Indigenous People and the Travel Industry: Global Good Practice Guidelines

The cultural survival of the world’s 370 million Indigenous people hangs in the balance. Caught between the pressures to modernize and conform to dominant societies, many of these often-isolated communities have an increasingly compromised relationship to their rich cultural traditions, histories and languages. Not only are they threatened culturally, but often, Indigenous communities are among the world’s most impoverished and disenfranchised people. With few options, Indigenous people often choose to develop their precious natural resources as a means of economic survival. Tourism can provide a viable alternative—a way of ensuring the cultural fabric and environmental resources of Indigenous communities remain intact for themselves and their children while serving as an incentive to protect their business assets. Travel companies that interact with Indigenous communities have a special responsibility to help them safeguard their resources and can play a key role in helping to do so.The following practical guidelines—developed over the course of a year by the George Washington University International Institute of Tourism Studies, G Adventures and the Planeterra Foundation—are intended for use by travel companies that work with Indigenous communities around the world. They are meant to encourage responsible conduct and guide good business practices that serve and protect the interests of Indigenous communities and travel companies as well as produce visitor experiences that are authentic, respectful and rewarding.

Brochures / Factsheets
Tools / Guidelines / Training
G Adventures Responsible Travel
24 pages
English
Indigenous Peoples / Minorities Rights
Due Diligence
Corporate Social Responsibility [CSR]