Bringing Progress to Paradise is the story of climbing expedition leader and attorney Jeff Rasley’s trek to a village in a remote valley of Nepal called Basa back in October 2008. What he found was a people thoroughly unaffected by Western consumer-culture values. We will be giving away two copies of Bringing Progress to Paradise by Jeff Rasley…

As part of its 20th anniversary commemorating its founding, The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) has launched the annual Innovation Leadership in Sustainable Tourism Awards to recognize innovative leadership of individuals and organizations who promote sustainable tourism that results in tangible benefits to communities and conservation. TIES is the world’s oldest and largest association dedicated to promoting ecotourism.

A new study coming out of Europe revealed a shift in consumer consciousness that is changing travel! People want their travel to be meaningful, feel good and have some impact in the world — not just for escapism or indulgences. So it’s no surprise that travel philanthropy and voluntourism are booming.

How does one get involve with travel philanthropy? There are so many opportunities to exercise philanthropy for a destination. Some will involve travel. Others simply can be done from wherever you are, yet impact destinations far away. In Part III of our three-part series (see Part I and Part II) on travel philanthropy, we look at 10 great sources for philanthropic travel and connecting with community projects.

Do you desire a deeper connection with the destination you visit? Travel is appealing to so many of us because we desire connections with people… and people in far away places fascinates us. They are distant and distinct not only in locale but culture, ethnicity, socio-economic circumstances, and life perspectives. Travel provides us connections to people that we would not ordinarily meet and solidifies these connections through “face-to-face” encounters that open the door for change.
Travel philanthropy is simply connecting people to places. It’s done in an active and engaging way …

Ever wonder if a hotel is truly green or just “green-washing”? Certifications and eco-awards are good indicators, but you”ll need to dig deeper to truly get a sense of their eco-commitments. Travel Market Report gives us six resorts that exemplify some of the best “green” practices.

This is a guest post from Daniela Papi of PEPY:

Our trips during our first few years at PEPY were all about service. We were enthusiastic about offering travelers a chance to give back to the places they visited, otherwise known as voluntourism. Tour participants taught classes at local schools, visited orphanages, and repaired educational buildings. Often times, the needs the travelers were filling were not the biggest needs for the projects we were partnering with but were instead the things they were able to physically contribute to. When our guests …