Pro Poor Tourism Resources

Another emerging effort is the anti-poverty tourism movement. Closely linked with fair trade efforts, the anti-poverty campaign focuses on empowering local people to design their own sustainable communities, including tourism. The Eldis Gateway to Development Information (eldis.org/csr/ppt.htm) is a resource web site hosted by several development agencies and includes pro-poor tourism case studies.

—Deborah McLaren, Responsible Travel contributing editor for Transitions Abroad
Author of Rethinking Tourism & Ecotravel

Heifer International is a nonprofit, humanitarian organization (est. 1944) dedicated to ending world hunger and saving the earth by providing livestock, trees, training, and other resources to help poor families around the world become more self-reliant. Heifer's "Study Tours" take participants to meet people whose lives have dramatically improved through their partnerships with Heifer. You'll learn about their communities, daily lives, and hardships from Heifer’s country staff and gain a greater understanding of the organization's unique approach to ending hunger and poverty and caring for the earth. Heifer Project International, P.O. Box 8058, Little Rock, AR, 72203; 800-422-0474; studytours@heifer.org, www.heifer.org.

Pro-Poor Tourism (PPT) is a web site run by development specialists to discuss tourism that results in increased net benefits for poor people. PPT is not a specific product or niche sector but an approach to tourism development and management. The aim is to assist those companies in South Africa and southern Africa that would like to do more, but could benefit from practical advice on how. PPT works in partnership with the International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT), the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI). Contact them at IIED (Dilys Roe): 3 Endsleigh St., London WC1H 0DD, U.K.; Tel. 011-44-0-20-7388 2117 or at ODI (Caroline Ashley): 111 Westminster Bridge Rd., London SE1 7JD, U.K.; Tel. 011-44-0-20-7922-0300; harold@haroldgoodwin.info; www.propoortourism.org.uk.

The Tribes Foundation believes that a country and its resources belong to the local people first, and that they, their traditions, and their environment need to be protected from negative impacts of tourism. Only within such parameters does tourism seem fair. The charity backs poverty alleviation, education, cultural preservation, and conservation projects within areas affected by tourism. Contact: The Tribes Foundation, 12 The Business Centre, Earl Soham, Woodbridge, IP13 7SA, U.K.; Tel. 011-01728-685971; www.the-tribes-foundation.org.