Tourism Cares North American Meaningful Travel Summit
The North American Meaningful Travel Summit, held annually in the spring or fall, connects industry professionals with local changemakers in destinations throughout the United States. What started as volunteer efforts has evolved into a global investment in social and environmental impact organizations that create lasting change for communities worldwide.
The event is centered around three common themes: Inspiration, Education, and Activation, with a goal to create immersive exchanges that lead to product development, new opportunities for local businesses, and professional development in sustainable tourism for industry professionals through in-person connection and hands-on education.
The Summit provides:
Networking opportunities with other travel and tourism professionals that span the breadth of the industry
Education sessions around universal topics in sustainability and meaningful travel
Connections to experiences (including tours, hands-on activities, and volunteering) with vetted non-profits and social enterprises in the local host community
Actionable best practices in destination stewardship
Resources to help companies and individuals activate commitments around sustainability
An opportunity for the host destination to share their unique story - including sustainability practices, future plans, challenges, and opportunities
Upcoming Events:
Immediate Past Programs:
WILLAMETTE VALLEY, 2024
2023
VICTORIA, 2022
Host a Meaningful Travel Summit
Through partnerships with destinations, the Meaningful Travel Summit becomes a vehicle to create more inclusion and representation in travel - highlighting destinations in a unique way by inviting community members and change-makers to sit center stage and tell their stories. Destinations are welcome to submit a letter of interest, expressing their commitment to the Tourism Cares Meaningful Travel Program. Learn more about hosting by clicking the links below.
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Since 2003, Tourism Cares has donated more than $1.2 million in grants and volunteer time to destinations around the world.
More than 53,000 volunteer hours donated at dozens of sites around the world
Hundreds of non-profits, social enterprises + local businesses impacted economically
7,000 industry pros brought together to build relationships and use their businesses for good
See us in action.
SPOTLIGHT: Jordan
This extraordinary event in the world of travel and social impact brought together an accomplished group of industry leaders to explore the power of tourism to drive positive social change.
Our goal for the program was to introduce delegates to a Jordan beyond Petra, connecting them with authentic market-ready experiences through 4 days of exploration through the country. Those experiences were added to the Meaningful Map of Jordan, an interactive tool for travel providers to connect directly with changemakers on the ground.
SPOTLIGHT: Peru
In 2012, Tourism Cares brought its delegation to Peru for our first global program. Attendees volunteered and met local changemakers using travel as a way to create more inclusive social and economic impact. A result of the event was the creation of Turismo Cuida, the first sustainability-focused tourism non-profit in Peru.
SPOTLIGHT: New Orleans
Throughout our history, Tourism Cares has brought its community to New Orleans on three separate occasions. Before Hurricane Katrina, two years after, and again 10 years later, we’ve seen tremendous transformation in one of our most beloved cities. In 2018, we celebrated the resiliency of the people of New Orleans, focusing on the incredible social impact work so many organizations have made their mission. We partnered with nearly a dozen social enterprises and non-profits who center their work around building capacity, creating access to fresh foods, providing job training for area youth and keeping the culture of New Orleans alive.
Summit Locations since 2003
Jordan
Peru
Colombia
New York, NY
New Orleans, LA
Mount Vernon, VA
Biloxi, MS
Gettysburg, PA
Virginia City, NV
San Francisco, CA
Mystic, CT
Pensacola, FL
Sacramento, CA
Plymouth, MA
San Pedro, CA
Miami, FL
Loudon County, VA
Seattle, WA
Minneapolis, MN
Atlanta, GA
Providence, RI
Toronto, ON
Oakland, CA
Detroit, MI
Marathon, FL
San Juan/Ponce, Puerto Rico
North Lake Tahoe, CA
Victoria, BC
Tromsø and Svalbard, Norway
Meaningful Travel Summit Partners
Learn more about just some of the partners we worked for many of our programs. Support their good works by visiting their sites, following on social media or making a donation.
Conservation/Volunteer
Social/Community
Historic/Cultural
SPOTLIGHT: THE PEOPLE + PLACES OF TOURISM CARES
Plimoth Patuxet | Tourism Cares with Plimoth 2014
Our host during our Meaningful Travel Summit event in 2014, volunteers had the opportunity to work at the Wampanoag Homesite, located in Historic Patuxet along the banks of the Eel River. With Indigenous people as their guides, volunteers built matt covered homes, or wetus, in preparation for the winter season.