3. Have you seen travel practices change for the better in your years in the business?

Poon Tip: Absolutely, huge strides have been taken in our industry over the years, but we can always be better. Too many companies simply make donations to environmental charities and pay for the right to gain the use of a logo for promotional purposes. The difference for travellers is easy. If you’re staying in a hotel for more than one day, do you really need new towels and linen each day? Instead of eating at a chain restaurant, why not go off the beaten path a bit and try a local restaurant. Simple, small decisions can make big differences if embraced by many.

4. Beach vacationers might think there’s nothing they can do when it comes to sustainable tourism. Can you offer any ideas?

Poon Tip: You can always make choices while you’re there that will benefit the local communities. Find a family-owned restaurant or hire a local guide to show you around for the day. Really, do anything that you can to ensure that you spread your travel dollars around and that they are benefitting the communities you are visiting. It’s important to know where your money is going as a traveller and to make informed decisions.

5. Is there an emerging destination you can name from your own travel experiences that has really benefitted from tourism?

Poon Tip: I hope that Haiti will be a great example of this. At the request of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), who we previously partnered with to build five community-based sustainable tourism projects across Latin America, we visited Haiti to assess its travel potential and to conduct research to see if it was ready for travellers after the earthquake that devastated the country in 2010. We arrived quite skeptical that we would be able to offer trips to Haiti, but what we found is absolutely incredible. We are proud to be the first company to offer a cultural adventure experience in Haiti starting in 2015 that will have a meaningful and tangible impact on the local community.