5 vacations that make a sustainable impact

As travelers increasingly look to make sure their trips are sustainable, what does travel that makes a sustainable impact look like?

Sustainable travel benefits the communities visited as much as it does the traveler. That means preserving the environment and natural resources, as well as ensuring that economic gains from travel stay in the local community and are shared equitably. And according to a survey by Booking.com, 87% of global travelers believe it's important to travel sustainably. 

To meet this need, AAA Travel is working to offer more travel packages that align with 5 of the United Nations' Sustainability Development Goals.

What does that look like in practice? We highlight 5 travel packages that each make a sustainable impact in one of the 5 key areas.

A travel package supporting this United Nations Sustainable Development Goal is the Country Roads of Umbria & Tuscany tour from Insight Vacations. Travelers on this trip visit a weaving workshop in Perugia, Italy, where women are preserving medieval and Renaissance weaving traditions. Founded in 1921 by Giuditta Brozzetti, a woman entrepreneur, the Giuditta Brozzetti Museum Workshop has been passed down from mother to daughter for 4 generations.

As part of Insight Vacations' Make Travel Matter Experiences program, which is designed to positively impact both travelers and destination communities, visitors get to see how the weaving cooperative is preserving centuries-old traditions, including weaving demonstrations on looms that date as far back as the 1700s. They can also peruse crafts for sale, including cushions, bookmarks, and scarves.

In visiting and supporting the project, travelers help empower women via training and employment in weaving and also in e-commerce. They also help preserve one of the few remaining traditional frame hand-weaving workshops in Italy. 

One of the best ways to keep the benefits of travel in the area is to hire a local guide. AAA Member Choice Vacations' Scotland: Isles of Lore & Legend package goes further with a city tour from Invisible Cities, a British organization that trains people who've experienced homelessness to become walking tour guides.

Invisible Cities says their guides “simply live and breathe the city,” sharing their personal insights and experiences alongside historical information. The program aims to support those experiencing homelessness while also eliminating the stigma that they often experience.

A good example can be found on African Travel’s World's Greatest Show & Safari package, where travelers visit the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya. It encompasses almost 100 square miles and is a sanctuary for 70 different mammal species, including endangered rhinos protected by anti-poaching teams. The conservancy re-invests money from visitors into the community, including the Land & Life Foundation, a group that describes itself as “committed to ensuring that local communities receive revenue and tangible benefits from tourism.”

The foundation’s Wildlife Warrior Program gets young people interested in conservation work and seeks to educate the future generation of conservationists. It hosts events and contests for kids, grants scholarships to promising students, and provides them with free safari trips, helping to foster connections between communities and the ecosystems around them. 

African Travel’s World’s Greatest Show & Safari tour includes a donation to support a child's participation in the Wildlife Warrior Program. And if the school schedule permits, travelers can also meet some of the kids benefiting from the program.

Travelers who want to truly see their fish go sea-to-table can book one of Holland America’s Savor My Catch excursions, on which they can reel in their very own catch and have it cooked for them by the ship’s chefs for dinner. Popular on Alaska cruises, Holland America is expanding the excursions to other destinations too.

One of these is the Icelandic Goat Center in Haafell, Iceland. Founded by Jóhanna Thorvaldsdóttir in 1989, it’s one of very few places in the world that breed the unique and endangered Icelandic goat. The breed is descended from goats brought to Iceland by the original settlers in the 8th century for their milk, meat, and cashmere wool.

Few in number, the goats have faced extinction more than once and remain at risk. Travelers on the Icelandic Adventure guided tour from AAA Member Choice Vacations enjoy a visit to the Goat Center and get to meet Jóhanna and her charismatic goats. They also get to sample and buy specialties made on-site, including milk, cheese, sausage, and cashmere textiles. Visitors help support the farm and keep the Icelandic goat going strong after more than 1,100 years.