Celebrating five years of impact
Five years ago, amid an unprecedented global crisis, five small, purpose-driven travel companies came together with a shared vision. Seeing local communities and conservation projects severely affected by pandemic travel bans, they felt compelled to act — and so The Conscious Travel Foundation was born.
From those humble beginnings, we’ve grown into a passionate community united by a belief in tourism's power to positively transform destinations, support local livelihoods, protect wildlife and ecosystems, and champion meaningful, regenerative travel.
In five years, we’ve achieved so much together:
🌍 Our global community has blossomed into a diverse membership of 110 organisations representing 29 countries across 10 sectors - including travel designers, accommodation providers, DMCs, tour operators, consultancies, media, non-profits and more.
❤️ We’ve collectively raised over £193,500 supporting grassroots causes:
- £35,500 in donations directly benefiting crucial initiatives like @Virunga National Park (£15,000), @Sol y Luna (£16,000), and Friends of Alalay (£4,500).
- £96,000 awarded via our Community Impact Fund to 4 community-led projects around the world @Sama Sama, @Phaplu Mountain Bike Club, @Makingtrax and @Green Apple
- £62,000 directly contributed to almost 50 incredible community-led projects around the world.
📚 Together, we've learned, discussed, grown and evolved:
Over 50 hours of insightful webinars and conversations, exploring critical themes like Climate Action, Impact Reporting, Inclusive Travel, Indigenous Tourism, Sustainable Storytelling, Philanthropy, Localisation, Wildlife Policies, Harnessing AI, Under and Over Tourism, Carbon Reduction, Diversity and Inclusion, and many more.
49 individuals certified Carbon Literate in partnership with ecollective, becoming ambassadors for real, measurable climate action.
✨ Alongside you, we’ve reached meaningful milestones:
Recognised for our philanthropic programme with PURE’s “Change Makers” Award.
Publishing three influential, industry-wide white papers and guides.
Hosting events raising over £130,000 for grassroots partnerships around the globe.
Evolving from informal project donations into a structured grant-making programme, making our support even more impactful and community-led.
What started as a heartfelt response to crisis has flourished into a purposeful and hopeful movement, a growing community of mindful travellers, businesses, storytellers and changemakers continuously inspiring each other to put impact first.
To all our members, partners, sponsors and friends who have supported us along the way - thank you!
Want to be part of our next 5 years of impact? Join us!
