Global Partnerships are vital to successful economic development, and sustainable tourism plays an important role in improving the lives of people and protecting our planet. Global Family Travels is excited to play a part in fostering economic growth, by promoting sustainable trips that preserve cultures and build bridges!
Last month, we introduced the topic of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG), and how we support two of them: quality education (goal #4) and gender equality (goal #5) through our Learn, Serve, and Immerse tours. Today, we are excited to share two more UNSDGs and how sustainable tourism helps play a key role in providing equitable jobs and economic growth:
• Global Partnerships (UNSDG #17) : As stated by the U.N., “successful sustainable development agenda requires partnerships between governments, the private sector and civil society. These inclusive partnerships built upon principles and values, a shared vision, and shared goals that place people and the planet at the center, are needed at the global, regional, national and local level.
• Sustainable economic growth and decent work for all (UNSDG#8): “Roughly half the world’s population still lives on the equivalent of about US$2 a day. And in too many places, having a job doesn’t guarantee the ability to escape from poverty. This slow and uneven progress requires us to rethink and retool our economic and social policies aimed at eradicating poverty.”
Tourism is one of the driving forces of global economic growth, and currently accounts for 1 in 11 jobs worldwide. With access to decent work opportunities in the tourism sector, the global labor force, particularly youth and women, benefit from enhanced skills and professional development.
At Global Family Travels, our mission is to Learn, Serve and Immerse, using travel as a means to build bridges and to foster global citizens. Our trips provide deeply rewarding service learning activities made possible by our partnerships with local community organizations whose missions are to effect positive social change that touches both individuals and families. Our valued partners share our commitment to sustainable travel focused on our 3 pillars of learn, serve, and immerse, which are aimed at directly improving the lives of people and the places we visit.
Some of the benefits of developing partnerships through sustainable tourism include:
• Expanding job opportunities and increasing income
• Integrating local economy
• Building future capacity
• Promoting community pride
• Higher quality of life for local population
Immersive Trips in support of Global Partnerships and Economic Growth:
Embracing the benefits above, we highlight some examples of the good work of some of our partners:
Take our trips to Nicaragua for example, where our collaboration with
FNE International, helps to advance educational and community development projects. Like our year-long Transformational Travel Connections program that offers U.S. and Nicaraguan Youth the opportunity to connect in a cultural exchange over important sustainable issues, using UNSDGs in pre and post travel workshops.
Our trip to Zimbabwe is an example of how we are protecting the planet, building future capacity and expanding job opportunities. On this tour, we are collaborating with the Painted Dog Research Trust USA, whose mission is to support scientific research through projects that benefit the conservation of the highly endangered Painted Dog, while also building capacity for tomorrow’s conservationists by meaningfully incorporating college students in Zimbabwe and the US in a STEM related curriculum.
Lastly, on our Peru: Learn, Serve & Immerse trip, our collaboration with Awamaki helps rural Andean women to start and run their own businesses, giving them access to reliable sources of income to lift themselves out of poverty.
There is an African proverb that says, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far go together”. If engaging with and empowering people in a developing communities resonates with you and your family, Global Family Travels provides a range of tours through which you can play a part in making a positive and sustainable impact and supporting partners who do good work in our global community!