G Adventures

G Adventures

par | Avr 1, 2018 | Sustainable tourism, Travel

G Adventures

SERVICE

G Adventures offers authentic adventure tours in a responsible and sustainable manner.

BUSINESS MODEL

Sustainable Tourism

All aspects of the tours are crafted to boost the local economy (meals, accommodation, handicrafts, transport, experiences) and sometimes include visit of social enterprises created by their NGO arm Planeterra. An annual contribution also goes  to Planeterra.

IMPACT

Place: worldwide

Scale:  34,400+ people  in 2016 benefited from 50 social enterprises created by Planeterra

Planeterra created jobs for 1,529 women, trained 370 youth to the hospitality industry and engaged 888 community members in tourism in 2016.

Depth: 

ORIGINS

In 1990, Bruce Poon Tip (Canada) launched G Adventures.  Back then, if you wanted to go on a holiday that wasn’t a package tour, a coach tour or a cruise, the choice was limited. The original concept was about cultural immersion and putting travelers in touch with local people. He started to offer a handful of trips in Latin America.

They’ve grown to a company of over 2,000 people worldwide in 23 offices, and from a handful of trips in Latin America to more than 650 adventures spanning the globe… and beyond! They have over 150,000 travellers every year.

In 2003, Bruce launched Planeterra Foundation, a non-profit for projects in areas of social enterprise, healthcare, conservation and emergency response.   It acts as the charitable arm of G Adventures. They identify projects, provide capacity training, catalyst grants and include the project into a G Adventures itinerary.

WHAT’S NEXT?

  • In 2013,  Poon Tip released his first book, Looptail: How One Company Changed the World by Reinventing Business.  Looptail tells the story of how Poon Tip built G Adventures into a socially responsible business and evolved it into a Social entreprise.  Looptail is the first business book to be endorsed by the Dalai Lama, who wrote the foreword for the book and praised Poon Tip for being “one of those entrepreneurs who understand that human dignity, freedom, and genuine well-being are more important than the mere accumulation of wealth”.[

GET INVOLVED !

As a Traveler

Go on an exciting and impactful adventure with one of the tours offered by G Adventures. 

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Work for them

G Adventures has 25 offices around the world. Discover all their openings, whether it’s office work or tour leaders.

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Get to Know More!

Got inspired by G Adventures’ business model? Read the full story of Bruce Poon Tip, how he started and how he grew this company in his book « Looptail ».

Read the book

Fair Warung Balé

Fair Warung Balé

par | Nov 12, 2017 | Food, Free Medical Care, Sustainable tourism, Travel

Fair Warung Balé

SERVICE

Restaurant serving indonesian food in Ubud, Bali.  

BUSINESS MODEL

Medical Care - Non Profit

Fair Warung Balé restaurant gives back  100% of its profits to the Fair Future Foundation and its Free Health and Medical Care programs. 1 meal = 2 free medical treatments. Their profit also funded their pediatric hospital building opened in 2016. 

IMPACT

Place: Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

Scale:  more than 30,000 people per year.

Depth: 

  • Saving lifes, healing sick and injured people. 
  • Improving the daily life of the local community in suffering, whether they are affected by a situation of social vulnerability, emotional or medical, or suffering from disability. 
  • Training young indonesians for a new job.

ORIGINS

Alex Wettstein, a Swiss citizen, had been working in a medical team for big organisations for many years all over South-East Asia and Switzerland.  In early 2006, he founded the FAIR FUTURE FOUNDATION, a Swiss State Approved foundation. The foundation is purely dedicated to provide the people and children of Indonesia with free Health & Medical Care through several community and homehealthcare services.

 

WHAT’S NEXT?

  • In early 2011,  they decided to create another Indonesian foundation whose purposes and goals are identical: the Bali Sari Foundation, but this time composed of Indonesian board members. The Bali Sari Foundation employs local youth beneficiaries, mainly from disadvantaged areas.  
  • In September 2016, they open a pediatric hospital. 

GET INVOLVED !

As a Client

Going to Bali, Ubud? The food in this restaurant is so yummy that the place gets very busy in the evening. Book in advance! 

Book a Table

Work for them

Fair Warung Balé is constantly looking for volunteers, students, helpers and workers who are fluent in English, have marketing skills, experience in education, etc.

See Positions

Start Your Own!

Got inspired to create a restaurant that benefits the local population? Contact the founder of Fair Warung Balé for more insights on the business model.

Contact

Reality Tours & Travel

Reality Tours & Travel

par | Oct 8, 2017 | Sustainable tourism, Travel

Reality Tours & Travel

SERVICE

Tours in slums and local villages in India.

BUSINESS MODEL

Sustainable Tourism - For Profit

80% of the profits from the tours fund the company’s sister NGO Reality Gives which supports education programs for the slum and villages communities. 

IMPACT

Place: India

Scale:  impacted lives of over 6,000 people 

Depth: 

  • Raised 450,000 $ in 10 years to support education programs
  • Increase tourists awareness and build understanding about slums
  • Boost pride and self-esteem of locals
  • Provides employment and for locals

ORIGINS

Chris Way, an English citizen, got the idea from the favela tours in Rio.  Having been in Mumbai previously in 2003 doing some volunteer teaching, he knew about the slums and so decided to return to India in late 2004 with this idea in mind. It quickly became apparent that Dharavi was this fascinating place, with so much industry/ energy/ sense of community that it would definitely appeal to tourists. He persuaded Krishna that tourists would find this place interesting, and then formed the company in September 2005.

WHAT’S NEXT?

  • In 2007, after discussing the community’s needs with its residents, Reality Tours set up  a Community Centre in Dharavi to provide English and computer classes, using tour revenues.
  • In 2009, the NGO Reality Gives was born.
  • Chris Way now consults with Smokey Tours in Manila, The Philippines, to help them implement the same model.
  • They offer 40+ different tours.

GET INVOLVED !

As a Traveler

Slum tours, bycicle tours, street food tours, village tours, special tours during Holi festival, … Book among the 40+ different tours offered by Reality Tours & Travel.

Book a Tour

Get Hired

Passionate about using travel and tourism to create positive change? Want to work for this company? Check out the job opportunities at Reality Tours & Travel.

See Positions

Start Your Own!

Reality Tours & Travel’s founder, Chris Way, provides consultancy to help others implement the same model in other countries. 

Contact