How to Join the Meaningful Travel Map

By joining the Meaningful Travel Map, you become a Tourism Cares Impact Partner, gaining the opportunity to share your story, build partnerships, and benefit from the impact of tourism.

Through the Map, your business is discovered by travel advisors, tour operators, and industry leaders who are actively looking to work with community-led, impact-driven partners and suppliers. It’s not about mass exposure; it’s about building the right connections. The Map helps open doors to thoughtful visitation, responsible itinerary development, and meaningful, long-term relationships with travel brands and organizations that share your values.

Tourism Cares supports you every step of the way. All approved Impact Partners receive guided onboarding, tourism-readiness support, access to training and educational resources, and ongoing engagement through updates, consultation opportunities, and learning designed to help local partners succeed with the travel trade.

Explore the criteria below to see if your organization is a good fit for the Meaningful Travel Map. Accommodation providers, click here, Destination Management Companies (DMCs), click here.

Do You Qualify for the Meaningful Travel Map?

Base Requirements: 

To be included on the Meaningful Travel Map, Impact Partners must meet all five of the following requirements:

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You currently work with—or are open to working with—tour operators, travel advisors, Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs), or Destination Management Companies (DMCs) to grow your business or generate more impact.

1.

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Your organization directly offers a product, service, or experience that is relevant to travelers and the travel trade (the network of businesses that sell and promote travel).

2.

You must be ready to welcome visitors or bookings, with a basic online presence (website or social media), and clear information on how to visit, book, or engage.

3.

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Your work proactively contributes to community benefit, environmental responsibility, and/or cultural preservation, without causing harm to people, animals, or the environment (Click here to review Tourism Cares’ child safety and animal welfare policies). 

4.

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You are a small businesses, emerging initiative, non-profit and/or community-based organization that goes beyond the mainstream tourism model to create meaningful impact. 

Please note, large or well-established companies with basic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs are less likely to qualify, especially if they’re already well-connected to the travel trade.

5.

Additional Requirements:

Your organization must meet two or more of the following Impact Areas as part of your core mission, business model, and/or public messaging:

Governance + Business Model

Your organization is:

  • Registered non-profit, social enterprise, community-owned business, or cooperative;

  • Women-owned; or

  • Certified B Corp

Social + Community

Your organization is:

  • Owned/operated by and/or directly beneficial to historically excluded communities (Black, Indigenous, ethnic minority, people of color, LGBTQIA+, people living with disabilities); or

  • Creates local jobs or reinvests in the community, specifically in areas that currently lack significant economic impact from tourism

Environmental

  • Significantly and actively minimizes or offsets environmental harm through efforts like reducing waste, water use, or emissions; and

  • Goes beyond minimization by actively restoring or protecting ecosystems, biodiversity, or natural resources; and

  • Has a sustainability policy, sustainability training for staff, and sustainability communications for guests

Educational + Awareness Building

Your organization:

  • Offers immersive, place-based experiences that connect travelers with local knowledge;

  • Actively preserves, protects, or enhances cultural heritage and/or local traditions;

  • Inspires behavior change toward more responsible travel; or

  • Communicates values of sustainability or social impact through storytelling and interpretation

Apply to Join the Map

Examples of Map Partners by Impact Category

While not an exhaustive list, the following examples help demonstrate the range of organizations that qualify for the Meaningful Travel Map

    • Community-based tourism initiatives

    • Indigenous-owned or -led hospitality businesses

    • Artisan cooperatives and craft collectives offering visitor experiences

    • Culinary and food traditions programs rooted in place or identity

    • Cultural centers or heritage museums offering educational experiences

    • Regenerative farms with guest activities or stays

    • Nature preserves, sanctuaries, and rewilding projects that welcome visitors

    • Wildlife rehabilitation centers or conservation organizations with tours

    • Eco-lodges or nature-based accommodations with minimal footprint

    • Organizations practicing or teaching permaculture or agroforestry

    • Social enterprises that use tourism to support a broader social mission

    • Businesses owned by or empowering historically excluded groups

    • Companies offering job training, education, or equity-focused hiring through tourism

    • Nonprofits or NGOs with a tourism-facing program or product

    • Adventure or eco-tour operators with a commitment to responsible practices

    • Walking tours or storytelling-based experiences centered on local narratives

    • Tour companies specializing in heritage, ecology, or community impact

    • Restaurants or food businesses committed to ethical sourcing, food justice, or zero-waste practices

    • Breweries, distilleries, or wineries with sustainability certifications or social missions

    • Agritourism operations offering farm stays, tastings, or educational programs

    • Culinary tours focused on traditional, local, or Indigenous foodways

    • Environmental education centers or science-focused tourism programs

    • Interpretive programs that foster place-based learning and sustainability awareness

    • Hands-on workshops for travelers on traditional skills, conservation, or local knowledge

    • Theater, performance, or storytelling groups that engage visitors in cultural reflection

    • DMCs (Destination Management Companies) and Tour Operators who:

      • Center community benefit and sustainability, and

      • Can bring at least three of their local suppliers onto the Map

    • DMOs who:

      • Are focused using travel as a force for good in your community

      • Will join as official members of Tourism Cares to help unite the travel industry around positive social, environmental, and economic impact for the people and places of travel.

Criteria for Hotels + Accommodation Providers

To be included on the Meaningful Travel Map, accommodation providers must meet the following criteria:

Demonstrated Impact: Meet one of the above Additional Requirements as a core part of your mission, operations, and communications (i.e. Governance/Business Model; or Social/Cultural/Community; or Educational/Awareness-Building), in addition to the Environmental requirements outlined below.


Local Ownership + Size: We prioritize locally or regionally owned accommodations, especially those with fewer than approximately 50 employees. Larger properties, or those part of a small group or small chain of hotels, may be considered if their impact efforts are truly exceptional (beyond typical Corporate Social Responsibility programs) and well-documented. We only list individual properties, as opposed to hotel groups or chains.


Environment: You have a sustainability plan that contains:

  • Clear goals, and some demonstrated impacts, for significantly and actively minimizing or offsetting environmental harm through efforts like reducing waste, water use, or emissions

  • Clear goals, and some demonstrated impacts, for actively restoring or protecting ecosystems, biodiversity, or natural resources (ie. going beyond just minimizing harm)


Note: Larger businesses require a written plan and systems for tracking, measuring, and reporting on local impact.


Staff Engagement + Training: Staff are actively involved in implementing sustainability practices and are:

  • Regularly trained on your sustainability initiatives

  • Educated about the natural and cultural heritage of the local area

  • Encouraged—or required—to share responsible tourism practices with guests

Apply Today

Destination Management Companies

Tourism Cares is expanding the Meaningful Travel Map, and we invite local/receptive Tour Operators and Destination Management Companies (DMCs) committed to community engagement and sustainability to get involved.

Destination Management Companies, receptive tour operators and tour operators in general play a critical role in the tourism value chain - directing business to suppliers of their choice. By adopting meaningful travel principles into their supply chains, such companies can help ensure the travel industry is a force for good in the regions where they operate. This proactive approach not only enhances traveler experiences but also drives positive impact for local communities and ecosystems.

The Meaningful Travel Map features suppliers (we call each point of interest on the Map an “Impact Partner”) who have a demonstrated commitment to improving the environmental, social, and economic impacts that travel can have on destinations and travelers. For TOs and DMCs, that means featuring sustainable, meaningful suppliers in the tours and programs that you offer. By connecting us with impactful local initiatives, you will contribute to expanding the Map's reach while reinforcing your TO/DMC’s role as a responsible travel leader. To have your profile featured on the Meaningful Travel Map, we ask that you:

  • Ensure you meet our full criteria for the Map
    As an Impact Partner, you are held to a high standard when it comes to sustainability and responsible travel. Please review the criteria above to make sure you align. Pay close attention to our animal welfare and child welfare policies.

  • Secure Meaningful Map applications from at least three of your partners.
    These partners should align with our Map criteria, which highlights businesses and organizations that demonstrate a strong commitment to sustainability, community impact, and cultural preservation. They must be new to the Map (not existing partners). There are resources below you can use to communicate with your partners.

  • Complete an Impact Partner application for your DMC
    During the application process, there will be a question about whether you are a DMC and an opportunity for you to share the three Impact Partners that you worked to get on the Map.

Learn more about organizations that are good fits for the Map by exploring our Impact Partners. We also encourage you to review the Impact Partner criteria as you consider which community partners to connect with.

Apply Today

Apply to the Meaningful Travel Fund

The Meaningful Travel Fund, an exciting new funding initiative launched by Tourism Cares and the UnTours Foundation, aims to support small, locally-owned tourism businesses around the world by empowering them to expand their efforts in sustainability, community engagement, and cultural preservation. The Meaningful Travel Fund leverages the UnTours Foundation's Reset Tourism Fund to provide affordable capital to purpose-driven tourism businesses. 

Learn more + Apply for Funding

Tourism Cares reserves the right to approve or deny any submitted Meaningful Travel Map pins. For instance, an organization that otherwise qualifies but receives significant negative feedback from the community or creates environmental degradation is likely to be disqualified. If there are questions regarding your pin entries, our team will be in touch to gather more information.