MY PROJECT & WHY IT MATTERS…
Vision:
"We only have one planet. More travellers consciously selecting responsible travel products will benefit the environment and the local communities they visit, which means it helps protect our planet for future generations. Increasing responsible travel for a sustainable future is my goal." - Melanie Grevis-James, founder and publisher of Our Planet Travel.
‘Travel for our planet’ goals are:
- To help protect the planet by increasing responsible travel
- To increase the number of responsible travellers - to make better choices for the environment and communities when they travel
How will I do this? By creating more awareness of, and increased selection of responsible travel products by travellers – mainly here in Australia, but also overseas.
You might ask yourself, how do travel and protecting the environment co-exist happily? Travel can be environmentally, socially, and financially sustainable – in fact many countries’ economies depend on it – the trick is to find the right travel products and make the best possible choices.
Our Planet Travel is:
- a marketing & awareness campaign
- blog website, and
- magazine - all dedicated to responsible travel
Please join me in encouraging people to travel responsibly… #travelforourplanet
I focus on the following forms of responsible travel:
(1) sustainable travel, (2) ecotourism, (3) Indigenous travel, and (4) volunteer travel (voluntourism).
Why should you get involved?
Together we can make a difference and raise the profile of responsible travel – travel can do good, and should not cost the earth!
- Responsible travel contributes positively to reducing our impact on the environment, people, and communities we visit
- More travellers selecting responsible travel products will help protect our planet for future generations
- Not enough travellers are aware that they can make better travel choices for the environment and local communities… together we can change this
- More travellers demanding responsible travel products will encourage travel companies to change to more sustainable practices
- No one else is dedicated to doing this in Australia, so I decided to do it myself - but I can't do it all on my own (which I have been doing)
- Every small positive step we take does make a difference for the future
My goal is to help people find the right products and make better choices when they travel.
My personal Story
I started Our Planet Travel because, like many of you, I LOVE travelling – but I’m also passionate about protecting our environment. Educating children about respecting nature and people, and to enjoy the outdoors is part of my aim as well - through experiencing responsible travel with their families.
Global tourism is a huge industry (10% of global GDP; and 1 in 11 jobs globally - WTTC) – tourism can do a lot to help protect our planet and people. Done well, responsible travel assists with conserving our environment, and brings benefits to people and communities; including promoting better understanding between people, and respect globally.
Having worked in tourism marketing for over 25 years I have seen how little focus has been given to responsible tourism, especially by large companies and tourism organisations (including the Government) here in Australia.
I want to change this, so I started Our Planet Travel in late 2011. As an individual I have limited resources to do this alone; but together we can make a difference – which I am determined to do. I started with a basic website listing ecotourism experiences in Australia, and then more recently self-funded the magazine and the new blog website.
Up to now I have been funding this on my own, with a very limited amount of advertising support. To get my campaign, magazine and awareness for responsible and eco travel to the next level I am asking for assistance to help achieve these goals.
Volunteer Travel
Promoting volunteer travel experiences in Australia and overseas, is a key focus of my campaign and magazine. There are some amazing companies and people doing amazing things - to help local communities and conserve the environment – and I love sharing their stories and getting more people involved and aware of these great projects.
Indigenous Travel
One of my goals is to promote more Indigenous travel - in particular here in Australia. I support Indigenous travel experiences - and plan to assist Aboriginal communities more as part of my longer-term goals. Respecting Aboriginal culture is very important to me.
Partners
I love working with business partners – partners help me spread the word about responsible and eco travel – and they share the same goals and passion that I have, for protecting the environment and culture. Together we can achieve more and stretch our budgets further.
Key partners include conservation groups, ecotourism industry leaders, volunteer organisations and not-for-profits, sustainable living and 'green' products/companies, and others with a "do something good for our planet" focus.
I really hope, together with some additional partners, that I can grow my marketing activities further, and expand the magazine.
If you have a business and wish to discuss how we can work together, or to discuss the Donor Rewards options available for businesses please email me direct: [email protected]