Sustainable Travel

We have not inherited this earth from our parents to do with it what we will. We have borrowed it from our children and we must be careful to use it in their interests as well as our own.

— Moses Henry “Moss” Cass - Ministry of Environment, Heritage and the Arts, 1974

Whether you label it a trip, a tour, an adventure, an experience, an escape, or anything a vacation can be, it goes best with the word "dream" in front of it.

Does your dream include being awed by the natural wonders of Mother Nature as well as by the ingenuity and creativity of the ancient indigenous people who revered Her? Would you like to look back on this experience knowing that - while you saw fascinating ruins and cultures of the past - you did not trample the present, perhaps even brightened the future for a place and its people?

If you, like us also dream of a better world, Native Tours can help you realize that dream.

Our friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, responsible guides can lead you down the paths of pristine green forests, majestic snow-capped mountains, still waters, and rivers rushing through vibrant valleys - satisfying your wanderlust all while supporting the well-being of the planet and the people native to this unique corner of it.

Our focus is on your spirit savoring your travel experience. We want your journey to both thrill and inspire -- something accomplished as much by the captivating native people you will meet and whose culture you will experience as by the astonishing sights you will see.

Our belief is that travel on a smaller, simpler scale makes for grander, more magical moments and memories. Beauty is by definition unspoiled; the peace, serenity, and majesty of natural landscapes are best enjoyed far from the maddening crowd; and amazing culture and tradition are best appreciated through hands-on participation.

Our tours let you delve deeper, and experience what's behind the landmark, the history, culture, and values that led to its construction. This is not the typical 20 cities in 20 days whirlwind tour, climbing on and off the bus to take selfies in front of each landmark. As an honored guest of the local indigenous communities, you will have a more intimate, personal connection with the local families: what they eat, how they live, and their values and beliefs.

Our hope is that you will leave not as the merely intrigued, curious visitor you might have arrived as, but as a valued acquaintance who parts company feeling you are part of this particular place and its people, history, and culture.

I must leave it as beautiful as I found it. Nothing must ever happen there that might detract in the slightest from what it now had. I would enjoy it and discover all that was to be found there and learn as time went on that here perhaps was all I ever hope to know.

— Sigurd Olson

Sustainable or responsible eco-tourism involves travel to natural or indigenous areas in a way that improves the welfare of local people, minimizes negative environmental impacts, and helps conserve fragile cultures and habitats long term.

Sustainable, responsible tourism provides for once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences that support local communities in a way that is socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable. Conscientious travelers can feel good knowing they are giving back to the community, nature, and themselves all by having the most amazing, adventure vacation experience ever.

“Ayni” in the Quechua language is a fundamental concept among the Andean people meaning mutual help or reciprocity. Ayni is not just about being compensated for a task – it’s about the exchange of energy between human beings, the natural world, and the universe. At Native Tours, we believe that community-based tourism embodies the ancient Incan concept of “ayni”, where travelers experience a genuine and rich cultural exchange and communities enjoy social and economic empowerment.

Community-based tourism is a model in which local residents invite tourists to visit their communities to discover local habitats and wildlife in their region and share their traditional meals, ancestral rituals, cultural activities, language, and values. Based on a fair-trade model, foreign visitors pay a fair price to the community residents in exchange for rich cultural activities, authentic local cuisine, and traditional accommodations. In places like Peru, community-based tourism supplements the community’s conventional farming and animal husbandry income, and a portion is set aside for projects that benefit the community as a whole.

Community-based facilities often strive to balance the authenticity of rural community life with sufficient standards for the comfort of Western visitors, providing simple but clean sleeping rooms, modern (though often shared) bathrooms, along with electrical and phone access.

Community-based tourism has been gaining steady traction in recent decades but is often hampered by a lack of international visibility. Here, responsible tour operators play a vital role in connecting well-intentioned and inquisitive travelers to local community co-operatives, thus fostering pride in their cultural identity and a desire to preserve their cultural heritage and natural resources.

We at Native Tours are committed to holding our tours and experiences to these standards.

As the world’s economy, technology, and transportation improve, larger numbers of people can visit more places affordably. Unfortunately, as tourism grows and becomes “massive”, there is often little planning or consideration of the detrimental ecological or sociological impacts of tourism development to a destination. This unsustainable approach to tourism is self-defeating in the long term, as the very areas that appeal to the tourist soon become unattractive due to unchecked development.

You, the traveler, can be part of the solution by selecting a sustainable, responsible tour operator.

Sustainable travel is where the tour operators, accommodations, and transportation providers are socially, culturally, economically, and environmentally responsible. Sustainable development implies "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." --World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987

Organizations such as the United Nations World Tourism Organization and The International Ecotourism Society acknowledge that “sustainable tourism has a tremendous opportunity to improve the livelihood of emerging market populations. Tourism is a crucial contributor to these countries’ income (up to 70% for the world’s poorest countries) and is included in the Poverty Reduction Strategies of more than 80% of low-income countries.”

When done right, sustainable tourism can have long-term benefits to the destinations and the communities that call it home.

At Native Tours, we believe that sustainable, responsible travel has the power to protect nature, benefit local communities, and preserve cultural heritage – the guiding principles of our social enterprise. It’s our commitment to these principles that drives our vision to be sustainability leaders.

Socially responsible consumers care about conserving the environment, other cultures, and the indigenous people they meet during their travels. But how can you distinguish between "greenwashed" companies and truly sustainable eco-tour operators who treat local workers fairly, give back to the community, and protect the environment? The United Nations Foundation's Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria are an effort to standardize and measure sustainable responsible practices in the tourism industry.

We at Native Tours are proud to hold ourselves to the same standards, ensuring that each tour experience has a positive impact on the destination and the communities that call them home.

By supporting sustainable tour operators such as Native Tours, you can maximize social and economic benefits to the local communities while preserving the culture and environment of the places you visit. In other words, you can make your vacation count!