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The Local Voices Rally and Tally for Local Travel Experts

By ⋅ June 13, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Whether you’re a consumer or an entrepreneur, if you’ve got anything more than a pinkie toe dipped into the world of online businesses, you probably marvel as much as we do at the pace of change in that space. It’s like an extra-super-megastore that rearranges the contents of its aisles every day, comes up with […]

10 Reasons the Local Travel Movement is here to stay

By ⋅ June 9, 2011 ⋅ One comment

(and why we are proud to be a part of it!) 1. Like Slow Food, Slow Travel (aka Local Travel) was created by the curious and passionate, for the curious and passionate. 2. Because a vacation with a ‘local contact experience’ will not just help you compete with the Joneses, but will help you surpass […]

Nine labels for ethical tourism

By ⋅ June 3, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Can tourism have a positive impact on people’s lives and on the planet? More and more, environmental and humanitarian projects are learning how to harness tourism dollars to make a difference. Dignified livelihoods are being created in the field of tourism. In some places, ecosystems are better protected and researched, with tourism to thank. This […]

What Local Travel means to local travel experts

By ⋅ May 26, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Every month, the WHL Group delves into the travel experiences of travel experts in its extended network through interviews that appear on The Travel Word. One of the requests made of each of these local partners is for them to briefly explain what they think local travel is. What follows is a revealing selection of […]

We suck at collaboration

By ⋅ May 12, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

In early May, 2011, Ron Mader, founder and editor of Planeta.com and 2010 winner of The International Ecotourism Society’s Innovation Award, gave a slideshow presentation at the Responsible Tourism Cities Conference in Durban, South Africa. Entitled Why We Suck at Collaboration, it “addresses failure in many guises, including massive tree failure and online tourism promotion […]

Traveling like a local is the best way to go

By ⋅ May 2, 2011 ⋅ 4 comments

After every trip we’ve taken, the most significant memories were those that included the people and the friendships we have created along the way. They’ve given us perspective and even inspired us to create a community of people who share the same passion for traveling and connecting with like-minded locals – Triptrotting. Here is a […]

“Authentic travel” is about accepting things as they are

By ⋅ April 28, 2011 ⋅ 4 comments

I have just read an interesting article, which I don’t agree with: 7 Reasons Why the ‘Authentic’ Travel Experience Is a Myth by Gary Arndt (@EverywhereTrip on Twitter). Gary Arndt writes: One reason people travel is to have an “authentic experience.” They envision traveling to a foreign country and living, eating, and doing the things […]

Responsible Tourism Week – A better answer to some tough questions

By ⋅ March 28, 2011 ⋅ 8 comments

We at The Responsible Safari Company were excited to celebrate Responsible Tourism Week, but it also sparked some heated discussions and questions in the office about how responsible we are. Should we be shouting it from the rooftops or just quietly getting on with what we do? Are there guidelines on how to be a […]

Embracing the Local Travel Movement

By ⋅ March 17, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

The Local Travel Movement is gaining steam. As technology continues to expand the speed and scope of our virtual experiences, an increasing number of people are looking to slow down and create more real and meaningful connections with the places they travel. Our unprecedented access to information means we can virtually experience a place before […]

Can anyone be a hotelier?

By ⋅ February 21, 2011 ⋅ 3 comments

I just read an article about airbnb‘s iPhone app, which can tell you how much money you could be making by renting out your home.  The writer ended with how cool it was that “anyone can become a hotelier”. Perhaps she was just romanticizing the whole thing and I shouldn’t imagine a future where all my […]

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