Associations and Projects
Introduction
One of the most significant and distinctive
aspect of Responsible Tourism consists of visiting associations
and projects of social interest.
In this way, Responsible Tourism attempts to put the tourists
into contact with the realities of the countries they are visiting:
tourists are given the opportunity to enhance their knowledge
and understanding of the socioeconomic conditions of the country
and therefore to have a “real view” of the most important
situations and to get in contact with the local people.
This allows for a greater perception of the reality of the country
visited and offers a very different viewpoint than the one gained
through conventional tourism, generally protected and guided,
with the aim to show only what is deemed opportune and “pretty”.
The associations and projects we visit can be classified in two
principle types.
The first type regards local sustainable tourism projects. These
are tourism services and activities ideated and run according
to the principles of sustainable tourism. The choice is between
using a “traditional” provider, or a specific local
enterprise or association dedicated to sustainable tourism business.
Useless to say that 360° Responsible Tourism put all its effort
to search for, to promote and help sustainable tourism projects
and to integrate them in its travel circuits.
The second type of situations are not related to tourist matters
and consist of associations and projects that develop activities
in defense of civil rights, cultural or environment preservation,
or that attempt to improve the social-economic situation in the
area. These projects may be initiated and run by the country being
visited or by an international development agency or by a variety
of other NGO’s.
We propose encounters that bring the visitor into contact with
some of these associations and projects. The associations that
we visit explain and illustrate the work that they are doing and
share their fights and successes. They are aware of the importance
of letting the world know about their activities and they are
willing to dedicated part of their time to these meetings. Behind
these meetings there is a long and hard work of preparation and
trust building, which assures that our guests are welcomed in
environments usually restricted to outsiders.
In these special circumstances the visitors have the possibility
to get in direct touch with people and situations, usually not
accessible during a classic trip. Visiting these associations
and projects is not something that can be done within the same
timeframe or mode as traditional tourist activities: availability
and timing depend on the obligations that each institution we
visit has and sometime also on the season.
Below is a list of the associations and projects with whom 360°
Responsible Tourism is in contact.
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