Community-based ecotourism has been facilitated in Giao Xuan by NGOs, such as Volunteers for Peace in Vietnam (VPV) and the Centre for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development (MCD), which aim to reduce the strain on the local natural resources. They do this by promoting hospitality as an alternative income to destructive fishing and aquaculture techniques which have damaged the nearby national park. The money paid to the host family stays in the community and does not go to any sort of global corporation.

We were the five women who had traveled to Senegal with Women Travel for Peace. Our goal: to fund and help construct a sturdy, concrete well for the women’s farming collective. While this project had begun several months before our arrival with village meetings and discussion, on this, our last day in the village, we were all ready to inaugurate and celebrate our much needed contribution. Women Travel for Peace’s community-based tourism enables women from the industrialized world to work side-by-side with women in the developing world in support of a community project.

Visitors to Brazil usually list the stunning nature of Brazil as the number one attraction, but the friendly nature of Brazilians themselves comes a close second. As anyone who has visited Brazil can attest, Brazilians are fun loving and very welcoming. You will encounter this warm hospitality everywhere you go, whether it is in a small remote community or the big city. This month’s ecoDestinations online auction features a wide range of eco-vacation experiences in Brasil – from a rainforest hike tour to a wildlife adventure, to an organic farm stay.

Go Native America’s responsible travel policy is “Mitakuye Oyasin” – the final phrase in Lakota prayer which translates to: “We are all related in the Circle of Life – the two-legged, four legged, winged, and all living and growing things upon the Earth.” GNA operates in an environmentally-friendly fashion with the utmost respect for the Native American community, employing only Indigenous people as guides, and using tribally owned accommodations for tour members.

“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.”

“Since I have been excited by the development of community-owned ecotourism businesses in Costa Rica over the last decade, and have given them a lot of space in The New Key to Costa Rica, I started seeing over development as a community issue too. It’s a sign that the people of a community do not have a say in what goes on there–to the point where the community’s water supply can be threatened. This has been the subject of several lawsuits in the northern Guanacaste beaches… Beatrice Blake, author of The New Key to Costa Rica

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.

Some of the UK and Thailand’s most highly acclaimed responsible tour operators have been working hand-in-hand with local Thai community members to develop new community-based tourism programs. This ground-breaking initiative has given the tour operators and local Thai community members a unique chance to meet each other in person, sit down together to compare their different roles, experiences and needs, and to design new tour programs together.