Guyana: Community Led and Owned Tourism
Community led and owned tourism is an ethos in Guyana that has seen indigenous communities throughout the country’s hinterland creating, implementing…
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Community led and owned tourism is an ethos in Guyana that has seen indigenous communities throughout the country’s hinterland creating, implementing…
Welcome to the third Travel Begins at 40 podcast. In it we will discuss the future of Myanmar Travel post-COVID19. I’m Mark Bibby Jackson, one of the founders of the…
With a face covering becoming mandatory to wear on UK public transport from 15 June, PADI, along with their rash guard partner, Rash’R, are offering face coverings…
While we are all waiting for the pandemic to pass, many of us have already started to day-dream about their future holidays. Over the next few days Travel Begins at…
Your next great adventure lies just around the corner and now is the time to start planning. As the ‘new normal’ starts to see some light, now is the time…
World Oceans Day takes place on 8 June with the purpose of celebrating the world’s seas and marine life. The long-standing United Nations event highlights the role of the oceans…
With the Florida Keys opening to domestic tourists on 1 June, now is the time to plan your next trip to this special part of the States. James Clark explored…
On 1 June a new type of travel business will launch – Charitable Travel is a social enterprise with the clear message that travel is a force for good, helping…
The collapse of tourism in Southeast Asia means wildlife and conservation in south west Cambodia may come to a halt in the next few weeks. The temporary closure of Cardamom…
The world has changed over the past couple of months – so drastically that many predict it will never be the same again. Change can be bad, but it also…
Anurak Community Lodge at Khao Sok National Park in southern Thailand has launched ‘Rainforest Rising’ tree planting initiative for guests to join. Apart from ecotourism activities…
Hampshire conservation charity Marwell Wildlife has launched a fundraising campaign to help cover animal costs during the coronavirus shutdown. Marwell Zoo…
In the aftermath of the last minute cancellation of the world’s largest world trade travel show Mark Bibby Jackson argues the case for considering virtual conferences and conventions – are…
The vast majority of festivals around the world are thoroughly fun; however, some may give us pause to think. So, how do you avoid the questionable ones? Mike East opens…
A new Venice tourist monitoring system to track the movement of people across the city throughout February is the latest effort to combat overtourism. But is is an erosion of…
In the fictional Neverland the inhabitants either don’t age – or in Peter Pan’s case, refuse to grow up. Could a newly-rediscovered remote island in the Mergui Archipelago, Myanmar be…
Known for its responsible expedition travel and support of conservation projects, New Zealand-based operator, Heritage Expeditions, has a unique collection of voyages in Antarctica’s…
Thanks to Greta Thunberg, it’s all the buzz at the moment in the aviation world, but is effective carbon offsetting more complicated than it sounds? Travel Begins at 40 walks…
As a seasoned traveller throughout Asia, Bamboo Director Robin Ball was delighted to discover a new, original activity in Laos on a recent trip: the Nam Nern Night Safari, which…
With the dawn of the new decade comes a fresh perspective on the travel trends that will shape our holidays throughout 2020. The changing climate, Brexit fallout and the impact…
Trentino, the region of Northern Italy that stretches from the northern shores of Lake Garda up into the Dolomites mountains, has become home to the world’s first ever…
Mark Bibby Jackson returns to the country where he lived for the best part of a decade to discover the once deserted streets congested, and plastic everywhere. He makes the…
It’s that time of the year that we traditionally reflect on things past and future. So, getting into the spirit of things, Travel Begins at 40 has asked its regular…
The world is getting smaller so they say with less new places to explore. Think again. Espousing the philosophy of undertourism, Travel Begins at 40 suggests alternatives places to visit…
When we established this website part of the ethos was to provide a trusted source of information on responsible travel and ethical travel for the over 40 traveller.
For us, ethical travel covers a wide ambit from sustainable and responsible travel to ecotourism, but basically it means forming a partnership with local communities in a two-way process, rather than exploiting them.
One such measure is to refrain from using plastic bottles while travelling or at least to minimise your use of single use plastic. I still reuse the same plastic bottle I purchased down a supermarket somewhere many months down the line.
A great example of how responsible tourism can work well is community-based tourism. This should mean that not only does the local community share the sustainable benefits of tourism but that it has control of the direction that the tourism takes as well.
Responsible travel and sustainable tourism are often seen as being pretty synonymous. Read more about sustainable tourism. We also have a series of articles in our #sustainablesunday series.
Unfortunately, there is a danger of ethical considerations becoming part of a meaningless PR-driven CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) exercise. However, our intention is to highlight those tourism companies that are really trying to make a difference. Working together we can make a difference too. And if you’d like to carbon offset your trip, we’ve written a guide for that too, clarifying the potential pitfalls of carbon offsetting.