Benefits for Local Communities Shape Offerings for Regionally Focused Travel Companies

Like any companies that obtain B Corp
certification,
travel organizations must undergo rigorous assessment related to their impact on
workers, community, environment and customers; and they must also respond to
questions about their governance structure and accountability. For those
regionally focused travel companies, this commitment hits particularly close to
home.

“I just hoped to create a company that is a benefit for my state and not add to
the negative impacts of tourism,” said Debbie Misajon, founder of The
Coconut Traveler, an on-site
destination-management company (the “travel agent’s travel agent”) in the
Hawaiian Islands. In March, the company received B Corp certification. Its
impact on the local community, by stimulating a circular flow of capital among
Hawaiian-owned small businesses and non-profit organizations, was particularly
relevant.

“In Hawaii, there is a saying. It’s to ‘travel pono.’ It means to explore with
care, offering your kokua (help) to preserve our natural resources, cultures
and communities,” Misajon said. For The Coconut Traveler, this means actively
seeking mission-aligned partners to create a multiplier impact in the islands.
From surfing instructors to musicians, the company seeks out Hawaiian-owned
businesses to fill its bespoke travel itineraries. “Our ethos is to keep as much
revenue as possible in the islands and to give visitors the opportunity to
engage with the community on a deeper level.”

Similarly, Up Norway, a luxury travel curator and
Certified B Corp, notes on its website that “our love and enthusiasm for Norway
shines through the experiences we create.” Its team is committed to connecting
travelers with vibrant, hyper-local experiences that benefit both travelers and
residents.

And in the United Kingdom, Byway works with local
destination-marketing organizations to highlight lesser-known locales and taps
into technology to fill its itineraries with experiences that benefit pockets of
communities normally overlooked by travelers.

“Our itinerary-creation tech penalizes hotspots and favors regenerative
tourism,”
said Cat Jones, Byway’s founder and CEO. As a
flight-free,
B Corp-certified holiday operator that optimizes for enjoyment through grounded
transportation instead of speed, Byway travelers naturally get off the beaten
path.

This intentional effort to infuse economic resources beyond popular attractions,
combined with a personal sense of pride and care for a place and its people,
creates the conditions for well-supported communities that prioritize residents’
wellbeing. Because of this, regionally focused travel companies are uniquely
situated to ensure tourism creates positive ripple effects in the places where
they operate.

“Regionality — or local experiences — is at the root of our focus, as we know
that allowing travelers to connect with the right people and places in an
authentic place is at the core of transformation,” said Up Norway founder
Torunn Tronsvang. The company incorporates activities such as crafts and
cultural
history
into its itineraries, and partners with musicians and storytellers who bring
local identities to life for travelers.

On this front, building relationships, supporting partners and meaningfully
“giving back” are crucial. Yet, what this looks like in practice is often opaque
in the tourism industry — not so for regionally focused companies that keep that
sense of community front and center. Up Norway, for example, publishes an
economic nutrition label that
specifies how money is distributed throughout its value chain, with a detailed
explanation of what this means for each expenditure area.

For its part, The Coconut Traveler has a responsible tourism
fee included with every
trip itinerary. It is calculated using the globally accepted annual carbon
footprint per person, the number of days they are visiting, and their method of
travel to Hawaii. 100 percent of these fees are donated to mission-aligned local
organizations.

“Our guests are made aware of the exceptional work of local volunteer
organizations that directly impact them during their visit, such as the Hawaii
Association of Watershed Partnerships — whose efforts manage watershed
activities, which have a positive impact on our environment and community,”
Misajon said. “Organically, tourists enjoy these benefits while they’re in the
islands.”

Transparently sharing this information with travelers and helping them care for
the places they visit in turn creates healthier, flourishing places where travel
businesses, the people who own them, and their communities thrive. As the
tourism industry seeks to integrate more regenerative practices into its
products and services, this place-based intentionality underscored with B Corp
accountability promises to be a powerful combination.

“Sustainability is not just about being carbon neutral. It is about representing
the diversity both in the ecology of the flora and fauna, and also in the
culture,” Tronsvang said. “Ecology is about relationships with the land. To
focus on regionality, we help preserve and deepen the human-nature connection.”

Published May 9, 2022 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST

JoAnna Haugen

Founder

Rooted

JoAnna Haugen is a writer, speaker and solutions advocate who has worked in the travel and tourism industry for her entire career. She is also the founder of Rooted — a solutions platform at the intersection of sustainable tourism, social impact and storytelling. A returned US Peace Corps volunteer, international election observer and intrepid traveler, JoAnna helps tourism professionals decolonize travel and support sustainability using strategic communication skills.