POSITIVE IMPACT TOURISM STORIES
Explore travel stories from past winners and finalists of the Inspire Global Media Awards. Together, they demonstrate how authentic storytelling can deepen understanding, inspire purposeful travel and highlight tourism’s positive economic, environmental, cultural and social impact.
Use the filters to browse by region, then select a story to read the original article. Please note that some articles may require a subscription.
John Harris for The Guardian
ENGLAND - With the help of an adventure platform that connects campers with landowners, we have a remote corner of Exmoor all to ourselves for the night.
Yvette Cook for The Independent
ENGLAND - With a £12,600 cabin price attached to Belmond’s luxury Britannic Explorer train service that launches from London to Cornwall later this month, Yvette Cook travels aboard GWR’s Night Riviera sleeper service in search of a holiday that makes a difference – staying in youth hostels, getting around by bus and buying local
Lily Canter for Adventure.com
SCOTLAND - Cut off from Scotland’s road network and accessible only by boat or a long hike, Knoydart is often dubbed Britain’s last true wilderness. But beyond the dramatic setting lies a quiet social revolution.
Robin McKelvie for The Telegraph
SCOTLAND - Arran offers Alpine-esque peaks, tumbling glens, sweeping sandy beaches, wonderful produce and all of Scotland’s ‘Big Five’.
Sam Haddad for The Guardian
SWEDEN - In Nämdöskärgården, in the Stockholm archipelago, low-impact tourism is helping visitors appreciate the region’s fragile ecology and ocean conservation efforts.
Ailsa Sheldon for JRNY Travel Magazine
DENMARK - Meet the island producers of Denmark’s North Jutland, who are providing ingredients for both restaurants and family tables, and changing Danish perceptions of their own cuisine.
Yvette Cook for The Independent
ESTONIA - How women are reviving traditional Seto culture in Estonia On a trip through the Setomaa region, Yvette Cook immerses herself in an inspiring sisterhood of locals who are keeping ancient traditions alive through song, food and sauna rituals
Emma Truscott for BBC Travel
LUXEMBOURG - Forty years after a tiny Luxembourgish village paved the way for border-free European travel, a series of scenic bike paths whisk travellers through the area's vineyard-studded landscape.
Daniel Stables for National Geographic Traveller (UK)
SICILY - A journey across Sicily reveals the essence of an island shaped by outsiders, where successive waves of immigration over the centuries have created a unique cultural identity.
Jessica Heather for Adventure.com
PORTUGAL - Lisbon, Porto, Sintra, the Algarve: A world away from Portugal’s increasingly popular cities and coast is the Côa Valley, a biodiversity hotspot in the country’s north, where low-impact living and cultural heritage preservation is woven into its DNA.
Bella Falk for Travel Africa Magazine
ZIMBABWE - There are places in the world that are so over-hyped, it’s hard for them to live up to expectations. Victoria Falls is not one of those places.
Sue Watt for Travel Africa Magazine
ZIMBABWE - Hwange is a special place. Over many years, it has granted me unforgettable memories: those times when elephants silently approach at waterholes, like ghosts in the dusky light as we sip our sundowners, or lion cubs I’ve watched finding their way in the wild and growing into dominant males.
Farida Zeynalova for National Geographic Traveller (UK)
AZERBAIJAN - Azerbaijan’s relationship with wine is a resilient love affair marked with cruel and often surprising twists and turns. We visit the city of Göygöl, in the country’s northwestern foothills, where, in the 19th century, German settlers forever changed the game for local winemakers.
Angela Locatelli for National Geographic Traveller (UK)
BHUTAN - The Himalayas of northwestern Bhutan are peaks of such otherworldly beauty, locals believe them to be home to spirits. In the remote village of Laya, an annual highland festival celebrates their earthly inhabitants — but don’t be surprised if you come across a strange creature or two.
Lauren Jarvis for OutThere Magazine
AUSTRALIA - The Milky Way’s silver glitter shimmers across the inky dome of night as I step out into the pre-dawn stillness of the Central Australian desert. Soaring oaks form stoic battalions silhouetted against the sky as I make my way to a wooden deck that murmurs with human voices.
Karen Edwards for JRNY Travel Magazine
AUSTRALIA - In the remote northeast corner of Arnhem Land, the Yolŋu people have lived in coexistence with the Earth for up to 60,000 years. Today, the region’s wildlife-filled floodplains, vast bushland and white-sand beaches are attracting an increasing number of adventure travellers – with many choosing to witness this extraordinary landscape through Yolŋu eyes.
Kate Eshelby for BBC Travel
HAWAII - Meaning "to give back", this ancient concept is a way of life – and a tourism initiative offering travellers fascinating local experiences and perks.
James March for Tonic Magazine
HAWAII - We’re bathed in a hazy late afternoon October sun, ambling between rows of hillside vines. “But these vines are hardy. That’s part of being in one of the world’s northernmost wine-growing regions.”
Robyn Wilson for The Independent
GUATAMALA - The sun is setting deep in the Guatemalan jungle, soon to sink behind a green, quilted canopy – and I’ve got the best seat in the house. I’m 77 metres high, legs dangling atop a 3,000-year-old temple named La Danta.
Steph Dyson for The Independent
PANAMA - I’ve heard someone claim that in Costa Rica, there are 10 tourists for every quetzal,” Iván Eskildsen, owner of Ogaya Travel, tells me. “But in Panama, for every tourist there are 10 quetzals,” he says, as we tramp through the mud along the Sendero Los Quetzales in the mountainous Panamanian province of Chiriquí.
Sarah Lee for National Geographic Traveller (UK)
TURKS & CAICOS - Turks & Caicos may be famed for its luxurious resorts, but its truest treasures lie in the reefs, caves and secluded coves. It’s a beautiful, delicate ecosystem and every visitor has a role to play in its protection.
Rory Buccheri for Adventure.com
GRENADA - In the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, the island of Grenada, which imports 80 percent of its food, saw an opportunity to make itself more climate-resilient by encouraging farmers to adopt ‘smarter’ farming methods. At the helm of this initiative is chef Kennedy Roberts—and it’s his own backyard that’s been both inspiration and blueprint.
Katy Dartford for Globetrotter Magazine
PERU - Bracing myself, wetsuit zipped, I slipped into the freezing Pacific off the coast of Lima, Peru. The sea was dark and heavy, the sky grey with the city’s signature mist — but as we neared Islas Palomino, everything changed.
Rupert Mellor for OutThere Magazine
BRAZIL - Long famous for its UNESCO-listed historic architecture, tropical beaches and samba-powered, perma-party vibes, the birthplace of Brazil also boasts a potent culture based on resistance, rebellion and African ancestry that is today springboarding new generations of diverse creative talent.
Steph Dyson for Adventure.com
GLOBAL - Some forms of artificial intelligence are already in our lives, but as its use increases in the travel industry, including the use of AI influencers, how might it affect the quality of our experiences? Can AI ever capture the nuance of place and people—and what are its limitations when it comes to creating itineraries? Travel writer Steph Dyson takes a closer look.
Stuart Kenny for Much Better Adventures
GLOBAL - Problematic luxury resorts, obnoxious tourists and the catchiest theme song in the history of television. I am utterly obsessed with HBO’s social satire The White Lotus. It seems there is something perversely seductive about watching the morally bankrupt go on holiday.
Daniel James Clarke for The Guardian
PORTUGAL - A project offering free car rental is revitalising the medieval villages north-east of Lisbon by finally making them easily accessible to visitors.
Asia London Palomba for The Washington Post
IRELAND - Just a few steps away from the golden sands that form one of Ireland’s most popular Victorian-era seaside resorts is Kilcullen Seaweed Baths. Vacationers and weary laborers have been flocking to this bathhouse since 1912, the year the Titanic sank, to indulge in one of Ireland’s indigenous wellness therapies: a seawater and seaweed bath.
Veidehi Gite for Outlook Traveller
INDIA - At the Mardari village in Bandhavgarh, although the Baiga tribals have forsaken tattoos in favour of modernisation, they continue to uphold traditions of science and sustainability.
Samantha Falewee for Condé Nast Traveler
MONGOLIA - Traditional heritage, wildlife conservation, and responsible tourism converge at Mongolia's new Eagle Hunter Cultural Center.
Ellie Cobb for BBC Travel
AUSTRALIA - Famous for its adorable quokkas, Rottnest Island has become a global favourite. But beyond the selfies lies a rich, complex story of culture, conservation and community.
Sarah Reid for Adventure.com
NEW CALEDONIA - Entranced by a giant anemone dancing in the current, clownfish darting between its tentacles, it takes me a minute to see dive guide Pierre-Emmanuel Faivre pointing at a pair of Indo-Pacific leopard sharks right below us.
Jonny Bierman for Travel + Leisure Asia
SIERRA LEONE - Born in London, young Jane Goodall dreamed of African adventures but lacked the means for university. At just 26 years old, she arrived at Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park with little more than binoculars, a notebook, and an unorthodox approach that would revolutionize science and reshape humanity’s relationship with the natural world.
Emily Barlow for Adventure.com
PERU - Writer Emily Barlow follows a less-trodden path in the Peruvian Andes to find ancient archaeological sites, remote mountain campsites, and some of the best-preserved Inca roads in the world. Could this be the next step for tourism in Peru?
Annie Brown Verdin for Adventure.com
COLOMBIA - Established by escaped slaves and formally recognized as a free settlement in 1713, Palenque became the first free Black town in the Americas. Today, Palenquera women are maintaining that ancestral connection through cooking. Writer Annie Brown Verdin visits the Afro-Colombian town and finds that freedom tastes sweet. Literally.
Suzie Dundas for Matador Network
GLOBAL - In summer of 2022, an American tourist threw a rented scooter down the famous Spanish Steps in Rome; it caused $26,000 worth of damage to the 300-year-old stone staircase.
Zanny Merullo for TravelAge West
MEXICO - She guided my fingers to demonstrate “like this,” as I attempted a stitch she had just taught me. Afraid of making a mistake and ruining the floral embroidery she held in her hands, I raised my head to check with her before I put the needle into the mesh each time, proceeding if she nodded or letting her take the lead if she shook her head.
Jessica Reid for TTG Media
INDIA - I felt a fuzzy, warm feeling as I sat cross-legged on the floor, watching a group of teenage sisters tease, giggle and squeal with one another as they try to swat a fly with no avail. Between the laughter, I don’t know what they’re saying exactly, but it doesn’t matter. In this tiny room, tucked away off a bustling street in the heart of Old Delhi, the feeling of love is unmistakable.
Ailsa Sheldon for The Herald
SCOTLAND - There are many skilled guides who will take you up mountains, help you safely bag Munros or learn compass skills. There’s huge value in this, of course, but what if you want to go in to the mountains, to stop, to experience, to listen, while also being safe and learning plenty about your surroundings?
Teresa Machan for The Guardian
ALBANIA - With glorious national parks and a traditional way of life, the Balkan country shows how green travel can benefit locals and visitors alike.
Yvette Cook for The Independent
MOROCCO - One year after a devastating earthquake hit the country, Yvette Cook travels deep into the majestic High Atlas mountains to meet the women who are transforming their communities.
Sarah Marshall for The Telegraph
AUSTRALIA - New cruises to the Kimberley in Australia can only operate with permission from its indigenous people.
Richard Franks for The Standard
UNITED STATES - From Sonoma to Sacramento, cruise across the Golden State on a tailormade tour that is sustainable too.
Estella Shardlow for The Spectator
ENGLAND - At first glance, it looks like any other sleepy village in southwest England. A medieval church and manor house face a fish ’n’ chip shop and post office across the green. There’s the obligatory pub, the Farmers Arms, where log fires crackle and ale-taps gleam beneath oak-beamed ceilings. Along the narrow lanes, whitewashed cottages peter out into rolling Devonshire hills.
Kevin Rushby for The Guardian
PERU - The alternative Machu Picchu: a hike to find the ‘real’ lost world of the Incas. At the start of a 3,000-mile journey down the Amazon, our writer witnesses the benefits of community tourism projects on a less crowded option to the Inca Trail.
Carolyn Boyd for National Geographic Traveller (UK)
FRANCE - In the heart of France’s Massif Central, from the slopes of the Cantal mountains to the pastures of the Aubrac plateau, the volcanic soil has given rise to a breathtaking floral landscape — fertile ground for culinary traditions, gastronomic creativity and some of the country’s finest cheeses.
Karlina Valeiko for National Geographic Traveller (UK)
BOTSWANA & ZIMBABWE - See southern Africa in a new light—on a lake cruise. Crossing the borders of Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, land and water safaris follow the flow of the Zambezi to Lake Kariba, where a cruise offers unparalleled wildlife encounters.
Nori Jemil for Oceanographic
AUSTRALIA - Located less than an hour from Perth, Mandurah is Western Australia’s second largest city. Here, the Mandurah Estuary and Peel Inlet is a large system of shallow estuarine and saline, brackish and freshwater lakes. This diverse ecosystem is not only a habitat for many plant and animal species but is also regarded as one of Australia's most spectacular playgrounds for boating, fishing and wildlife watching.
Karen Gardiner for Condé Nast Traveller
CANADA - Nunavik—With Inuit Storytelling and Arctic Wildlife—Is Opening Up to Travelers A new model of tourism takes shape in Northern Quebec's Nunavik, led by Inuit guides.
Kate Wickers for The Ethicalist
BRAZIL - Stay at trailblazing eco-lodge deep in Brazil's Cerrado, the world's most biodiverse savanna, and you'll encounter hundreds of wildlife but none more majestic than the endangered Maned Wolves who are said to cast spells on all those they encounter.
Emma Gibbs for BBC Travel
SCOTLAND - Every spring, almost 100,000 seabirds – guillemots, great skuas, razorbills and puffins – descend on the small island of Handa, just off Scotland's far north-west coast.
Queenie Shaikh for Adventure.com
CROATIA - As our minivan maneuvered down the winding mountain road between the towns of Šibenik and Trogir on Croatia’s southern Dalmatian coast, I was taken aback—and back in time. “Wow, this looks so much like Northern Pakistan,” I thought. I couldn’t quite believe it as the twisting journey unfolded like a nostalgic reel of my childhood drives through the vast landscapes of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Tamara Davison for Adventure.com
EGYPT - From Egypt and Jordan to Bahrain and Oman, tourism is a luxury for some countries—and a lifeline for many others. And in the shadow of conflicts and various degrees of instability, Egypt-based writer Tamara Davison says that now, more than ever, we should be adding the Middle East and North Africa to our travel itineraries.
Sarah Reid for Adventure.com
PAKISTAN - “There is another ‘wow’ moment up here,” says our guide Muneer Alam with a flash of his huge, seemingly permanent smile. Sure enough, as I reach the top of a punishing hill, a panorama of soaring snow-capped peaks and hulking glaciers unfurls before me. This dramatic landscape has been described as the Yosemite of Pakistan. But there’s nowhere else on the planet quite like this.
Rashmi Narayan for Adventure.com
UNITED STATES - They may be as beloved as each other in the southern US state of Louisiana, but Cajun and Creole aren’t interchangeable terms. Loosely defined as Cajun being ‘country’ food and Creole as ‘city’ food, it’s fair to say it’s a lot more complex than that, each one—and each dish—telling a story of Louisiana’s multi-layered history and heritage.
Claire Boobyyer for Adventure.com
CUBA - The Caribbean island of Cuba may be in crisis, but a new wave of entrepreneurs, restaurateurs and other creatives are innovating in Havana like never before, as Claire Boobyyer finds out in the Cuban capital.
Ash Bhardwaj for Adventure.com
GLOBAL - Many of us put travel at the top of our life lists—after the survival essentials—but why exactly do we travel? With the help of scientists, philosophers, historians and his own life experiences, author and journalist Ash Bhardwaj has discovered 12 motivations for travel, and how they can help us to travel better.
Abi King for Inside the TravelLab
GLOBAL - Every January sees the web fill with articles on the best places to visit in any coming year. But does any of it make any sense?
April Hutchinson for TTG Media
BOTSWANA - Three exquisite camps in beautiful Botswana make for a memorable trip rooted in conservation, amazing wildlife, delicious food, warm staff and great company.
Mark Stratton for The Telegraph
ROMANIA - In the darkest depths of Romania, a vast national park is being created to rival the world’s best.
Phoebe Smith for The Independent
EGYPT - Marsa Alam is home to one of the first Eco Dive Centres in the world: Phoebe Smith pays it a visit, along with the area’s other trailblazing initiatives.
Chris Haslam for The Times
INDIA - As Project Tiger, India’s landmark conservation programme, celebrates 50 years, Chris Haslam visits one of its most successful big cat reserves.
Chris Haslam for The Times
DOMINICA - Five years since Hurricane Maria hit, Chris Haslam finds Dominica high in natural riches but low on tourists — and bouncing back from the brink.
Kate Wickers for JRNY Travel Magazine
ITALY - On the very edge of night, when the air is of a misty purplish hue and cool enough to provoke shivers, I pedal past meadow after field filled with monstrous, twisted forms.
Sarah Marshall for National Geographic Traveller (UK)
KENYA - Life plays out much as it always has on the great plains of Kenya’s Maasai Mara, but the latest generation of Maasai are gradually changing the face of modern safari — with greater empowerment for female guides and local communities as a whole.
James Draven for Wanderlust Magazine
INDIA - After India celebrated 50 years of its Project Tiger conservation scheme, we visit the reserves of Madhya Pradesh to see how its success has impacted a tiger population that once looked in danger of disappearing.
Sarah Gillespie for National Geographic Traveller (UK)
ECUADOR - Around the grounds of Hacienda Zuleta, the local Andean community works across a range of initiatives to tell the story of their ancestors and celebrate century-old traditions.
Zoey Goto for National Geographic Traveller (UK)
UNITED STATES - Amid the expansive grasslands of South Dakota, Matte Wilson and his family and friends are using food to reclaim their Sicangu Lakota culture, one dish at a time.
Lauren Jarvis for National Geographic
SCOTLAND - The Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party have pledged to designate 10 percent of the country’s seas as Highly Protected Marine Areas, offering depleted ecosystems a chance to bounce back. It's a complicated task.
Meera Dattani for Wanderlust
SPAIN - After taking the 33-hour seafaring route to northern Spain, Meera Dattani learns how slow and mindful travel can be incorporated into the entire trip, from gourmet experiences to wildlife encounters.
Lebawit Lily Girma for Adventure.com
AFRICA - Africa is more than just a vast savannah full of animals and luxury lodges. And as tourism to the continent continues to grow, it’s time to leave the wholesale ‘Disneyfication’ of Africa to one side. Instead, let’s focus on the people, cultures and communities that call it home, writes Lebawit Lily Girma.
Lorna Parkes for The Guardian
INDIA - A new initiative in a Himalayan wildlife sanctuary is attracting birdwatchers and hikers to the remote foothills, and offering vulnerable villages a lifeline.
Kate Wickers for The Ethicalist
COLOMBIA - Swimming with piranhas, getting up close with owl faced monkeys, trees that walk and bullet ants that can paralyse with one bite is all part of an eco-adventure at Calanoa Amazonas.
Shafik Meghji for The Standard
GLOBAL - A growing number of travel experiences are owned and run by Indigenous or First Nation people, making for nature-protecting, minimal-impact holidays. We tracked down the very best.
Shivya Nath for The Shooting Star
GLOBAL - For over a decade, I’ve been telling stories at the intersection of travel, the environment and local communities. This journey has taken me as far within as with my feet.
Chris Haslam for The Sunday Times
GLOBAL - But we're both wrong, because we're clinging onto a notion of luxury that's as outdated and morally unacceptable as drink-driving.
Andrew Purvis for The Telegraph
ITALY - Wolf scat, how to be 'bear smart' and removing dangerous barbed wire are just some of the things our writer experienced on a rewilding trip.
Eddi Fiegel for Wanderlust Magazine
SPAIN - Forget those images of fly-n-flop beaches, tourism in Spain is going distinctly – and brilliantly – green. Here, we delve into the extraordinary eco-experiences on offer across the country.
Emma Gregg for National Geographic Traveller (UK)
AFRICA - Game-changing wildlife experiences across the continent, from silent safaris to cutting-edge conservation.
Karen Gardiner for Adventure.com
CANADA - Thirty years ago, Newfoundland suffered the largest job loss in Canadian history (until COVID-19) when the government shut down its cod fishery. Now, sustainable and community-led tourism initiatives are helping this resilient community bounce back.
Mark Stratton for Adventure.com
THAILAND - A new project in Thailand aims to address issues around elephant tourism ethics with a pioneering model. But can truly ethical treatment of elephants ever go hand-in-hand?
James Chapple for TTG Media
NORWAY - Emerging coughing and spluttering from the icy waters of Lygnstoylvatnet, I plunge my head back in for the dozenth time and kick out again with my flippers. It’s only then I finally see it; the small farming community preserved underwater for more than a century.