The Travel Better Project Explained.

Why The Travel Better Project?

Tourism, like all industries, needs a strong social licence to operate.

Some places around the world are plagued by overtourism. In other places, the effects of increasing visitor numbers may be less extreme, but it can still be difficult to strike a balance between the needs of visitors and the needs of host communities.

But could you imagine a world without travel?? 

I can. But I don't want to.

That's why The Travel Better Project aims to make every trip count.

Co-Design Process

Supported by initial investments through WWF-Australia’s Innovate to Regenerate Challenge and AMP Foundation's Tomorrow Makers Program, The Travel Better Project kicked off with four co-design workshops with a group of six tourism stakeholders on the NW coast of Tasmania. 

Together we workshopped what those businesses could do differently - such as reducing waste, protecting nature, educating visitors, and giving back to the causes that matter most to their communities.

We unpacked and refined a framework that we now call The Six Dimensions of Positive Impact Tourism.

Those operators also explained what they would need in order to apply the framework. They said it needed to be easy, affordable and accessible to them in ways they are familiar with.

Products and Services

And so, in 2024, we'll launch our first three products: 

1. A toolkit to help operators shape approaches that will lead to positive social and environmental impact (downloadable e-book format - available now)

2. An online course to walk operators through the steps to create their own action plan targeted to their sectors (Positive Impact Tourism: BOOTCAMP FOR OPERATORS) - wait list is open now

3. A free email series masterclass designed to get you up to speed on the core concepts of positive impact tourism in just 2 short weeks

Purpose, Mission, Vision and Values

Purpose

To help make every trip count.

Mission

To inspire and enable tourism operators to apply positive impact principles in their business through learning products and partnerships.

Vision

A travel movement that puts communities and nature first, and ensures tourism keeps its social licence to operate.

Values

• We question curiously to propel ideas

• We reach for the sky but stay grounded

• We look forward to create the future we want

• We collaborate for strength and reach

Our Impact

We teach impact, so we'd better walk the talk ourselves! We’ve proudly defined a set of ambitious impact goals that we’re setting out to achieve by 203o.

And, as we do well, we also do good. For example, every course sold we donate $10 to our charity partner (Planeterra) to support comunity-led tourism in developing countries. Further, for every 5 products sold, we provide access free-of-charge to a First Nations tourism business.

Here are our 2030 Impact Goals:

• Reach 10,000 tourism operators with our messaging

• Inspire and enable 1,000 tourism operators to apply positive impact tourism principles in their business through our learning products

• Enable more than 1.1 million travellers to experience positive impact travel through the products and services offered by aligned operators

• Invest $10,000 in supporting community-led tourism in developing countries through our charity partner, Planeterra

• Support 200 First Nations tourism businesses to positive impact approaches through free access to our products

The Future

The vision for The Travel Better Project is to build a travel movement that puts communities and nature first, and ensures tourism keeps its social licence to operate. 

Over time, this may mean working on both supply and demand sides to shape positive impact tourism in four ways:

1. Upskilling and inspiring tourism providers to create positive impact products, services and experiences that put the needs of the environment and host communities first

2. Developing pathways to enable the tourism sector to easily connect with local community initiatives and charitable causes

3. Democratising travel by supporting local communities with the tools to advocate for greater agency over what they want tourism to look like in their area

4. Fostering the responsible traveller movement by sharing the power of authentic and meaningful experiences, and encouraging visitors to engage in positive impact actions

Welcome on the journey!