Community tourism holds enormous promise for inclusive development, but it also faces persistent challenges. Many community-based tourism enterprises struggle to connect with the responsible travel market and lack the technical knowledge to grow sustainably.
Planeterra, a global non-profit organization, addresses these barriers through a market-driven, partnership-led model. By providing training, mentorship, and funding through its Global Community Tourism Network, Planeterra equips communities – especially those led by women and marginalized groups – with the tools they need to thrive in tourism, on their own terms.
“We believe that communities are capable of operating successful enterprises which deliver meaningful impacts,” says Priyanka Singh, Asia-Pacific Manager at Planeterra. “With relatable, community level capacity building and technical training, community tourism enterprises can achieve long-term success.”
In this conversation, Priyanka opened up about how Planeterra selects and supports local tourism enterprises, the power of inclusive tourism to transform lives, and the organization’s growing impact in the Greater Mekong Subregion.
How does Planeterra identify and select community tourism enterprises to support?
Planeterra has a two-pronged approach.
In the first scenario, the community tourism enterprises (we call them community partners) reach out to us about signing up for Planeterra’s Global Community Tourism Network (GCTN). In the second scenario: based on the destination decided with our travel company partners, we seek out community tourism experiences in specific destinations.
Planeterra’s travel company partners provide funding support for training and enterprise development, including equipment and facility improvements. They also commit to including the community tourism experiences in their product offerings (such as tours).
We therefore have a market-driven approach whereby we identify the ideal destinations; then conduct research to identify and select potential organizations (community associations, cooperatives, non-profits, etc.) to visit in the field for further assessment; and final selection for funding, training, and ultimate inclusion into travel company products.
To qualify for support, organizations must have a social or environmental impact purpose; and be a community association, cooperative, non-profit or social enterprise with a mission to use tourism to support their community members (i.e. not a private for-profit enterprise).
Image courtesy of Planeterra
One of Planeterra’s key principles is that tourism should be “owned, operated, and managed by the host community.” How does Planeterra support communities in achieving this level of independence?
Planeterra treats communities as partners. When we have opportunities for partnership or inclusion into itineraries, Planeterra shares these opportunities to communities. We then go over the technical aspects that they would like training in.
Once they have the technical knowledge they pretty much run the show. We also take a collaborative approach when designing and delivering technical assistance in the form of grant funding and capacity building.
During the integration and stewarding phases, Planeterra’s field-based regional teams ensure that each community partner has full autonomy in decision-making regarding capacity and the types of visitors they wish to welcome, the type of tourism experience they would like to develop and offer, how they would like to offer their experiences operationally, and who will be leading the different aspects of running a successful tourism experience.
Additionally, long term, regular monitoring helps Planeterra Community Tourism Development Specialists (CTDs) identify potential risks and obstacles that can be tackled in depth when necessary. They’re always available for any mentorship for the communities, so they know they always can lean in for support if needed.
Finally, Planeterra Community partners can also apply for our annual small grants fund program, Global Community Tourism Fund (GCTF), to improve their tourism experience.
Image courtesy of Planeterra
What are the biggest challenges communities face when setting up sustainable tourism initiatives, and how does Planeterra help them overcome these obstacles?
First, not having connectivity to the responsible travel market. Secondly, not having access to technical knowledge.
For the first challenge: Communities need access to the benefits of tourism, but they have limited knowledge and understanding of how the tourism industry actually works. Even for communities that already own their community tourism enterprises, most of their community experiences don’t meet market needs, in addition to limited connections and networks to gain market trust and access.
Planeterra has long-term partnerships with responsible travel companies, such as G Adventures, Evaneos and Iberostar which integrate community tourism experiences into their itineraries and product offerings. These partnerships help us connect community tourism enterprises into the mainstream tourism industry, allowing a guaranteed flow of travelers and revenue.
For the second challenge: Community Tourism Enterprises need long-term capacity building (even if they are integrated into the market) to grow and be sustainable.
Planeterra, through our Global Community Tourism Network (GCTN), provides community tourism entrepreneurs with practical training, mentorship, peer-to-peer learning, and flexible funding opportunities. This gives them a foundation on which they can build successful tourism enterprises, and the agency to adapt them to meet their community’s needs.
Our GCTN houses an online learning platform with 50+ modules in different aspects of running a successful tourism enterprise. Any community-led tourism experience can sign up and access these learning resources.
By signing up, they have access not only to our online resources, but our team of CTDs – who provide mentorship and coaching and organize quarterly or as-needed learning sessions. They also can access online communities in Facebook and Whatsapp, as well as online discussion groups for peer-to-peer networking.
Image courtesy of Planeterra
Many of your projects focus on empowering women and marginalized groups. Why is this focus important, and what success stories have emerged from the Mekong region?
Over the course of our work in the last 20 years, we found that women and marginalized groups were not always benefiting from tourism even if they were located in a tourist destination.
Women make up 50% of the tourism industry, but are often grossly underpaid and not supported in opportunities for entrepreneurship. We identified that women are not only pillars within their communities, but in many communities are the breadwinners for their families. That’s why it is important for us to support women led and run enterprises – when women benefit, they thrive to empower others within their communities as well.
One example is Ms. Kim, who started Lady Tuk-Tuk Driver in Siem Reap, Cambodia’s first female run tuk-tuk non-profit organization supporting female tuk-tuk drivers. The business breaks gender stereotypes in a largely male dominated profession; they are also working with single mothers, widows, persons with disabilities, and people often marginalized from society and left out of the tourism industry.
With training and mentorship from Planeterra and increased access to the travel market, today they are a group of 50 confident women drivers conveying travelers around Siem Reap.
Image courtesy of Planeterra
One marginalized community enterprise working with us is Yimsoo Farms, Mae Rim, in Thailand. With the right technical knowledge and training, the hosts at Yimsoo Farms, who are persons with disabilities, host travelers and show them around the farm and conduct hands-on activities.
Similar is the Yimsoo Cafe in Bangkok, again run by persons with hearing impairment, but armed with the technical training to not only work as baristas but also teach sign language to guests. Travelers can also try and make a local dessert while visiting the cafe.
Another example is Kym Viet Cafe from Hanoi, Vietnam – a social enterprise supporting people with disabilities by training them on sewing and stitching skills. Travelers can get a tour of the factory followed by a hands-on crafts workshop. The little handicrafts make for good souvenirs and the activities done together with the artisan gives them a great sense of purpose and self.
Such inclusions create beautiful and meaningful additions to any travel itinerary.
What outcomes have you seen from these projects – along with other projects centered in the Mekong Region – and what insights have you drawn that you can apply to future projects in the region?
We have seen that with relatable, community level capacity building and technical training, community tourism enterprises can achieve long-term success. Once communities get the training, even language is no longer a barrier. Adding hands-on activities to a tourism experience makes it immersive, and meaningful. It also provides a space for sharing even when there is no common language.
In destinations where overtourism is growing – by promoting responsible and meaningful engagements with the communities, we can help ease that load off the bucket lists.
Additionally, we have also seen women and marginalized communities use our support and mentorship to gain the much-needed confidence to take non-traditional jobs. From running a tuk-tuk, to sharing the traditional Indigenous knowledge of preserving local paper, like Zó in Vietnam that centers on Vietnamese traditional paper and its paper making technique. Travelers can join in hands-on activities to support the indigenous communities who are making this traditional paper.
When community tourism is done responsibly, cultures are celebrated, women take on leadership roles, youth are inspired, and tourism revenue is reinvested in the community. We have also seen how this revenue helps enhance the tourism experience. We believe in creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and respected.
Image courtesy of Planeterra
How does Planeterra measure the success and long-term impact of its community-based tourism projects?
We conduct an annual impact survey to track the growth of each community tourism experience that actively participates in data collection. This helps us understand the livelihood opportunities created, the indirect impact on community members, potential growth opportunities for the enterprise, the number of travelers visiting, and the revenue generated.
Additionally, we measure a variety of social, cultural, and environmental impacts and perceptions of how tourism affects various outcomes for themselves and their community members. These impact indicators are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals for Tourism.
It also allows us to identify trends and determine where we can provide mentorship and coaching support. A summary of these findings can be found in our Annual Impact Reports.
Our updated impact survey includes perceptions of tourism impacts, so we can gauge how our CTE (community tourism enterprise) partners feel about tourism in their communities and monitor any potential issues/challenges that may need to be addressed.
For us, the long-term impact is always reflected in what we call the ripple effects – the intervention of a tourism experience and how many lives were impacted, both directly and indirectly. This includes the number of travelers who visited, the revenue generated, and the social impact: women taking on their first jobs, women stepping into leadership roles, youth finding new opportunities in their villages, communities, or cities, and addressing the issue of rural-urban migration due to limited job opportunities.
Additionally, we see improvements in health and education facilities as families are able to invest in these areas with supplemental income.
Image courtesy of Planeterra
In your experience, how can travelers be encouraged to make more responsible choices that directly support community-based tourism initiatives like Planeterra’s?
Travel companies play a key role by setting expectations from the very start. This includes sharing information about how opting for community-led experiences can directly benefit local communities.
It also helps if the travel company can provide data on the positive impact of integrating community tourism into their offers, so travelers understand how their choices contribute to the destination.
However, travelers themselves also have a critical role to play. Here are a few actions they can take:
- Opt for locally-led experiences: Choose tours and activities led by local guides or community members to ensure the profits stay within the community.
- Support local businesses: Buy locally-made products, eat at local restaurants, and stay in locally-owned accommodations to contribute directly to the community’s economy.
- Respect cultural norms: Take time to learn about the local culture and traditions, ensuring respectful and responsible behavior during interactions with local people.
- Be mindful of the environment: Make conscious decisions, such as reducing waste, conserving water, and minimizing carbon footprints during travel.
What are Planeterra’s future plans for expanding its impact in the Greater Mekong Sub-region? Are there any upcoming projects or partnerships you can share?
At the moment we are looking at strengthening our existing 27 CTE partners in the region and also looking at engaging with new CTEs to support them and promote community tourism to responsible travel companies.
We also will work with more tree-growing (climate and biodiversity organization partners) and nature-positive tourism experiences across the region. We firmly believe that by planting the right trees in the right places and for the right reasons, we can help communities restore nature and build sustainable livelihoods, improve their well-being and become more resilient to the growing impacts of climate change.
Community-led organizations and enterprises (including non-profit organizations, cooperatives, associations) are also welcome to join the Planeterra Global Community Network at any time.
