Planning a vacation this summer? You’re not alone. Tourism as an industry is booming, and is growing every year. By 2020, according to the World Tourism Industry, international borders will be crossed roughly 1.6 billion times annually, as tourists zigzag back and forth across our ever-shrinking planet.
As a result, a network of grassroots movements dedicated to environmentally-friendly and socially-responsible travel is emerging. The International Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism, for example, as responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people. Subscribers to pro-poor tourism aim to improve the living conditions of the poor population inhabiting their travel destinations.
A growing number of natural heritage organizations in countries across the world are offering volunteer tourism opportunities, sometimes known as voluntourism for travelers who would like to spend their holiday making a difference: building shelters, working on farms, cleaning natural parks. These kinds of holidays often offer access to more remote parts of the world that would otherwise be closed to commercial holiday-goers.

