Global Citizenship
Responsible travel extends far beyond reusable water bottles. These practical choices can help travelers support communities, respect cultures and reduce the harm tourism can cause.
Wildlife attractions may use words such as sanctuary and conservation while continuing to exploit animals. Learn how to recognize harmful encounters and support more ethical wildlife tourism.
Tokyo’s Yoyogi Village closed permanently in 2020, but outdated travel stories still recommend it. Its temporary buildings, landscaped courtyard and commercial spaces also raise larger questions about urban sustainability, green marketing and responsible land use.
Kenya’s tourism industry is moving beyond environmental promises toward a broader destination stewardship model rooted in community voice, local ownership, cultural integrity, conservation and measurable results.
Agritourism connects travelers with working farms, food traditions and rural communities. Explore responsible farm experiences in Tuscany, New Zealand, Japan, Vermont and Peru.
With visitor numbers continuing to rise, Bergen, Norway, continues efforts to spread tourism across seasons and neighborhoods while protecting its heritage, environment, and residents’ quality of life.
Gothenburg offers a different vision of sustainable travel—one that feels less like a checklist and more like everyday life. From public transit and bike-friendly streets to car-free islands, secondhand shopping and thoughtful local experiences, Sweden’s second-largest city shows how traveling more responsibly can still feel rich, easy and rewarding.
In Abiansemal, a rural district north of Denpasar and west of Ubud in Bali, the Ayung River cuts through rocky gorges, winding past rice fields and jungle. Down by the river, a spread of bamboo pavilions rises in a hug of palm trees and thick bushes, their wide thatched roofs fanning out like giant conical hats. From above, the complex gives off the vibe of an eco-retreat in the middle of the jungle. But beneath the thatched roofs are open-air classrooms, designed to nurture young minds through an unconventional curriculum that could reimagine education as we know it.
In this NATJA award-winning World Footprints episode, Rick Steves joins us for a thoughtful conversation about Europe, the pandemic, social responsibility, and why travel remains one of the most powerful ways to better understand the world.
When people think of Southeast Asia, Thailand and Vietnam often come to mind first. But squeezed between them is Laos, a country covered in dense jungles and lush mountains perfectly suited for growing coffee, a relatively new crop that has grown recently in importance to the nation’s economy.
After spending a week traversing the jungle and savannah in one of the most biodiverse countries on earth, I felt that nothing in Guyana could surpass what I had already experienced: encountering anteaters in the wild, swimming with capybaras, spotting rare birds in the rainforest, and searching for jaguars at night.
I almost deleted the email that led to Destination Stewardship. Looking back, it wasn’t just about writing a book—it was about something I had been noticing in destinations for years.
