Empowering Women Through Travel: Insights from G Adventures

G Adventures: How travelers can empower women 365 days a year

 

With International Women’s Day approaching on March 8, global adventure operator and community tourism pioneer, G Adventures, is calling on travelers to rethink how they travel, with a list of simple actions that demonstrate how empowering women is something that can be weaved into holiday plans 365 days a year. The operator also shines a light on local women around the world, who have challenged social norms and gender inequality to build tourism businesses that empower and uplift women throughout their community. 

 

For G Adventures, uplifting local women through travel has been at the heart of its community-tourism approach to travel for over three decades. Today, the small-group adventure operator, alongside its non profit partner, the Planeterra Foundation, works year-round to create employment and education opportunities for disadvantaged and marginalized women. Together, they support 54 initiatives that foster women’s participation in leadership roles across 22 countries, directly benefiting 2,616 women through tourism.

 

Simple changes to the way travelers holiday can make a huge impact on local women around the world:

• Choose an operator who employs female tour leaders – Seeing the world with operators who employ female tour leaders is a powerful way to ensure women are benefitting from your travels. In countries such as Egypt, Morocco and Jordan, where women are often overlooked in the tour guiding sector, opting for a company that employs female guides not only offers empowerment and employment to the women, but helps to challenge and change the social narrative around women in travel.
• Stay with local families – In many destinations, it’s the women who run the household. But often, their access to employment opportunities is limited. Homestays provide travelers with the opportunity to build meaningful connections with local people and to see a destination through their eyes, while providing women the chance to celebrate their culture, share stories and earn independent income.
• Eat in restaurants that employ women – Exploring a destination through taste and flavours is part of the joy of travel. But beyond just filling travelers’ stomachs, a meal in a female-run or operated restaurant can provide a vital source of economic independence for women in disadvantaged communities, and helps them gain confidence and experience to move into other areas, if they wish to.
• Seek out female-founded co-ops – Skip the ‘10 best things to do’ lists and instead seek out local co-operatives that help to uplift local women. There are thousands of female-founded co-ops around the world, with trailblazing women behind them, working to better the lives of more women in the community. Planeterra’s website is a trove of information about organizations that support and uplift women.
• Tell your friends – Sharing knowledge and lessons learned from meeting women from different cultures across the globe, whether it’s word of mouth or via social media, is a powerful way to inspire others to rethink how they travel and to seek out more responsible ways to see the world and support local women.
• Ask questions – When choosing your operator or travel agent, ask questions about the initiatives they have in place to empower women on the trips. Any responsible operator or agent will be able to provide you with data-backed examples of how the trips they are recommending have a positive impact on local communities.

 

Beyond these actions, G Adventures is shining a light on real life stories of trailblazing women who, through community tourism and our partnership with Planeterra have been empowered to achieve great things and uplift other women within their communities.

 

Panauti Community Homestay, Nepal

Back in 2012, Shila Amatya decided to open her home up to people exploring the ancient village of Panauti in the Kathmandu area of Nepal. Soon, local women were inspired to do the same. Initially, the homestays were about challenging the lack of opportunity often faced by women in rural areas, but it also became a chance to continue important traditions, while turning the homestay into a valuable income source for a group who previously had not had access to their own money. Today, the women behind the Panauti Community Homestay are seen as pioneers – the initiative has spread to 36 communities in 362 households across Nepal, and has helped promote sustainable tourism by bringing travellers to lesser-known destinations. Shila says it also means women can spend money on their children’s health and education, and have their own bank accounts – something she describes as “incredibly empowering”.

G Adventures trips that stay at a Panauti Community Homestay include:

Nepal: Mountains and Temples

As part of this 10-day trip, travelers spend a day and night at a Panauti Community Homestay home, learning to cook with the family and sleeping in their simple, but warm and welcoming, rural home.

 

 

Lady Tuk Tuk Driver Co-op, Cambodia 

Ms Kim is the founder of Lady Tuk Tuk Driver, an association that helps travellers explore the Cambodian city of Siem Reap and its ancient temples. But it also does so much more than that: Ms Kim’s main mission is to empower women in the area, helping them be confident and independent and able to earn a reliable income and support their families financially, all by driving tuk tuks. Ms Kim understands the need for this. Despite the challenges she knew she’d face in this typically male-dominated industry she wasn’t deterred – and continued with her goal to provide a better future for her two young children, and help other women do the same. 

G Adventures trips that spend time with the women at Lady Tuk Tuk Driver Co-op include:

Southeast Asia Immersion: Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand & Laos

This Geluxe Collection adventure – with one-of-a-kind-accommodation – sees travellers whizzing through the streets of Siem Reap with a Lady Tuk Tuk driver, before dining at Spoons, an organization that helps underprivileged young adults get experience in the hospitality industry.

 

 

San Antonio Women’s Co-op, Belize

The village of San Antonio, a community of 3,500 people in western Belize, is rooted in Mayan traditions and is heavily reliant on subsistence agriculture. Education for women and girls isn’t a priority here, and that lack of education leads to unemployment at a young age and perpetuating a cycle of poverty. Determined to change this, a group of nine Mayan women formed the San Antonio Women’s Co-op (SAWC) with a goal to empower women and inspire the next generation. Through the co-op, they found a way to earn an income, develop new skills and share their traditional knowledge with both visitors and local youth. Beyond tourism, the women have also created a community fund to support young girls’ education. Thanks to this initiative, numerous girls in the community have graduated from high school – an opportunity that would have been out of reach.

G Adventures trips that visit the San Antonio Women’s Co-op include:

Solo-ish Belize **new trip**

As part of this seven-day trip, travellers visit the co-op, getting hands-on experience with ancient Mayan pottery techniques, get a chance to purchase locally made crafts and tuck into a delicious homemade meal.

 

 

çöp(m)adam, Turkey

çöp(m)adam is a social enterprise in western Turkey that aims to create opportunities for women who’ve never had a salary before. Turkey’s female employment rate is currently at around 30%, and this organisation not only helps women start earning, but gives them confidence in pursuing other careers afterwards. The goal isn’t just to empower women, but to minimise waste, creating stylish and practical bags and other household items. The “çöp” means “rubbish” in Turkish, and “madam” is the same as the French word for “female”, so “çöp(m)adam” literally translates to “rubbish ladies”. Since its launch in 2008, over 500 women have worked with çöp(m)adam, many of whom have moved on to other jobs. And that’s exactly the point – to employ women who’ve never had a salaried job before, and help them move on to other opportunities.

G Adventures trips that visit çöp(m)adam include:

Highlights of Turkey

This unforgettable eight-day adventure combines the ancient sites of Troy and Ephesus with otherworldly Cappadocia. Plus: meals with local families and a trip to meet the women at çöp(m)adam, and a chance to buy their upcycled bags and more.

 

 

Lusumpuko Women’s Club, Zimbabwe

The Lusumpuko Women’s Cooperative was formed in 2018 by a group of resilient women – single mothers and widows – banding together in the townships of Victoria Falls. Many of these women, affected by the long-term impacts of HIV/AIDS and other socio-economic struggles, took on the role of primary breadwinners for their families, providing not only for their children but often for extended families as well. What started as a humble chicken-rearing project has grown into a thriving community tourism initiative. Zimbabwe faces severe financial and employment challenges, yet the women of Lusumpuko have not given up, always committed to creating financial stability and better opportunities for their children and families. One initiative is their Lunch Club, which they share with travellers to Victoria Falls, the money from which helps the women send their children to school. They’ve also inspired their daughters to pursue careers in hospitality, and with the knowledge they’ve gained from working in kitchens and hosting travellers, many of the girls have a true entrepreneurial spirit.

G Adventures trips that visit the Lusumpuko Women’s Club include:

Botswana and Falls Overland: Wildlife Walks and Safari Drives

This 8-day trip, geared at 18-to-Thirtysomethings, takes travellers from Johannesburg into Botswana, touring rhino sanctuaries by jeep at the Okavango Delta in a mokoro, before a delicious meal in Victoria Falls at the Lusumpuko Women’s Club, where the women’s show the group how Zimbabweans traditionally eat their food before serving up a farm-to-table meal.

 

 

AFER Women’s Association Homlunch, Morocco

Despite significant progress in support for women’s rights in Morocco over the years, there are still challenges for women in girls and in rural communities, including high drop out rates at school, high maternal mortality due to lack of access to healthcare, domestic violence and discrimination. AFER’s homlunch program was set up to address this – to funnel more money into community initiatives, like providing assistance to differently-abled individuals living in rural M’Haya, running a local ambulance service, supporting 19 literacy groups with lessons in French and Arabic and five sewing cooperatives for rural women. Today, it helps support the long-term job development of women in rural Morocco, with extra funds supporting health and education initiatives for a network of over 700 women and children.

G Adventures trips that visit the AFER Women’s Association Homlunch include: 

Morocco Kasbahs & Desert 

On this fast-paced 8-day adventure, travellers will take in Morocco’s must-see highlights, from the Sahara to the medinas of Marrakech. In Mhaya village, close to Fes, the group will feast on a traditional lunch, the proceeds of which help provide access to education and healthcare for women in the village. The women will also be there to share their personal stories about AFER’s impact on their lives.

 

 

Sthree, Sri Lanka 

The Women’s Development Centre (WDC) in Kandy, Sri Lanka has been working to create equal opportunities for women since 1986. This nonprofit runs initiatives to combat violence against women and empower them as equal members of society, and one of these initiatives is Sthree – a handicraft shop for women entrepreneurs to sell their creations. At its core, Sthree Craft Shop and Café gives women a platform to gain financial stability, and create opportunity for economically and socially marginalized producers. Currently, they are engaged with 275 women entrepreneurs, and products from an extra 100 women entrepreneurs are available for sale on online platforms like Who We Are, an entrepreneur site. As well as helping the women earn their own income, both with a physical shop and business support, a portion of the shop’s revenue is allocated to supporting entrepreneurs with transportation, food, accommodation and exhibition opportunities. Sthree also uses profits to support a crisis centre for women survivors of violence. The multi-pronged approach enhances economic opportunities for women in the area, but also contributes to the overall empowerment and sustainability of the wider community.

G Adventures trips that visit Sthree include:

Sri Lanka Encompassed 

From tea plantations and rock fortresses to laid-back beaches and colourful cities, this two-week trip is designed to please. As part of it, the group will visit Sthree in Kandy – where they’ll feast on a delicious lunch prepared by the women, and learn about the amazing work the Women’s Development Centre does across Sri Lanka.

 

About G Adventures

 

Founded in 1990 by social entrepreneur Bruce Poon Tip, G Adventures is the pioneer of community tourism and leader in small group travel, offering more than 850 life-changing trips in 100 countries on all seven continents. G Adventures’ award-winning trips support communities, giving travellers meaningful exchanges with local people, cultures, landscapes and wildlife, while offering them the freedom and flexibility to explore on their own. G Adventures’ responsible approach to travel is demonstrated through its ‘G for Good’ social impact commitments, which include travel guidelines for children, wildlife and Indigenous people. The operator also has more than 100 community tourism projects built into its trips around the world, developed together with its non-profit partner, Planeterra, which was also founded by Bruce Poon Tip. In 2018, G Adventures was the first travel company to introduce an industry-leading ‘Ripple Score’ assessment which measures how many of a traveller’s dollars stay in the local economy, and in 2023 it announced its Trees for Days initiative which supports local environments and communities through tree-planting, with one tree per G Adventures’ traveller being planted per day. For more information on G Adventures, please visit www.gadventures.com. 

 

About Planeterra

 

Planeterra is the world’s leading non-profit organization dedicated to using tourism as a catalyst for community development. By partnering with local organizations, Planeterra helps communities harness tourism to improve livelihoods, protect natural environments, and celebrate cultural heritage.  

Planeterra aligns its efforts with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), recognizing tourism as a powerful tool for wealth distribution and sustainable development.