Planeterra partners with governments, development agencies, and the tourism private sector – in close collaboration with local NGOs and cooperatives – to support and uplift community tourism enterprises.  This includes community-owned, non-profit or social enterprises that offer, or are interested in offering, tourism experiences that are designed to help them achieve their unique social, economic and environmental goals.

Tourism has a positive ripple effect in host communities.  It creates jobs, generates tax revenues, improves infrastructure, and offers a variety of products and services to visitors and residents alike.  

We have supported the development of 100+ community tourism enterprises in 56 countries with a 100% success rate.  Of these enterprises, 43 are women-run, 35 are Indigenous-run (fun fact - 20 are run by Indigenous women). That makes up 78% of all partnerships! Collectively, these enterprises have hosted more than 700,000+ travelers since Planeterra began supporting them.

Our partnerships impacted the lives of 65,000 people in 2019 alone, including jobs created for 2,123 women, 612 youth and 3,376 community members. An estimated US$9.5 million spent in communities since 2015 (not counting handicrafts and other purchases) with four Corporate Partners.

The ripple effects include:
- 43% of the 100 community enterprises we work with are led by women, and over 80% see women taking active participation in leadership roles.
- Through community development funds, our partners are directly reinvesting in their businesses, environment, education, infrastructure and more.
- Over 50% directly reinvest profits in environmental projects, including tree planting, community gardens, solar energy, water conservation, and environmental cleanup.

Our Aim: We want to work with the best local NGOs and cooperatives in order to maximize our collective impact. Please complete the following application to help us determine if there is an optimal match between our organizations: