TRAVEL FOR CHANGE: Top community tourism holidays for 2024

Eight community tourism tours for positive impact in 2024

1.Beit Khayrat Souf – Jordan’s Ancient Wonders and Jordan: A land of Ancient Treasures and Empires from Just You and Travelsphere  

 Beit Khayrat Souf is a women-owned and managed café in Souf, started with the purpose of combating women’s unemployment and building a strong community of women leaders. This café was the dream of Sumia, a Jordanian woman who took out a personal loan, bearing the risk with the hope of empowering more women for years to come.

With 25 women currently employed by Beit Khayrat, the café allows guests to immerse themselves in Jordanian culture and cookery. During the  Jordan’s Ancient Wonders tour with Travelsphere travellers and Jordan: A land of Ancient Treasures and Empires with Just You, guests will help to inspire more Jordanian women to find employment and empowerment – whilst also supporting a launch pad for youths to volunteer and immerse themselves in other cultures too.

The women employed by the cafe support in daily management, service and cooking. In order to engage more women in income generation activities, women also work from home to make preserves, which are sold back to Beit Khayrat Souf for consumption and sales to visitors.

Planeterra’s work with Travelsphere, Just You and other partners has allowed Beit Khayrat Souf to become profitable and grow their impact.

• Tours from £2199 pp departing April 2024 
• More information on Jordan’s Ancient Wonders from Travelsphere 
•  and Jordan – A Land of Ancient Treasures and Empires from Just You 

2. Asociación de Mujeres Artesanas Zoológico Mágico – Mexico: A Mexican Adventure from Just You 

This newly formed cooperative was founded by 13 women who want to preserve the Zapotec culture and the cherished artisanal process of creating alebrijes, Mexican folk art sculptures. Alebrijes hold significant importance in Oaxacan culture, and their preservation from one generation to the next is crucial. 

Their workshop is a haven of fantasy and art, where they breathe life into various animal creatures they can imagine. Each piece is meticulously crafted with their own hands, skilfully combining vibrant colours that enhance the beauty of the wood. 

The increase in production of unofficial replicas has eaten into the income of true artisans, but Zoologico Mágico with tourism operators like Just You, the cooperative can continue to share the rich Zapoteca culture and the fascinating art of alebrijes with the wider world.

This additional revenue stream has significantly boosted the income and overall growth of the community in a project which now positively impacts 18 women and youths.

• Tours from £4449pp departing November 2024 
• More information on A Mexican Adventure from Just You  

3.Mi Cafecito coffee tour – Costa Rica: The Best of Costa Rica from Travelsphere  

In 2009, San Miguel de Sarapiqui in Costa Rica was affected by a massive earthquake. The collapse of the main road left the community with no access to services or customers for several years. As a result, they were unable to access the opportunities that other regions were receiving from the growth of the tourism industry in Costa Rica.  

In 2011, the Coopesarapiqui cooperative established the Mi Cafecito Coffee Tour to try to find ways for the coffee producers to earn more money. While it was a good idea, in theory, they did not receive enough visitors to sustain the business and were at the point of shutting down. 

 Planeterra worked with a small community coffee cooperative to develop the Mi Cafecito program, which includes a meal experience at their on-site restaurant, and other related tourism services in San Miguel de Sarapiqui. As the town’s main cooperative, Coopesarapiquí brings together more than 200 small farmers that produce organic coffee from the four regions of San Carlos, Sarapiqui, Heredia and Alajuela. 

 Mi Cafecito is now a successful tourism and agriculture co-op which has created many employment opportunities for members of the community as well as connected local farmers and artisans with a market to sell their products, significantly improving the economic development of the community. Travelling on The Best of Costa Rica tour with Travelsphere gives travellers the chance to go on the coffee tour, learn about the lives of Costa Rica’s coffee producers and sample the coffee.

• Tours from £3649 pp departing February 2024 
• More information and The Best of Costa Rica from Travelsphere

4.Oodles of Noodles – Vietnam: Invitation to Vietnam & the Temples of Angkor from Travelsphere  

When guests book an Invitation to Vietnam & the Temples of Angkor tour from Travelsphere, they are helping to support the Oodles of Noodles project, a social enterprise which helps at-risk youngsters. 

Created by STREETS International, Oodles of Noodles offers a professional-level hospitality and culinary training program for adolescents, empowering them to practice skills such as English language proficiency and presentation, critical for success in the hospitality industry. As a result, many of the project’s participants have gone on to work at large five-star hotels in neighbouring cities. 

During Travelsphere’s Invitation to Vietnam & the Temples of Angkor tour, travellers will visit Oodles of Noodles to join a noodle-making class led by the trainees and learn about the twenty-six different types of noodles available in Hoi An. 

• Tours from £36249 pp departing February 2024
• More information on Invitation to Vietnam & the Temples of Angkor from Travelsphere 

5. Sthree café – Highlights from Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka – Pearl of the Indian Ocean from Travelsphere and Just You

The Sthree Café in Kandy works with women in the local community to increase their income, strengthen their financial independence, and help them become economically empowered. The Sthree Café employs local women, providing them with a fair wage and the skills and training needed to work in the service sector. The café serves fresh, locally sourced, seasonal vegetarian cuisine and provides a traditional Sri Lankan dining experience.  

Guests that book the Highlights of Sri Lanka Tour with Travelsphere or Sri Lanka – Pearl of the Indian Ocean with Just You are also helping to donate vital supplies to a school in Nuwara Eliya, which will be visited during the tour. 

• Tours from £2849 pp departing from March 2024 
• More information on Highlights of Sri Lanka with Travelsphere  
• More information on Sri Lanka – Pearl of the Indian Ocean with Just You 

6.Navajo Taco Food Truck – US: Epic Wonders of the National Parks and National Parks, Mount Rushmore and Little Big Horn from Travelsphere and Just You

When travellers book the Epic Wonders of The National Parks US tour from Travelsphere or National Parks, Mount Rushmore and Little Big Horn from Just You, they are supporting the Planeterra and DinéHózhó project ‘Native Grill’ – a food truck run by a local Navajo family, which they will visit. DinéHózhó aims to provide economic opportunities to communities in Navajo Nation Indigenous-owned businesses connecting them to the tourist industry.

• Tours from £3849 pp departing from May 2024 
• More information on Epic Wonders of the National Parks with Travelsphere  
• More information on National Parks, Mount Rushmore and Little Big Horn with Just You 

7. The Ccaccaccollo Women’s Weaving Co-op – Epic Peru and Highlights of Peru from Travelsphere and Just You

Ccaccaccollo is an Indigenous community located in the Andean area of Cuzco, Peru. It is inhabited primarily by 140 Quechua-speaking families who maintain a traditional way of life, with many involved in agriculture. 

 To preserve their rich cultural heritage and earn additional income, the Ccaccaccollo Women’s Weaving Co-op was established. The Co-op supports a community close to the Inca Trail, funding training programmes to help bring back weaving traditions that have been lost over generations, and helping communities benefit from the tourism industry. Through their efforts, they are reviving the lost weaving traditions of previous generations. 

Planeterra partnered with the Ccaccaccollo community in 2005 to establish a women’s weaving cooperative, aiming to create economic opportunities for the women. It supported the co-op with capacity-building programs, facilities, and equipment. On Travelsphere’s Epic Peru tour and Just You’s Highlights of Peru tours, guests will visit the project and learn all about the weaving and dyeing techniques used to create traditional garments and the opportunity to purchase products from the women who made them, in the knowledge that their purchase is having a direct impact. 

• Tours from £4149 pp departing from May 2024
• More information on Epic Peru from Travelsphere 
• More information on Highlights of Peru from Just You 

8. Salaam Baalak Trust Delhi:  Grand Tour of India with Travelsphere  

India is home to the highest concentration of street children in the world, with over 18 million children living on the streets. 

Planeterra partnered with the Salaam Baalak Trust, an organisation that offers safe housing, counselling, education, and support to over 5,000 children in New Delhi to create their City Walk program: a unique guided tour of Paharganj, in central Delhi, led by some of the children of Salaam Baalak, offering a unique insight into the city. 

  This additional source of income allows the organisation to empower more youths, offering them a chance to lead a life of dignity and acquire essential skills for their future. The trust manages five safe homes across the city and help at risk youth learn new skills, and receive support for scholarships, job placements, and other resources. 

On Travelsphere’s Grand Tour of India holiday, guests will join a City Walk to see Paharganj from a local’s perspective and to help support this crucial local cooperative.  

• Tours from £3899 pp departing from February 2024
• More information on Grand Tour of India with Travelsphere