By Carmelina Ricciardello, Sicilian Experience – On the geographical map of Italy, at the bottom of the peninsula, lies the island of Sicily which looks like a football being kicked away by the boot of the Italian peninsula. This might be the heartfelt wish of some Italians, mainly because of the island’s historic link with the mafia. I live in a quiet little village of Sant’Ambrogio, just 5 kms from a bustling tourist town. Founder of Sicilian Experience, I’m a firm believer that Sicily can become known as a haven for ecotourism and sustainable tourism opportunities, rather than for its “Il Padrino” (The Godfather) reputation.

Baa baa black sheep, now we have your wool! So say travellers in Slovenia who have had the pleasure of an exclusive Alpine Melody tour with Spin Travel. Billed as a day-long excursion that “takes you back to the times of our grandfathers,” Alpine Melody was also shortlisted in early December 2009 for the Sejalac (Sower) award, given every year since 2003 to the most promising tour providers in Slovenia by the Slovenian Tourist Board.

The Jalore Wildlife Sanctuary, established in 2005 in a remote jungle area of granite hills, savanna and forest, is the first and only privately owned and operated wildlife sanctuary in India. The sanctuary’s mission is to balance the needs of locals and wildlife by combining conservation and ecotourism. The idea to create a new wildlife refuge in Jalore was first born out of discussions among a group of friends and family – Gajendra Singh Chouhan, a patron of the arts from Jodhpur, and his friends

By Shams Uddin, Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism (CAMAT) – A vigil rally was organized in Booni, northern Chitral, Pakistan, as part of the global “Vigil For Survival” movement calling for a strong climate treaty in Copenhagen. Standing in solemn solidarity with the citizens of the nations whose very survival is threatened by the climate crisis, thousands of rallies and candlelight vigils were held around the world on December 12th and 13th, 2009. (Source: 350.org)

Spread between 1,700 and 2,400 metres of altitude, Tusheti is considered the most remote area of Georgia. Unlike Svaneti – another historic region characterised by towers – Tusheti is of such pristine and endemic nature that it is one of the Protected Areas of Georgia and inhabited only during the summer. Cultural heritage runs deep here, the roots felt when communicating with locals and taking part in their festivals and traditional practices.

When gazed upon from afar, the sharp-peaked mountains of the country of Georgia are soaring and grand. Unseen within their rocky confines, however, lie isolated and amazing sights inaccessible to most outsiders. Located at the Western Asian / Eastern European frontier and bordered by the Black Sea, Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan, little-known Georgia is the site of the truly off-the-beaten-path mountainous regions of Svaneti and Tusheti, two raw, entrancing and rough-and-tumble provinces of well-established age-old traditions that give real meaning to hospitality.

“Welcome! Everything you see here is home-made!” Sarvar says with great pride. He speaks of the grand morning feast he has prepared for us which was entirely made up of his home-grown products: the delicious Tajik naan bread, fresh from the oven; the small cups and plates of various nuts and dried raisins; and Chakka – a tasty Tajik specialty made with sour milk. Accompanying all this is the fresh mulberry juice and the exquisite honey, extracted from pollen of the unique mountain flowers of Tajikistan.

In the last twenty years, the Salaam Baalak Trust (SBT) has helped thousands of children come off the streets and into a safe and nurturing environment. SBT has five 24-hour shelters (one devoted to girls), with 50 to 55 children visiting each. The Trust provides a holistic safety net of services catering to the individual needs of street children in Delhi and Mumbai, covering the entire area of child development from physical and medical care to the educational, creative, cognitive, social and vocational needs of the children.

In India as in most other places in the world, indigenous communities often exist on the fringe of society and their socio-political situation is complex. It is important for us to provide our guests with accurate and up-to-date information. Inevitably we have more information than can be easily digested on one holiday experience; our greatest challenge is to summarise centuries of history and evolution into bite size pieces! A common assumption our travellers make is that all indigenous communities share the same customs and costumes.

(English translation follows Spanish text) El diseño de nuevos circuitos turísticos en el Valle del Colca es una tarea que demanda un análisis cuidadoso de los recursos, financiamiento y expectativas locales. Los circuitos, corredores económicos típicos ancestrales y hasta senderos peatonales de uso cotidiano, sirven como uno de los primeros elementos, a los que se van sumando atractivos no conocidos, actividades distribuidas a lo largo de un año cronológico como festividades religiosas, actividades agrícolas, eventos sociales, entre otros; a fin de generar una…