Criteria for the Meaningful Travel Map

Tourism Cares’ Meaningful Travel Map is an interactive global map that showcases sustainable, authentic, and community-led organizations, products, services, accommodations, and tours, creating a positive impact on local communities, the environment, and travelers. To be featured on the Meaningful Travel Map, organizations must prioritize:

• Community Involvement - Ensuring that tourism brings sustainable economic benefits, especially to those not traditionally impacted positively by tourism.

• Diversity and Inclusion - Valuing people from all backgrounds and perspectives, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, and woman-owned.

• Cultural Preservation - Protecting and respecting local cultural heritage, including traditions, practices, and historical sites.

• Positive Impact - Including non-profits, social enterprises, B Corps, and other organizations dedicated to making a positive impact in tourism.

• Environmental Responsibility - Aligning with Nature Positive Travel & Tourism principles to conserve the environment, enhance biodiversity, and reduce carbon emissions. 

• Local Experiences - Creating immersive experiences that allow guests to gain a deeper understanding of the local people and places they visit.

Map Criteria for Organizations

Base Requirements:

To be included, an organization should be using their business to drive impact in the local community or environment and must:

• Have a tour, sell a product, or host an experience relevant to travelers/tourists.

• Be at least “visitor ready”, i.e. respond to inquiries, maintain a website or social media page, and operate legally (licenses, permits, etc.)

• Be positioned to benefit from additional marketing and connection to the tourism industry. We favor small businesses, up-and-comers, and community-level organizations.

• Follow the ChildSafe Guidelines

• Ensure you conform to Tourism Cares’ animal welfare policy if experiences involve animals, whether in captivity or in the wild.

Additional Requirements:

To be included, Impact Partners must meet at least two of the following:

• Disburses the economic benefit of travel to communities that haven’t traditionally received tourism dollars, while building local capacity (i.e. community tourism)

• Disburses the economic benefit of travel to historically excluded community members (Black, Indigenous, ethnic minority, LGBTQIA+, people living with disabilities).

• Is a registered non-profit, social enterprise (business with social/environmental impact as their primary purpose), community-owned business/cooperative, women-owned, or Certified B Corp.

• The organization has one of the following as central to its business model, mission, and messaging:

• Sustainability/regenerative principles

• Diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility practices

• Protection and preservation of local cultural heritage assets

Criteria for Hotels and Accommodations

To be included, hotel and accommodations should meet the following criteria:

• Be a small, locally or regionally owned business (fewer than 50 employees).

• Have mostly local employees and all employees are paid a living wage.

• Regularly engage with the community, creating positive impact.

• Have a sustainability plan in place that includes mitigation of harmful environmental and social impacts, as well as tracking and reporting of meaningful impact created within the local ecosystem.

• Staff are engaged in the development and implementation of the sustainability plan, including but not limited to:  

• Received proper and regular training of sustainability initiatives. 

• Informed and trained about the natural and cultural heritage of the local area. 

• Encouraged (or required) to share environmental and cultural best practices with guests.  

Tourism Cares reserves the right to approve or deny any submitted Meaningful Map pins. For instance, an organization that otherwise qualifies but receives significant negative feedback from the community or creates environmental degradation is likely to be disqualified. If there are questions regarding your pin entries, our team will be in touch to gather more needed information.