Sustainability Through Travel - Think about that for a moment... What better way to make our world more sustainable than through the help of travel tour operators? Operators such as Cosmos, Gate 1, Globus, Insight, Tauck, Trafalgar... The list goes on and on with operators such as these that have itineraries spanning the world; a world in such need of sustainability! Possibly the best example of Sustainable Tourism is what G Adventures has been doing! The story of Bruce Poon Tip and what he has done not to mention still doing to make our world a better place through G Adventures is nothing short of outstanding in terms of inspirational! His book (LOOPTAIL) tells the story of how an idea born from a backpack journey through Asia turned into a company with a mission to change the world of business by way of taking 90% of the word business out of the business and replacing it with something much more viable!

I'm all for progress and I wish nothing but the best for those who's growth is beyond the norm; however, I'm also for those who don't receive a penny for said success and there are many who don't and have to leave behind generations of tradition in order to find jobs in cities only for their customs to pass away forever. Take the Inca Hiking Trail in Peru that begins in Cusco and ends in the Lost City of the Incas (Machu Picchu). This rural area that spans twenty six (26) miles, is filled with villages of people who are struggling with our modern world, and as a result, culture, language, and traditions of the Inca People will die because there will be no one left to inherit them. Most of us think of travel as traveling towards a destination, taking in the sites, experiencing the food, and holding on to those memories by way of the stamp on our pssports, photographs, & videos. What we end up missing is the "In-Between", which consists of the meaningful stuff... Some operators give proceeds of what they make from you towards the environment, whether it be by way of planting a tree or keeping oceans clean, but what about you being a part of changing someone's world by way of not only traveling through these rural areas, but by also contributing your time? This is what Bruce and his company G Adventures have done. They've incorporated a solution to the problem in all their itineraries and the best part is that you are at the forefront of that solution! You and every other traveler will play the lead as the hero helping those who can't fend for themselves.

Since 2005, Bruce in collaboration with G Adventures has worked with the local women of The Inca Trail to establish what is known as the Women's Weaving Co-Op... Thanks to G Adventures, sixty (60) local Inca women (grandmothers, mothers, and daughters) produce handmade crafts for G Adventures' visiting guests who purchase the crafts directly from these wonderful people in order for them to continue the tradition for years to come. In addition to their Co-Ops, G Adventures keeps everything ABSOLUTELY Local on every one of their trips! Whether it be in the form of eating at locally owned family restaurant or staying at a locally owned hotel, G- Adventures believes small businesses strengthen communities by way of raising the overall quality of life. This is sustainable travel at its best and it's exactly what we need from so many other tour operators with the power to make this much needed shift. It's wonderful that they're investing some of their profits into planting trees, but too much of the money collected on their trips go to massive hotel chains and expensive city restaurants; hotel chains & restaurants that stretch their hands as far as employees, which some would call giving back by way of providing employment, but that only sustains a life in the city, not whole communities.