Glossary of Terms:

Customized: Tours are personalized to meet travelers’ specific needs.

Packaged: Itinerary and lodging are pre-arranged, often including 1 – 2 meals per day and transportation.

No cost to you: It’s simple. You pay nothing for our service and there is no obligation.

No greenwashing: No misleading claims about being “green” or “eco.”

EnviroMedia Social Marketing says greenwashing is “when a company or organization spends more time and money claiming to be ‘green’ through advertising and marketing than actually implementing business practices that minimize environmental impact. It’s whitewashing, but with a green brush.”

One point of contact: Wiser World has 30 travel partners based around the world

Packaged sustainable tours: Pre-arranged itineraries that meet your group or individual travel needs while at the same time minimizing negative impacts of tourism and supporting long term benefits to local people, communities, and environments. For example, when possible, accommodations and restaurants are locally owned, local guides are used, the tour seeks to lessen negative environmental impacts, the tour operator participates in a carbon offset program, etc.

Responsible travel (Also known as responsible tourism, and eco- and green travel): Ethical travel that strives to create winning outcomes for all stakeholders, reducing negative impacts while creating long term benefits to the environment, local people, and their communities. A high level of travelers’ enjoyment and satisfaction is sought while raising awareness about the need for green alternatives and sustainability, and supporting cultures and environments.

Ultimate convenience: Why spend your valuable time searching for the right trip? We’ll do it for you.

Additional Terms, as Defined by Planterra Foundation:

Sustainable tourism: Sustainable Tourism is a way of managing tourism activities in order to avoid exceeding the carrying capacity of the local communities and natural or historic resources. As with responsible tourism, this involves a balancing of positive activities with the avoidance of negative or damaging activities. Sustainable travel is carried out through such practices as traveling in smaller groups, and being aware of how to visit an historical site without damaging it; aka. no “souvenirs!”

Responsible tourism: Responsible Tourism is a term that places emphasis on the responsibility of the traveller to be respectful of the host country, its history, and its cultural and natural resources. As such, every precaution should be taken to avoid any activities that may negatively impact local economies, cultures or natural resources.

The responsible traveler should also consider actively engaging in activities that have a positive effect on the local communities visited, to ensure that tourism is viable for future generations.

Green travel: Green travel involves selecting travel options that have minimal or positive environmental impact. Some examples of green tourism practices are: smaller scale operations, innovative recycling and reusing programs within hotels, volunteer conservation efforts, low-impact camping and offsetting your carbon emissions

Choosing travel options that are green can help to preserve the environment for future generations to experience.

Community based travel: Community-based tourism allows travelers an opportunity to spend time in local communities, and learn about their way of life, their environment, and their culture. This creates a cross-cultural experience, while also bringing the financial benefits of tourism to the local economy.