The second GX World Community Tourism Summit, held in Jaipur, was celebrated as a transformative event for the travel industry.
- Close to 500 travel industry members gathered to discuss the impact of tourism on global communities, marking World Tourism Day.
- Notable speakers, including Lonely Planet’s Tony Wheeler, addressed significant topics such as women’s empowerment and climate crisis challenges.
- The event showcased 13 new community tourism enterprises, pushing towards the ‘Project 300’ goal set by G Adventures.
- Plans for the next summit in Jordan were announced, promising an even larger celebration of community tourism and G Adventures’ anniversary.
The recent GX World Community Tourism Summit in Jaipur played host to approximately 500 industry players, marking a significant gathering on World Tourism Day. This summit was acclaimed as transformational for its attendees and sought to explore the role of tourism in fostering sustainable community development.
Among the notable speakers was Tony Wheeler, the founder of Lonely Planet, who, along with others, addressed themes revolving around community tourism. These discussions delved into how such tourism is facilitating economic independence for women in India, as well as examining the uneven impacts of the climate crisis on vulnerable communities.
Jamie Sweeting, Planeterra’s president, delivered an update on the meaningful progress since the inaugural summit in Peru. This included the integration of 13 new community tourism enterprises into G Adventures, moving closer towards the ‘Project 300’, an ambitious initiative aimed at enhancing the reach and impact of these enterprises.
The ‘Trees for Days’ initiative, planting a tree for every travel day, was highlighted. Sweeting detailed that by the end of 2024, over three million trees would have been planted. This initiative spans 14 countries and has positively impacted over 40,000 community members, underscoring the significant environmental contributions made.
Bruce Poon Tip, the G Adventures founder, expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of the Jaipur summit, noting that the diverse experiences and interactions had been universally transformative. Speakers like Shivya Nath and Elizabeth Becker further enriched the summit’s dialogues, with topics pivoting towards climate-conscious travel and the potential for transformative change through tourism.
Plans were unveiled for the next summit in Jordan, aimed for September 2025, coinciding with G Adventures’ 35th anniversary. Attendees can anticipate a larger and more comprehensive event, fostering further advances in community-based tourism projects.
The GX summit in Jaipur undeniably marked a milestone in community tourism, laying the groundwork for future initiatives.
