I'm a strong believer that not all trips should be about thread counts and the hoped-for suite upgrade. My Jordan trip strongly reinforced for me that traveling for good is both possible and incredibly fulfilling. So this week, I’m devoting the ezine to the travel company that leads the world in community tourism—and that is G Adventures.
It needs a little background story...
G Adventures and Planeterra share a foundational and synergistic partnership, with the latter serving as the official non-profit partner of the global tour operator. Established in 2003, Planeterra ensures that tourism acts as a tangible force for good. At the core of their relationship is a shared commitment to community tourism, where Planeterra works at a grassroots level to identify, develop, and train community-owned social enterprises—such as women’s weaving cooperatives, youth-led walking tours, and locally run restaurants—while G Adventures integrates these projects directly into its global tour itineraries.
This unique model creates immense benefits for all parties. For local communities, the economic advantages are profound: they receive sustainable, reliable revenue streams, job creation, start-up funding, and essential business training. Collectively, these empower marginalized groups—including women, youth, and Indigenous populations—to invest in local education, healthcare, and infrastructure, while conserving cultural heritage and protecting the environment through collaborative initiatives like the Trees for Days program.
For travelers, the benefits enrich the experience itself. Rather than merely observing, we gain deep cultural immersion—enjoying authentic experiences and meaningful interactions that connect us directly to the lives of the people we meet. G Adventures provides transparency through its Ripple Score, which details exactly how much of a traveler’s expenditure stays within the local economy, allowing us to be conscious consumers who know our journey is actively changing lives for the better.
The plan is to incorporate 300 community projects into tours by 2030, and they’re well on track, with around 150 already in place.
The Top 5 this week highlights just a few of them.
Beit Khayrat Souf
Beit Khayrat Souf is a women-led cooperative in the village of Souf, Jerash, supporting local women and artisans through immersive tourism experiences. Visitors can join culinary workshops, traditional cooking classes, and handicraft demonstrations, all led by local women. These experiences share the region's flavors and heritage while providing sustainable income, empowering women, preserving cultural traditions, and strengthening the community.
Beit Al Jameed
Beit Al Jameed is a cooperative led by two sisters dedicated to preserving Jordan's culinary heritage through Mansaf, the country's iconic dish, and it's siganture ingredient, jameed. They offer immersive experiences including Mansaf cooking classes, traditional meals, and overnight stays, highlighting the dish's history and using locally sourced ingredients from Kerak. By preserving Bedouin age-old dairy-making techniques and supporting rural communities - especially women - they connect visitors with Jordan's nomadic past, traditional foodways, and deep-rooted hospitality.
Um Hamza
Um Hamzeh's guesthouse is a woman-led initiative in Aljoun that offers visitors a deeper connection to Jordanian customs, traditions, and home-style cuisine. Guests are welcomed into a traditional guest house to enjoy authentic Ajlouni dishes, cooked in a taboun (clay oven), and shared alongside cultural stories and heartfelt hospitality. By preserving culinary traditions and supporting local women and unemployed youth, Um Hamzeh's guesthouse uplifts the community while promoting cultural preservation.
City Walk - New Delhi, India
All the above featured Jordanian projects, while the next 2 just give the merest glimpse of elsewhere in the world.
Skip the guidebook and listen to lived experience. City Walk trains youth from railway and street backgrounds as paid guides, while Salaam Baalak Trust provides shelter, education and counselling to thousands. G Adventures travellers get raw, moving city tours and the knowledge that their visit supports long-term child and youth services.
Third from the left in the photo I took above at the conference day, is Kajal...and this is her story.
She was just 6 when she entered one of the shelter homes - carrying more questions than answers, more uncertainty than hope. With no place in the family simply because she was a girl, the world had already started weighing her down. But she also carried something else - quiet determination. At Salaam Baalak Trust, Kajal found safety, care, and space to grow. From climbing walls to learning guitar, from the City Walks to classrooms, she slowly began to build herself - one skill, one experience, one dream at a time. Today, she leads full multiweek G Adventures tours as a CEO (Chief Experience Officer).
Oodles of Noodles - Hoi An, Vietnam
Bring chopsticks - and curiosity. STREETS International trains underprivileged youth to run noodle-making classes. Planeterra expanded the kitchen and created a tour so students gain real hospitality skills.
G Adventures travellers knead, slurp and learn from trainees who are cooking toward international culinary certification.
At the conference on the Saturday, Jane Goodall was introduced to the attendees as an Ambassador for G Adventures and a recorded interview with her was a pure delight. As if my week wasn't already meaningful enough, 4 days later Dame Jane passed.
Beyond her revolutionary primate research, she dedicated her life to global advocacy, establishing the Jane Goodall Institute and the Roots & Shoots program to promote conservation, education, and youth empowerment, ensuring her tireless mission to inspire action for people, animals, and the environment continues to resonate worldwide.
RIP Jane Goodall 1934 - 2025.
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Hi, I'm John, and I'm told I have a cool accent. I absolutely love travel and I am proud to have built a team as passionate about exploring the world as myself. It took me a very long time to align my career with my undeniable passion for exploring, but now I and the team are here for you. Your personal travel tailors - award reservation and luxury custom itinerary experts. We provide a bespoke service, imagining and creating itineraries for independent minded families and groups.
