The travel and accommodation website Booking announced the winners of the 2019 Booking Booster programme for sustainable travel startups. All winners will receive financial support from the digital travel company. The fund for the programme is 2m Euros. Awards are given in a number of categories and to a variety of different sustainable travel startup firms including social enterprise training at-risk women, trekking guides in Nepal, hotel school helping young people in Indonesia and more in order to help them kickstart their businesses.
The panel of judges from the Booking Booster programme includes the Booking Booster ambassador Livia Firth. Firth commented in the importance of sustainable travel at the awards event: “Whoever we are and wherever we work – whether in startups, established companies, policymakers or members of government – we have the power to make a difference every day. Today we know that we can also make a huge difference when we book a trip.”
Ten startups companies from eight countries were recognised as the winners of this year’s edition of the programme’s award ceremony. We have a look at five of the 2019 winners:
Impulse Travel, Colombia
With more than 200 travel experiences and many local guides including creatives, scientists, and foodies, Impulse Travel is a Colombia-based travel service company that has a lot to travel in terms of sustainable travel. The great tours offered by the company are focused on activities and experiences based on local culture, nature, and stories and by this, the company is hoping to contribute to the piece-building process and cultural preservation around Colombia. Some of the tours available and organised by the company include a 4-hour tour of the capital city Bogota’s second oldest neighbourhood with hearing stories from former gang members and some of them don’t work in tourism, fishing with locals in Cartagena.
Sasane Sisterhood Trekking and Travel, Nepal
Sasane Sisterhood is currently operating in Nepal with the main aim to help and train female survivors to become trekking guides in the Himalayas. The company aims to improve local infrastructure, create alternative incomes for local women, and drive tourism to vulnerable areas. Some of the tours offered by Sasane Sisterhood include a two-day trek around the pilgrimage sites near Nagarkot, a seven-day hike of the Ghorepani Poonhill mountains and the rural villages dotted around, and more.
Not On Map, India
The main goal of NotOnMap is eliminating the dissolving and disappearing of local cultures and communities around India. Among the objectives of the company is protecting the lifestyle of local farmers and helping rural villages in different regions of the country, from the mountainous Himachal Pradesh region to the north to the coast of Karnataka to the south, to become new tourism destinations and gain more popularity. Some of the contributions of the company include restoring traditional houses and regenerating the interest and popularity of local crafts. By this, the company manages to support the reduction of rural migration and create sustainable incomes within the communities it is working with and visiting. Some of the unusual and very unique accommodations offered by NotOnMap include traditional thatched huts on an organic farm near Jaipur and a two-century-old house close to the Arabian Sea in Alleppey, Kerela.
Sumba Hospitality Foundation, Indonesia
Sumba Hospitality Foundation is a hotel-school development of Sumba island in Indonesia and besides being a great and sustainable option for travellers as an eco-resort, it is also a hospitality education organisation dedicated to help and support underprivileged young people. The initiative is amazing, especially considering the fact that Sumba is one of the poorest islands in the country and the initiative is designed to help young locals by providing them with opportunities for education, career, and income and by this break the cycle of poverty on the island. The resort includes 9 rooms including fine en suite bamboo pavilions and four poolside guest rooms and students have the opportunity to undertake work experience in all the guestrooms plus working on the hotel’s organic farm, in the bar and the restaurant.
I Like Local, Asia and Africa
The social enterprise of I Like Local operates in 19 countries across Asia and Africa with a large base of off-the-beaten-track experiences, activities, and accommodation options. The main objectives of the business include helping local guides and hosts by creating opportunities for a sustainable income and also offering local experiences and activities for travellers that are beyond the standard tourist attractions. Some of the experiences provided by I Like Local include family homestays with indigenous communities, crafts and cooking with locals, a cycling trip to see local artisans in Yogyakarta, on the island Java in Indonesia, helping to produce and sell food in the market with Mam Dunia Bakery in Kibuye, Rwanda, and more.