Global non-profit Tourism Cares recently announced the expansion of its Meaningful Travel Program to include a more robust destination member community with a focus on local, community-centric initiatives in 2024. The vision to grow the popular program comes alongside Tourism Cares’ 20-year vision, which was released during the company’s 20th-anniversary celebration in December 2023 and serves as the inspiration behind the organization’s next chapter in supporting the transformation of the travel industry.
Tourism Cares defines its Meaningful Travel Program as a program that “engages the travel trade around best practices in sustainable tourism, cultural preservation and community engagement through a variety of initiatives, including in-person experiences, professional development training and resources, product development tools and more.” In early March 2024, the non-profit announced the beginning of its destination expansion by welcoming VisitScotland as the latest member destination to join the Meaningful Travel Program and as the first European destination to create a Meaningful Travel Map. This, in addition to 14 other destinations committed to joining the Meaningful Travel Program this year, signifies a major milestone in Tourism Cares’ global impact strategy.
“The global tourism industry is at a critical juncture where sustainable practices are not just desirable but imperative,” said Greg Takehara, CEO of Tourism Cares. “Our Meaningful Travel Program provides travel companies with the proper tools to enact positive change in their operations to help transform our industry where people, places and the planet not only survive — but thrive. We look forward to fostering more partnerships with destinations and other businesses in the travel trade that make a lasting difference in travel.”
And the excitement doesn’t stop there, Tourism Cares also plans to launch a series of FAM trips in collaboration with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Hawai’i Visitors and Convention Bureau as a new component to its Meaningful Travel Program. These exclusive FAM trips will provide participants with a more intimate destination experience designed to connect members of the travel trade with impact experiences, sustainable companies and community-led initiatives to encourage a more authentic and responsible tourism supply chain.
“This initiative takes a well-known travel component — FAM tours — and converts it into a more meaningful experience that educates the travel trade about the value of the impact partners featured on each destination’s Meaningful Travel Map and how they can create value for the travelers, the local community and the industry,” said John Sutherland, senior director of community impact for Tourism Cares. “We look forward to working closely with Thailand and Hawai’i to kick off this inaugural program and share their communities’ stories while also creating more economic opportunities for purpose-driven companies by engaging them in the tourism supply chain.”
Advisors looking for more ways to get involved with Tourism Cares will be happy to learn the organization is hosting two Meaningful Travel Summits in 2024. These events focus on educating travel pros and other industry professionals on best practices related to sustainability and community-based tourism while also providing opportunities to network with local changemakers to increase economic impact for host communities. The Global Meaningful Travel Summit is an invite-only event taking place June 1 - 6, 2024 in Panama City and El Valle de Anton; the North American Meaningful Travel Summit is open to all members of the travel trade and will take place September 30 - October 2 in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
To learn more about Tourism Cares and the Meaningful Travel Program visit their website.
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