Mynatour ecotourism community, sponsored by WHL.travel, is launching the Ecotourism Travel Blog Contest, an innovative competition inviting travelers to share their travel blog in order to promote green travel and ecotourism best practices. The idea of the contest is to promote ecotourism and responsible tourism through a travel blog competition where the audience is involved in electing the best ecotourism story.

Borneo is home to the Rungus people, one of the island’s few remaining indigenous ethnic groups who reside in the area surrounding the former capital of Kudat. Organisations like Borneo Ecotourism Solutions and Technologies (BEST) Society help the indigenous Rungus people harness the power of tourism to maintain their vibrant performing arts, customs and traditions. To this day the Rungus live in longhouses, which are extended single-floor structures elevated off the ground on stilts and are designed with an emphasis on community.

Nowhere in Europe are there so many different peoples living in such a small region. Although the cultural wealth is made possible by their peaceful coexistence, the different communities cultivate their unique traits in an effort to preserve their national identities. The Wealth of Diversity project was therefore launched by the Magelan Travel Agency DMC and the Istar 21 Danube Tourism Cluster, with the goal of spotlighting multiculturalism in the Danube region as a unified tourism product on the world market and lend this part of Serbia a recognisable brand.

By Karolyn Wrightson

Aboriginal elder Willie Gordon of Guurrbi Tours offers ancient stories oriented toward the human soul. The wisdom of Willie is what distinguishes his Guurrbi Aboriginal tours from others – his remarkable sense of what each visitor brings to the moment. To ensure that he bridges the gap between his culture and ours, he begins with his family’s story, then relates that to the story the visitor has (or lacks).

By Cynthia Ord

Living in splendid isolation in the remote mountains around Luang Namtha in northern Laos, the country’s most traditional ethnic groups have for centuries cultivated rice and inhabited small rural villages. These tribes, however, are at a crossroads between traditional ways of life and the forces of modernity and tourism. In 1993, the surrounding region was declared the Nam Ha National Biodiversity Conservation Area, and since then, streams of tourists plan treks to enjoy the outdoors of Nam Ha and the culture of Laos’ ethnic groups.

By Adriana Braun

What a great experience it was, returning to Fernando de Noronha and finding that previous obstacles for us wheelchair users no longer existed! When I first visited here ten years ago, I almost went crazy looking for a hotel that would accommodate me. It was beyond difficult just trying to put luggage in a buggy, dealing with a rude taxi driver who did not hide his prejudice for the disabled people, and trying to get through a bathroom door only 0.6m-wide with my wheelchair, let alone participating in any of the activities that the islands offers.

By Chris Barclay

I first came to Yangshuo, China in 1996 on a rock climbing trip with some expat friends from Guangzhou, where I was living at the time. Back then Yangshuo was a sleepy western backpacker’s hangout, with only a few local guesthouses, and cafes serving strong coffee and banana pancakes. What drew my friends and I to Yangshuo were the dramatic limestone karst towers, perfect for climbing, and the unspoiled countryside, with its fresh air and river water so clean you could swim in it.

By Lenka Uhrova

In July 2010, I published an article on the Local Travel Movement website about how I saw tourism in Iceland at the time. I’ve always been particularly interested in regions off the beaten tourist track, which in the past would often be overlooked and overshadowed by the more commonly promoted highlights and ‘must-sees’ of Iceland.

By Kelly Austria

Inspired by our treks and visits to mountain communities, in 2007 we formed a group based on a shared common love for nature and compassion for the kids living in these mountains. We decided to hike on a new trail, and called our group TREK, or Trails to Empower Kids. Our first outreach program was held in the mountainous province of Benguet, in the municipality of Itogon, Philippines.

By Irene Lane

One of the more memorable moments during our family tour of Northern Europe last year was during our stay in Gothenburg. While Gothenburg is the second largest city in Sweden, it certainly has not taken on a diminutive status to Stockholm. Instead, the city has a standing of its own including having largest seaport of all the Nordic countries, a diverse music community and beautiful open spaces of forests, meadows, lakes, parks and gardens peppered throughout the area.