G Adventures’ non‑profit partner Planeterra has seen its income from third parties more than quadruple since 2019, enabling it to integrate more community tourism enterprises in its tours.
Jamie Sweeting, G Adventures vice-president of social enterprise and responsible travel and Planeterra president, said its incoming funds were up by 350% and it was now supporting more than 550 community projects globally compared with 93 in 2019.
Many of these projects are not exclusively linked to G Adventures but are connected to the Global Community Tourism Network.
Its annual GX Summit, tie-ups with Iberostar and Evaneos and two new initiatives had contributed to the growth in funding, he added.
The Project 300 and Trees for Days projects aim to integrate 300 community projects into tours by 2030 and plant a tree for every day a traveller is on a G Adventures trip.
“If you get the right tree in the right place, with the right people, the results can be extraordinary,” said Sweeting.
He observed most companies spent 95% of available resources from ESG budgets on measurement. While he acknowledged this was “very important”, he said more of an emphasis should be placed on what travel companies are doing to decarbonise and regenerate the destinations they operate in.
Another trend he has seen is companies gaining B Corp status, but he stressed this was “not the right fit right now” for G Adventures, given it has so few sections about local suppliers.
He said: “Let’s be honest, it was built for manufacturing companies. They have not created a B Corp for travel, but it can work for others.”
Sweeting admitted most travellers today would not be going into an agency asking for “the best community trip”, but he is hopeful “we can get there in the future”.
He explained: “More people are choosing travel companies aligned to their values. They are substantially doing that already.
“This is coming through with Millennials and Gen Z where they are moving to a point where if you do not have those brand attributes, they will not spend. It is an expectation now; it is table stakes.”
The “constant” for G Adventures has been “leaning in” and helping communities through travel, he said, adding partnering with other travel enterprises would “help grow community tourism worldwide”.
Sweeting added: “Changing the world by going on holiday is our proposition. We do not have all the answers, but we are striving towards it.”
His views were echoed by Brian Young, G Adventures’ EMEA managing director, who told the Atas conference in October that community tourism had “the power to change people’s lives” and could help “balance out negatives”.