About the Meaningful Travel Map

The Meaningful Travel Map is a curated digital platform that helps travel professionals and responsible travelers discover sustainable travel experiences, businesses, and destinations that prioritize community benefit, environmental stewardship, and cultural respect.

Built by travel industry non-profit, Tourism Cares, the Meaningful Travel Map connects the travel industry to vetted, purpose-driven organizations around the world, making it easier to design trips that strengthen local economies, support livelihoods, and contribute to a more resilient and responsible tourism future.

What is Meaningful Travel?

Sustainable tourism, regenerative travel, responsible travel, meaningful travel - no matter which term you use, it is about creating a positive impact through travel and tourism. At Tourism Cares, we focus our mission and programming around meaningful travel.

Meaningful travel ensures direct benefits for host communities, protects cultural and environmental assets, and connects guests with destinations in a deeper, more responsible way.

A woman mashes food in mortal with a pestle next to a local Thai woman wearing a headscarf.

Examples of Meaningful Travel

From restaurants and retailers to attractions, accommodations, and tour guides, meaningful travel can be experienced across the industry. Partners on the Meaningful Travel Map are vetted through a rigorous process and demonstrate positive impact for people and planet, including:

  • Being hosted and managed by local communities and generating sustainable economic benefits for host communities, especially those not already positively impacted by tourism.

  • Valuing people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

  • Protecting and preserving local cultural heritage assets, both tangible and intangible.

  • Non-profits, social enterprises, B Corps, and other organizations related to the tourism industry that focus on impact.

  • Aligning with Nature Positive Travel & Tourism principles to conserve and improve nature and the environment, enhance biodiversity, and reduce carbon emissions. 

  • Impacting guests in a way that is experiential and immersive and engages them in a deeper understanding of people and place. 

Learn More About Meaningful Travel

What Benefits Does the Map Provide?

  • Spotlights destinations and experiences that are actively working to care for their communities, cultures, and environments.

  • Expands tourism’s positive economic impact by directing travel toward diverse, local, and often overlooked communities.

  • Connects travelers and travel professionals with community-led organizations that are part of the responsible tourism supply chain.

  • Supports the growth of sustainable travel by making it easier to find and integrate meaningful experiences into trips.

  • Amplifies local stories and values through a shareable, embeddable Map that reaches both travelers and the travel trade.

  • Strengthens local partners by helping them build the skills and confidence needed to engage with the global travel industry.

View the Map

Impact by the Numbers

The Meaningful Travel Map strengthens impact across the travel industry by connecting the travel trade and sustainably-minded travelers with a trusted network of nearly 800 organizations around the world that are focused on creating positive social and environmental impact for their local communities. Through exposure to major travel industry organizations and networks such as ASTA, AAA Travel, ATTA, USTOA, and NTA, the Map elevates vetted, community-centered partners and integrates them into mainstream travel planning and itineraries. The result is greater visibility for responsible tourism businesses, stronger alignment across the value chain, and a travel ecosystem that benefits both people and places. Here’s a snapshot of the Meaningful Travel Map’s impact in action:

Map pin icon on a circular background

50 destinations represented across the world

Group of people icon with a sun or light rays overhead

750+ organizations introduced to travelers and the trade

Icon of the Earth showing continents in blue within a circular border.

Visited by users in 130 countries across 6 continents

  • "Through the Tourism Cares Meaningful Travel Map, we now have a single source to find vetted sustainable businesses for our clients. We are thrilled to have this tool and know that we can deliver authentic products for travelers."

    —Allison Villasenor, Former Managing Director, Travel Product, Partnerships and Innovation at AAA Northeast

  • "Working with Tourism Cares has been by far the best return on investment we’ve made in terms of direct impact, sustainability, and business growth.""

    —Malia Asfour, Former Managing Director, Jordan Tourism Board North America

  • "Being a part of the Tourism Cares family of collaborators has increased our visibility and credibility. This partnership has been a godsend to hard-working LGBTQ+ tour providers like us during these unprecedented times."

    —Andy Sacher, Founder / Executive & Creative Director (he/him/his) The Lavender Effect

Featured Map Partners

  • Person wearing a face mask holding a green leafy plant on a rooftop with city skyscrapers in the background.

    Thailand: Cafe Jardin

  • A man giving a speech or tour to a group of people on a city street in front of a large mural mural depicting black lives matter protest scene.

    Richmond: Mending Walls

  • Elderly woman cooking rice in a large pot on a stove, holding a jar of spices or herbs, in a kitchen setting.

    Puerto Rico: CMTAS Yauco

  • Four people posing for a photo in front of a large, rusty red wooden door with brick and stone wall background. Two are standing in the middle, smiling and hugging, while two others are taking the photo.

    Newport: Rhode Island Red Food Tours

  • Two women wearing headscarves cooking together in a kitchen. One woman is slicing or preparing food in a pot, while the other stands nearby smiling and wearing an apron. The kitchen has shelves with jars and kitchen items.

    Jordan: Iraq Al-Amir

View the Map