Voluntourism international guidelines released

New E-Publication on Voluntourism Announced

The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) today announced the launch of the new e-publication "The International Voluntourism Guidelines for Commercial Tour Operators" http://www.ecotourism.org/voluntourism-guidelines), which has been developed through a collaborative research project supported by the Planeterra Foundation.

The e-publication was launched at TIES’ annual international conference, the Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference (ESTC), being held in Monterey, California

Dr. Kelly Bricker, TIES Chair said, "We are thrilled to announce the new Voluntourism Guidelines and to share this comprehensive tool with our members around the world. Our aim is to positively contribute to the growing field of voluntourism by providing a practical tool for international voluntourism providers, and we believe that by collaborating with a diverse range of voluntourism practitioners and industry leaders, we’ve been able to gather and utilize some of the latest research, practical knowledge and applications in the field that will help voluntourism providers plan and manage their programs in a responsible and sustainable manner."

In addition to information about relevant guidelines, codes of conduct and resources related to volunteer travel and sustainable tourism, the Voluntourism Guidelines include important insights into key challenges and opportunities for tour operators, through examples of voluntourism operators including Global Vision International (GVI), Calabash Tours (South Africa), Voluntario Global (Argentina) and G Adventures.

For more information on the International Voluntourism Guidelines for Commercial Tour Operators, and to download the e-publication, go to: http://www.ecotourism.org/voluntourism-guidelines.

Valere Tjolle
CLICK HERE FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM SPECIAL OFFERS