Don’t just see the world. Make it better.
Planet Earth is an amazing place, but it’s far from perfect. Since the very beginning, our travel partners have operated under the belief that travel is an exchange, not a commodity. When you travel with us, you’re giving back as much – if not more – than what you take away, often in ways you’d never expect.
Social enterprise: A formula for the future
As a travel company, the planet is our product. Its social and environmental welfare is fundamentally important to us – not just as a business, but as human beings, too. When we say “We Love Changing People’s Lives,” we’re not just talking about our travellers. We’re talking about everybody. Our travel partners are a social enterprise, which means the social value of what we do is just as important to us as the profit it earns. Here’s how it’s done.
Planeterra – Our foundation
Established in 2003, the Planeterra Foundation is our non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the communities touched by tourism benefit from the opportunities it provides. Planeterra works directly with our travel partners to minimize the impact on the destinations, and to promote sustainable solutions and economic growth for communities. Planeterra manages over 50 current and funded projects in underserved regions all over the world.
Local investment
We like to keep things local on our trips. Working with small, locally owned businesses rather than big international chains helps keep the overall cost of your trip down, but we also believe that your travel dollars should stay where you spend them. Supporting local entrepreneurs and small businesses strengthens communities, raises the overall quality of life, and ensures that the places you love will continue to be loved.
Planeterra and the Inter-American Development Bank
In 2013, Planeterra has partnered with the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to develop community-based tourism projects in rural communities underserved by the travel economy. Today, we continue to seek out opportunities for community tourism projects wherever possible to help our travellers put their travel dollars where they belong: within the communities that need them.
Animal Welfare
Our travel partners recognize the importance of animal welfare. That’s why we have adopted the guidelines developed by the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) in conjunction with the Born Free Foundation, a third-party organization whose mission it is to protect animals from abuse. Our vision is to ensure that all animals encountered on our tours are treated humanely.
Disaster Relief
Our travel partners strongly believe tourism is a force for global good, and we’re committed to promoting sustainable solutions in communities around the globe.
