Conde Nast Traveler held their 3rd Annual World Savers Congress this week in NYC. The editors of Conde Nast Traveler hosted the travel forum for travel providers, and included a few philanthropic celebrities and consumer companies, who came together to dialogue about sustainability, responsible tourism, and corporate social responsibility. Although it’s really an industry forum, we wanted to highlight some noteworthy takeaways from the event so that we can all become smarter and more conscious travelers.

Corporate Social Responsibility
The way companies look at corporate social responsibility has evolved from philanthropy to …

Americans are living in a time when being green and eco-friendly are not only trendy, but becoming a way of life. Traveling green will generally cost more and there are fewer travel choices, for now.
Research done by travelhorizons™ in July found that more Americans are aware of eco-friendly travel (which confirms the general perception), but they will not necessarily pay the price to take part in it. People are more aware of eco-friendly terms and they understand the benefits that others will gain from “being green.” …

A recent study done by VISA (Australia) reveals that “one in three respondents look to travel blogs when planning a trip” compared to consulting family and friends or travel agents. According to the study, 34% of respondents prefer travel blogs for choosing their travel options, 24% use family and friends, and 13% go to travel agents. The small number of remaining respondents use travel TV shows, magazines, and newspapers to book their vacations. Those polled in the survey said that they were planning to travel in the next …

We continue to explore the shifting values in our society, following our previous post on The Citizen Consumer. Decades of increasingly making “consumption our way of life” that was spurred on by government and corporations have led us to believe that we can seek “our spiritual satisfaction or our ego satisfaction” in consumption. Now, the glass ball is starting to crack. There is a confluence of events — economic collapse, overwhelming environmental challenges, and a growing digital democracy that is enabling a new social wealth — that is shaping …

The second annual goodpurpose study (winter 2008) published by Edelman, one of the world’s largest PR firms, profiles today’s consumer as a proactive user and collaborator (no surprise here – just look around) and an advocate for social causes. The report tells us that people’s commitment to helping others — and to brands that share the same commitment — is strong.
Edelman surveyed 6,000 consumers across 10 countries, here are the highlights:

42% of consumers say “helping others and contributing to my community” brings them the strongest feelings of contentment, but …

The Associated Press (AP) just released a poll indicating that fewer Americans will be traveling for leisure this summer. While this is probably true and is expected given the health of our economy, the decline is less than we expected, 42% of Americans plan vacation travel this summer down from 49% in 2005.
On the flip side, this polling data reveals that ALMOST HALF the group surveyed will STILL be traveling for leisure DESPITE the economy. The data suggested more travelers will be coming from those with higher income (66% in …

Photo by BL 1961
In 1970, spearheaded by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, to draw attention to the environmental issues plaguing the planet and human health, nearly 20 million Americans participated in events on April 22. Named Earth Day, April 22 has remained a time to celebrate the restoration and protection of our the planet. Earth Day has grown into a global tradition, with a billion people in 180 nations around the world expected to take part in 2009.
Kathleen Rogers, president of Washington, D.C.-based Earth Day Network (EDN), which was founded by …