COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS

World Animal Protection – working to save the world’s animals, the site also posts good news stories such as TripAdvisor stopping selling dolphin tours. World Animal Protection focuses on animals in the wild, farming and in communities.

Sockmob – a unique initiative to see a different side of London, England. A volunteer network brings you walks by professionally coached homeless guides. To date they have been successful in getting some people off the street and introducing a new social consciousness into commercial walking tours.

Parkbus – born in 2010 by two outdoor enthusiasts who wanted to make the outdoors more accessible to those without cars. Not only do they help mitigate carbon emissions, their trips connect people with the wilderness. Parkbus won the  Tourism Entrepreneurship Award at the Canadian Tourism Awards in 2014, and was named the Tourism Innovator of the Year Finalist at the Ontario Tourism Awards in 2013. Their services were profiled by the international media, including the National Geographic, that listed it in the 50 Smart Cities Idea list in November 2014.

Planeterra – established as the not for profit arm of G Adventures, Planeterra works to build capacity through social enterprise projects in the communities that travellers visit. Their projects span the world and work to improve livelihoods through more sustainable travel experiences

Meso American Reef Initiative– also known as MARTI is a collaborative initiative working to ensure protection of the Meso American Reef Region. Their work encompasses conservation, development of vibrant communities and development of partnerships. Multiple organizations under the initiative have joined forces to help these destinations become more sustainable.

Travel Foundation – is a UK based charity set up by industry for industry which aims to respond to concerns of sustainable travel. They provide tools and assistance to travellers, travel agencies and business to become more sustainable. The organization provides hands on training and tools that range from greening your hotel (or tour operator or facility) to running a water and energy savings project.

Blue Ventures – a marine conservation group awarded for its efforts in socio-economic development and resource protection in Madagascar. Given numerous conservation, ecotourism and geotourism awards.

Transportation Options (T.O.)- dedicated to fostering sustainable tourism and transportation in Ontario, Canada since 1992, T.O. has worked collaboratively to research, develop and promote new initiatives that are integrated, environmentally sound, healthy, service oriented and focused on improving the experience of users. Projects of Transportation Options include award-winning Bike Train Initiative and Ontario By Bike as well as Parkbus. Their Ontario by Bike program has certified over 1000 accommodations, restaurants and attractions as “bicycle friendly”,

Friends are everywhere!
Interestingly NGO’s have expanded past general conservation and social concern groups to specific regional organizations. While there are still organizations such as Friends of Conservation, Friends of the Earth and Friends of the Environment, initiatives such as Friends of Maldives (FOM) and Friends of the Otter are now becoming common and their scope ranges from raising awareness of tourism issues in countries and small states to restoring environmental habitats and animals and providing local tours.

Travel Well. Travel Fair.