How Travelers Can Find Sustainable Travel Experiences
(and how the travel industry can promote them)
As a seasoned traveler who embraces adventuring to some of the most remote, untouristed corners of the planet, I am always on the lookout for sustainable travel experiences that connect me with the local culture, give back to the community, and conserve the environment. For me, sustainable travel is the most rewarding, transformational travel of all, and I am not alone.
Per Booking.com’s 2023 Sustainability Travel Report, an astounding 76% of travelers have expressed a strong desire to adopt more sustainable travel practices in the past year. This is welcoming news, especially since the global sustainable tourism industry (which was estimated at 172.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2022) is forecasted to grow 13.9 percent, reaching 374.2 billion U.S. dollars by 2028 per research conducted by Statista.
In the aftermath of the global pandemic and the escalation of the climate crisis, travelers are looking for more meaningful travel experiences that support the culture and economy of the local community, avoid over-tourism, and nurture the environment (Skift’s State of Travel 2023 report). Yet many travelers are frustrated by greenwashing, the lack of affordable options, and how difficult it can be to find these opportunities.
In March 2023, my family and I traveled to Cabo San Lucas for my daughter’s spring break. It was our first time there and as an avid sustainable traveler, it was honestly not my first choice of a destination. Like many beach resort destinations in Mexico, Los Cabos is faced with the challenges of over-tourism, over-development, and commercialization making it not the most likely candidate for a sustainable vacation. However, I was one month out of a major surgery and Los Cabos was the one warm, sunny destination within a direct four-hour flight from cold, snowy Minneapolis. We decided to book the trip with the caveat that I would find a few sustainable tours to connect us with the local culture and get us off the beaten tourist path.
Finding a truly sustainable tour proved to be a challenge. There were plenty of tours that were marketed as “sustainable”, “eco-friendly”, “local” and “authentic”. However, upon closer examination, it was evident that this was inaccurate and misleading. Even the Cabo San Lucas Tourism Board proved unhelpful at the time (since our visit, the sustainability section has since improved dramatically).
Thankfully, I relied on my past travel experiences to help guide me. While hiking in Bhutan in 2022, I took a cooking class at a Bhutanese woman’s remote farmhouse. It was an incredible, highly memorable experience that not only gave me a unique snapshot of rural Bhutanese life, it also benefited the community by introducing women to the tourism economy. I was committed to finding a similar experience in Los Cabos.
After a bit of research using the search terms “cooking class”, “Los Cabos”, “local”, and “sustainable”, I found the perfect tour. A cactus taco cooking class at a rancher’s home 23 miles northwest of Los Cabos in the middle of nowhere. I felt like I found a needle in a haystack.
The tour was created by Danny Perez, the founder of Dharma Expeditions, with the mission of bringing sustainable tourism to threatened indigenous Ranchero Californio communities off the tourist map in Los Cabos. Danny’s grassroots tourism program works with a handful of ranchos (ranches) in the area bringing tourists for a one-of-a-kind indigenous cactus taco cooking class.
Getting to the ranch was half of the adventure. After leaving the high-rises and resorts of Los Cabos, there was nothing but highway and desert for miles. Forty minutes later we pulled off Highway 19 at the tiny outpost of El Barranco and followed a gravel road until we pulled up to a small makeshift kitchen built on the ranch and constructed by Danny out of recycled materials he had found around Los Cabos.
At the ranch, we discovered an entirely new world, way different than what we had experienced in the resort community of Los Cabos. There, we met Rita Garcia and her thirteen-year-old daughter who introduced us to traditional Mexican cuisine and how to make the country’s most staple meal, nopales (prickly pear cactus) tacos. We first gathered in the family’s cactus garden where we learned how to select and harvest the perfect nopal pad. After carefully trimming off the thorns, we returned to the humble kitchen where we sliced the nopal into pieces and cooked it on a recycled oil drum that was converted into a stove. We made blue corn tortillas and fresh salsas from scratch and enjoyed a simple yet delicious meal as the sun dipped below the horizon.
Left: Danny Perez, founder of Dharma Expeditions, Right: Rita and Garcia
As we talked, laughed, and listened to Danny play the guitar, we realized how lucky we were to have this special experience. Not only did our tour benefit us by affording a rare glimpse into indigenous culture and life, but it also provided much-needed income for rancho families in the hope of keeping their community, culture, and heritage alive. Dharma is one of the only outfitters who work with the rarely visited Ranchero California communities in Los Cabos.
So how can travelers find true sustainable travel experiences? I spoke with a few experts in the field and compiled a list of the best strategies and tips, along with a couple of my own.
TIPS ON FINDING SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL EXPERIENCES:
Visit the Tourism Board’s website to see what kind of sustainable tours they promote. Look to see if they have a section on culture, local events, sustainability, or the environment. Make sure the experience is truly sustainable by asking: Does it give back and/or provide insight into local culture and community? Does it conserve the environment? Does it involve greenwashing?
Do your homework to learn about the history of the place you are visiting and what local, indigenous cultures live there. Pick up a Lonely Planet or research online. Then look for tours such as cooking or art classes or a visit to an indigenous community. For example, when I went to Roatan, Honduras I learned about the Garifuna population that lived outside of the resorts and booked a driver to take me to some of the popular Garifuna communities and enjoyed a traditional lunch at a local restaurant.
Tour websites such as Airbnb’s Experiences can provide some unique tours offered by locals and usually have a couple of excellent sustainable tour options such as lunch at a local Parisian’s home in the Marais or learning the art of henna in Morocco. Even popular booking platforms like GetYourGuide, TripAdvisor, and Viator host a small selection of sustainable tours such as the Cactus Cooking Class we found in Los Cabos. Look under the culinary, nature, and art tours as a start, and make sure to read between the lines.
JoAnna Haugen, a speaker, consultant, and founder of Rooted offers these strategies:
Pick up a free, local "weekly" publication for your destination. It's a great way to learn about events and experiences that the average traveler wouldn't encounter and that might not receive amplification from tourism boards.
Discover "umbrella" organizations that exist to promote the kinds of experiences you're looking for. For example, Community Homestay Network maintains a directory of rural homestays in Nepal and Welcome to Country is a marketplace for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experiences and products.
Kelley Louise, a sustainable travel expert and also Head of Marketing at Fora advises us to:
Seek out local voices! This is my biggest tip for finding more authentic, rewarding experiences around the world. Locals know best, and they can help to provide recommendations on best practices for visiting their destinations.
Go beyond the top 10 lists. Seek out the stories that are traditionally underrepresented. One tactic that I’ll often include in my research is Googling terms like “Indigenous-owned tour,” “female-owned hotel,” “Black-owned restaurant,” and so forth to find things to do that go beyond the “best” things to do in a destination.
Ask an expert. Travel advisors are a great resource to utilize to book interesting and unique hotels and experiences around the world. At Fora, many of our advisors are passionate about sustainable travel, and they can help to match-make you to the best experiences, plus book in confidence that you’re having a positive impact on the world through travel.
Elisa Spampinato, Community Tourism Consultant and Founder of Traveller Storyteller
Ask the right questions to your outbound Tour Operator and Travel Agency. However, we should be mindful that sustainability also has a strong “social” dimension – which I usually refer to as the ‘invisible’ one – beyond the cultural, economic, and environmental dimensions. Keep aspects such as the workers’ rights and labor conditions, and especially gender equality in mind when you are looking for an experience.
Take responsibility for searching for reliable, neutral information. If you would like to have an experience with the local indigenous communities, make sure it is done without exploitation or cultural appropriation. Do brief research on the websites of organizations like Survival International or IWGIA.org, which will provide accurate information about the current situation of specific ethnic groups in that specific country. Look for a national or regional network of Indigenous / Community-Based Tourism (CBT) experiences such as Red SosTur, in Panama and the RedNati Peru or the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada. In some cases, the National Tourism Board’s websites are a good source of information, like in the case of Australia or Chile.
As demand for sustainable travel experiences increases, there is a huge opportunity for the travel industry and its stakeholders (tourism boards, hotels, resorts, and brands) to supply and promote sustainable travel experiences.
WHAT CAN THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY DO TO PROMOTE THESE OPPORTUNITIES?
Master and use effective storytelling
“The pivotal success of the travel industry now hinges upon its ability to tap into this growing momentum for sustainable tourism experiences,” says Rob Holmes, founder of GLP Films. However, a significant challenge lies in the fact that numerous travel businesses are at a loss for how to effectively communicate their sustainability initiatives with their clientele. Given the escalating demand for sustainable options, mastering this communication is more critical than ever before”.
Market sustainability better
The industry often gets tied up with debating terms like the difference between sustainable travel and regenerative tourism, but it’s kind of just splitting hairs at the end of the day. My motive is to travel in a way that supports locals and protects the environment. I believe that these experiences are also inherently better travel experiences. By flipping the narrative around sustainability to focus on the positive and exciting sides of sustainable travel, we have the opportunity to mainstream it and break out of the niche that it currently exists in. (Kelley Louise)
Collaborate
Every stakeholder in the industry has a place to play in the journey toward a more sustainable and impactful future for the travel industry. There is no one-size-fits-all solution or silver bullet, and we must work together to promote long-lasting change. (Kelley Louise)
Re-connect with their own country’s roots
and provide the Community-Based Tourism and Indigenous communities involved in tourism with more ethical marketing tools and opportunities to showcase their work. (Elisa Spampinato)
Promote the lesser-known local sites and tours
Instead of focusing on the most popular sites to see in an area, share the locally-run and owned experiences such as wine trails, indigenous and local-run/led tours, etc. (JoAnna Haugen)
Make it easier for travelers to find sustainable travel experiences
by promoting them on your website (have it front and center) and social media. (Nicole Melancon)
Avoid Greenwashing
While it is easy to overstate sustainability it does no one any good. Be honest and don’t promote things that aren’t as sustainable. (Nicole Melancon)
WHY SUSTAINABLE TOURISM MATTERS
The good news is that if done correctly travel can be a force for good. “Travel has the potential to change our world. When done mindfully, it has the power to support locals and protect our planet – all through an enjoyable experience” says Kelley Louise.