat travel experiences” not company names. This creates a rare opportunity for grassroots, regenerative, and offbeat tour operators to be discovered without needing global recognition or massive ad budgets. 𝟏. 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 In a space where big OTAs (online travel agencies) dominate Google and social algorithms, Pinterest flips the script. The fact that almost every search is unbranded makes it the perfect discovery tool for small, community-rooted experiences from a women-led trek in Morocco to a seaweed-foraging tour in Chile. If your brand centers around values instead of volume, Pinterest is your space. 𝟐. 𝐈𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐀𝐠𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 Pinterest’s core users are women aged 25-44, many of whom are sustainability-conscious, wellness-driven, and in a phase of life where they’re actively planning meaningful travel solo retreats, family holidays, cultural immersions or low-impact honeymoons. These women are not just dreaming, they’re deciding. This demographic is increasingly steering tourism demand toward slower, greener, and more inclusive experiences. 𝟑. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 One of Pinterest’s biggest advantages is how content remains evergreen. A post today about “regenerative farming stays in Portugal” can resurface six months or even six years later and still drive traffic. This is vastly different from platforms where visibility dies within hours. Plus, Pinterest doesn’t rely on followers. It's driven by visual design and keyword search, meaning anyone can get visibility with the right content strategy. If you're a sustainable travel brand or tour operator especially one focused on authenticity, culture, and community. Pinterest could be your most impactful channel. The conscious traveler is already out there, searching. Pinterest is where many of them begin that journey.