Colombia: Sustainable and Green Tourism

We’re living through unprecedented times and Covid-19 has not only stopped the world in it’s tracks, but has created a realm for people to think about a great deal of things and gain a greater perspective of what’s important in life. Part of this mindshift will cross over into how people wish to travel whereby meaningful experiences and sustainable travel will be an even stronger focus of adventure travel. Emphasis on immersive, interactive and connectivity with local culture, people and the environment is therefore a core element of our newly created itineraries. 

As part of our commitment to the Future of Tourism, we proudly support developing new trips in countries who are making a difference to sustainable and green tourism. We actively seek out these destinations with creating new and exciting itineraries and we’re really excited with creating a new adventure trip in Colombia given the great work they are doing.

New Opportunities

New opportunities in tourism are emerging which is welcomed by the local and indigenous people as a source of income, personal development and cultural awareness. After years of conflict and being forced to work in drug production, the local people are very welcoming of tourists to their home regions and are so passionate to share their country and knowledge with you. Colombia’s tourism potential is huge, especially in the more remote areas with opportunities of eco-tourism, agriculture tourism (coffee plantations), mountain & jungle hiking, river rafting, bird watching, camping, rainforest exploration, etc. As crime rates decrease, the country’s image abroad improves, infrastructure improvements are made to the highway system and the government continues to push development of sustainable tourism. These are just some of the reasons why we want to do our part and help support this incredible country. For the local communities, the remote communities and the people.

Following an in-depth process of sourcing a local operator who aligns with our sustainable goals and regenerative aims, we’re proud to be working with one of the oldest yet forward thinking operators who have a strong focus on Ethnocultural, Botanical, Archaeological and Ecological Treks whilst also protecting the welfare of indigenous communities and the country’s ecological, social & cultural heritage.

Through a comprehensive research trip to Colombia, we pulled together a unique itinerary in order to showcase the highlights and history of this incredible country in a sustainable and meaningful manner. 

11 Sustainable Tourism Endeavours

Below is a glance into the 11 sustainable operations that are intrinsic to our new Colombian adventure:

1. 1. Help generate direct and indirect jobs to communities of the area and provide economic contributions, adding positively to their development and quality of life;
   2. We work with a local operator who was one of the first companies to have rural guides, both male and female, providing intellectual growth with the local population;
   3. We create employment opportunities for local people with decent work conditions. The guides are kept fair payment scheme;
   4. We ensure the training of our local teams (office staff, guides, crew, etc.) on areas such as customer service, biosafety protocols, sustainability, safe operations, etc.;
   5. Our trip has been designed to respect the local communities, their heritage, values and traditions together with environmental and cultural well-being and conservation;
   6. We strive to help the progress and protection of the ecological, social and cultural heritage of Colombia through greater understanding of this incredible country and it’s people; 
   7. Our itinerary has been designed to support a broader range of areas and communities across Colombia and not just focus on hot spots;
   8. We are helping support a local partnership with WADI Colombia, a company that is responsible for connecting companies with recyclers in the city to achieve an adequate disposal of waste; 
   9. Our tree planting escapades continue across the planet from Beijing China, to the Ogwen Valley Snowdonia UK and now to Colombia. A whopping 800 endemic trees have been planted in the indigenous community of Katanzama in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta;
   10. During Covid-19 our local operator thoughtfully carried out a Crowdfunding campaign and collected $17,000,000 COP to supply food and protective items for the guides, translators and cooks of Ciudad Perdida.
   11. Our local operator is also currently working in partnership with local communities to help them implement and manage COVID-19 measures for their own safety and well-being and that of visitors to the region. In November 2020, a team trekked to the areas of The Lost City to support this process accompanied by local authorities.

We honestly can’t speak highly enough of Colombia and the huge strides that it’s making in sustainable tourism operations. Yes, there are still no-go areas of Colombia, like there are in many other countries and even cities, however whilst we were there in 2019, we felt safe and were in awe of the openness and friendliness of the people in the many areas we were so fortunate to visit.

So when the time is right and the world of travel can start spinning again, we highly recommend adding Colombia to your list of adventure destinations. Colombia is the best kept secret of South America.

Jim, Chief Ewe (and massive fan of Colombia)

Travel is an investment and privilege that should be treated with due respect. We encourage you to view our trips in this manner to elevate the value of the experience and sustainable travel.