TORONTO — G Adventures has strengthened its position as a leader in sustainable tourism with the addition of five new social enterprise projects in Belize, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico and Nepal.
Available in 2017, these new sustainable travel experiences are known as ‘G Adventures for Good’ projects that aim to support women, indigenous communities and at-risk youth, all the while offering travellers immersive experiences in culturally unique parts of the world.
“When we travel the right way, with like-minded people who care about making a positive impact on the places they travel to, we can do a world of good. Our new projects are examples of the sharing economy our world needs, and the sharing economy I want to see thrive,” said G Adventures’ founder Bruce Poon Tip. “The United Nations has designated 2017 as its Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, and with increased awareness I believe tourism can be the biggest form of wealth distribution the world has seen.”
The five new experiences are:
- Bike with Purpose – Caye Caulker, Belize: On Caye Caulker, children often drop out of school by age 12. By taking a Bike with Purpose tour, travellers give students from the Ocean Academy the chance to practice their guiding skills. A 12-day ‘Mayan Encounter’ trip is priced from $1,349 per person, and travels from Antigua to Caye Caulker.
- El Hongo Community Restaurant – Playa del Carmen, Mexico: This experience takes travellers to see ‘the other side’ of Playa del Carmen, and includes a home-style meal at volunteer-run restaurant El Hongo. A 10-day ‘Yucatan Panorama’ trip is priced from $1,569 per person and travels from Cancun to Playa del Carmen.
- Unbutu Training Café – Maai Mahiu, Kenya: This training café creates jobs along the only route to the Maasai Mara, and also provides a market for marginalized women to make and sell handicrafts. Proceeds from the businesses help support the Ubuntu School, which services children with special needs. An eight-day ‘National Geographic Journeys with G Adventures Kenya Safari Experience’ is priced from $3,799 per person and travels from Nairobi return.
- Barauli Community Homestay – Chitwan National Park, Nepal: The homestay project aims to diversify the income of women in the region. A 15-day ‘Delhi to Kathmandu Adventure’ is priced from $1,919 per person and travels from Delhi to Kathmandu.
- Tengger Community Homestay – Java, Indonesia: With this experience, guests stay in a traditional home inside Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park and take day trips as part of a community-developed hike. Select tours that will empower travellers to contribute to this community include the nine-day ‘Best of Java’, priced from $1,249 per person and travelling from Jakarta to Sanur.
The five new experiences join G Adventures’ list of 31 projects around the world and are part of its commitment to launch 50 new projects by 2020 – 10 per year – also known as its “50 in 5” campaign. For more information go to gadventures.com.
