Meaningful Travel Fund

The Meaningful Travel Fund, an exciting new funding initiative launched by Tourism Cares and the UnTours Foundation, aims to support small, locally-owned tourism businesses around the world by empowering them to expand their efforts in sustainability, community engagement, and cultural preservation. The Meaningful Travel Fund leverages the UnTours Foundation's Reset Tourism Fund to provide affordable capital to purpose-driven tourism businesses in destinations hosting Tourism Cares’ Meaningful Travel Programs. 

By working together, Tourism Cares and the UnTours Foundation will secure philanthropic contributions to create a sustainable pool of investment capital that will be continuously recycled amongst partners featured on Tourism Cares’ Meaningful Travel Map for years to come. Beyond financial support, both organizations will provide additional resources to help these businesses expand their reach and deepen their impact.

The ultimate goal? To channel more capital and support to small tourism enterprises that are not only growing their businesses but also creating meaningful, measurable impact in their communities and on the planet.

Contact John Sutherland at John.Sutherland@tourismcares.org or click below to make a donation to the John P. Stachnik Memorial Fund, which will directly support the Meaningful Travel Fund.

What is Meaningful Travel?

Meaningful travel goes beyond the typical tourism experience — it’s about ensuring direct benefits for host communities, protecting cultural and environmental assets, and connecting guests with destinations in a deeper, more responsible way. Meaningful travel: 

  • Empowers Local Communities

  • Celebrates Diversity 

  • Preserves Cultural Heritage

  • Supports Impact-Driven Organizations 

  • Protects Nature and the Environment 

  • Creates Transformative Guest Experiences 

Tourism Cares Meaningful Travel Map

The Tourism Cares Meaningful Travel Map is a digital tool that connects the travel industry with sustainable, community-led enterprises, products, services, accommodations, and tours. As demand for responsible tourism grows, the Map provides an essential resource to drive positive social and environmental impact in local communities worldwide. 

Tourism Cares & The UnTours Foundation

Tourism Cares is a 501(c)(3) U.S.-based non-profit dedicated to advancing the travel industry’s positive social, environmental, and economic impact to help people and places thrive. With over 20 years of commitment, Tourism Cares works to ensure that travel is a force for good by uniting, inspiring, and activating all sectors of the travel trade. By empowering its members and the industry to integrate sustainability and meaningful travel into their operations, Tourism Cares aims to foster a culture of impactful and responsible travel.

The UnTours Foundation–born out of the travel company, UnTours (the world’s very first Certified B Corporation)-has a 30-year history of providing flexible, affordable, and transformative investment funding to change-making entrepreneurs across the world. In 2023, it launched the Reset Tourism Fund to drive capital specifically to tourism businesses who represent the best of the future of travel. 

SPOTLIGHT: MEANINGFUL TRAVEL WITH THAILAND

Learn how ‘The Land of Smiles’ is working to amplify their country’s rich culture while positively impacting its local people, communities and environment. Plus, checking out Thailand’s Meaningful Travel Map - full of local Thai partners who are making a difference in their areas.