Boundless Journeys’ annual charity event incorporates meaningful community service into an amazing travel adventure. Boundless Journeys’ August 2-9, 2009 Peru: The Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu trip serves as a special charity event to benefit the Instituto Machu Picchu and a community school in the village of Huanca. Each year, hundreds of thousands of people visit Peru and its iconic archeological site, Machu Picchu, but very few visitors get off the beaten path and truly connect with the people and places they are there to experience.

Lapa Rips Ecolodge has received many major awards and recognitions – including National Geographic Adventure’s “50 Top Ecolodges: The Most Earth-Friendly Retreats in the World’s Most Spectacular Wilds” in 2009 and Conde Naste Traveler’s “Gold List” in 2008 and 2009. A recent addition to Lapa Rios Ecolodge’s inspiring achievements is the 2009 Coastal Living Awards (Tourism category). The Coastal Living Awards honor those working to protect and preserve coastal environments and coastlines for generations to come.

“If you want to see the Amazon first hand, if you want to support local communities in their efforts to preserve the rainforest and all of its treasures and you want to keep your footprint barely visible then look no further than the Cristalino Jungle Lodge. For over 16 years, Vitoria Da Riva Carvalho and her crew have managed to make an almost entirely self-sustainable resort that is single-handedly responsible for preserving over 200,000 hectares (and counting) of rainforest.”

University of Hawaii is hosting the one-day workshop, “Sustainable Travel in the Hawaiian Islands: Current obstacles and future opportunities” – which is the first in a series of interactive workshops that will engage key stakeholders to work together to identify opportunities, create solutions, and commit to actions that chart a path toward establishing the Hawaiian Islands as a destination of Sustainable Best Practices. TIES Board member Masaru Takayama (Executive Director, Japan Ecolodge Association, and Director, Spirit of Japan Travel) will be presenting at the workshop.

Surama Eco-Lodge of Guyana was recognized and honored at the U.S. Educational Travel Conference (ETC), which took place in New Orleans, Louisiana from February 18-21. As the Responsible Tourism Showcase Honoree for 2009, Surama received recognition at the Opening Plenary session as well as press and visibility at the conference. Surama Eco-lodge also received a monetary award and will be recognized and featured on the ETC website and in outreach programs throughout 2009.

GOPhilanthropic enters 2009 with a host of new travel programs aimed at providing support for the empowerment of communities worldwide and the protection of heritage and environment. The socially-conscious travel company embraces the combination of Travel Philanthropy, Geotourism and Sustainable Travel, coupling Vacations and In-depth Educational Tours with support for social and conservation projects worldwide. The result offers travelers meaningful and authentic exchanges with local communities and engagement in conservation efforts unique to each region