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LATEST NEWS:
Faltan Acciones, no buenas intenciones - says David Krantz, a featured speaker at the COPARMEX Conference in Mazatlan
Traveler's Philanthropy Conference featured in IUCN newsletter. Click Here to check in out
CREST is quoted in the New York Times Green Blog. Click Here to see the article: "Controversial Airport is Planned for Costa Rica"
3rd International Travelers' Philanthropy Conference - Click Here to read a Summary Report
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Responsible Tourism Tanzania
Responsible Tourism Tanzania is a new initiative that started at the International Travelers Philanthropy Conference that was held in Arusha in 2008. The idea for this organization is to set the standards and accredit tourism enterprises for an ecotourism or responsible approach. Since the conference, the idea of Responsible Tourism Tanzania has steadily grown and recently it launched a new website.
Click here to learn more about their initiatives!
Serengeti Watch Campaign
Click here to sign an online petition to save the Serengeti, one of the most important wildlife sites in the world.
Click here to learn more details.
Past Events:
September 29th: CREST presented at the OAS Interamerican Travel Congress in El Salvador
September 23rd: CREST travelled to Nicaragua with WSPA for a forum on Sustainable Tourism and Animal Welfare at the Universidad de Ciencias Comerciales
September 1st, 2011: WSPA's Regional Project: "Sustainable Tourism and Animal Welfare: A New Tool for Development"
2011 Zumba Instructor Convention
CREST participated in the 2011 Zumba Instructor Convention on July 7 - 10 for fund raising!
IMF World Environment Day Expo
CREST joined IMF's World Environment Day Expo on June 5, 2011.
TravelTalk Radio interviewed Martha Honey about CREST's Traveler's Philanthropy and the 3rd International Conference on Traveler's Philanthropy! Click here to listen!
In their new article, OnEarth Magazine asks CREST "Can Ecotourism Survive in Costa Rica?"
The New York Times asks "Is there a right way to spend money while traveling?" In their recent article CREST says "Yes!"
Intrepid covers the Travelers' Philanthropy Handbook on their Intrepid Express Blog.
CREST helps Travel Weekly examine Travelers' Philanthropy in "Good Deeds, Good Business"
CREST helps Travel Weekly determine "How Green is my Travel?" in this article.
Home >Welcome to CREST
Our Mission
The Center for Responsible Travel (CREST) is a non-profit research institution with offices in Washington, DC and at Stanford University, whose mission is to promote responsible tourism policies and practices globally so that local communities may thrive and steward their cultural resources and biodiversity.
CREST has developed 5 successful program areas:
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Global leader in Travelers' Philanthropy.
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Setting standards and strengthening responsible tourism
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Analyzing impacts of different models of tourism and promoting innovation
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Paid consulting and field research
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Sharing expertise and providing leadership
Photos by Bill Durham, Tracey Pizzo, Simon Wilson and Solimar Travels
CREST at a Glance Brouchure
To download the brouchureClick Here
Current Project: Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
CREST recently completed a multi-year project to assess ecotourism and strengthen travelers’ philanthropy in the Osa Peninsula, in partnership with Fundacion Corcovado. The projects involved collaboration with tourism businesses and associations, local students, NGOs, and others in the Osa.
Phase 1: In 2010-2011, CREST carried out a baseline assessment of ecotourism in the Osa, with funding from the Tinker Foundation and Stanford University.
Click here for Phase 1 information. Click here for the final report on Ecotourism in the Osa Peninsula. Click here for the Key Findings Click here for an analysis of a Travelers' Philanthropy Survey in the Osa Peninsula Clic Aqui para leer el reportaje en Español Clic Aqui para leer los resultados claves Clic Aqui para leer el comunicado de prensa Clic Aqui para leer un analisis del sondeo de Filantropia del Viajero en la Peninsula Osa Phase 2: Thanks to support from the CRUSA Foundation, CREST and Fundacion Corcovado, together with the Osa Tourism Chamber (CATUOSA) are engaged in a project to assess and strengthen travelers' philanthropy in the Osa Peninsula through a series of workshops, survey of businesses and other activities (December 2010 - May 2011). Click here to read about CREST's work in the Osa in English.
Clic aqui para leer acerca del trabajo de CREST en Osa en Español.
Leer sobre el proyecto en El Financiero
Phase 3: CREST, together with Fundacion Corcovado proposes to create a destination-wide Travelers' Philanthropy Fund for the Osa. This concept was nominated as a finalist in the Changemakers 2010 competition sponsored by National Geographic, Ashoka, and the Inter-American Development Bank. For more details, Click Here!
We are currently seeking funding to undertake this next phase.
CREST, together with the Monteverde Institute, is also involved in a similar iniative to create a destination-wide Travelers' Philanthropy Fund in Monteverde.
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CREST played a major role in a third conference on Indigenous community-based tourism held in April, 2011, in the indigenous community of Bacabureachi in the Southwest of Mexico’s Chihuahua state. This meeting was designed in response to the needs of a group of Chiuahua's mountain-dwelling Rarámuri (Tarahumara) communities. As articulated by the communities, the conference's purpose was to discuss the formation of a regional indigenous tourism network which would allow the communities to join together for collective marketing and planning, and help bring greater benefits from tourism. 2011: Third conference on Indigenous community-based tourism held in April, 2011! Click here to read about the meeting. Click aqui par leer en español. 2010: Second International meeting of indigenous leaders in tourism, INTIRUNA held February 24 - 27, 2010! Click here to read about the meeting.
2006: CREST convened a group of indigenous community representatives from throughout Latin America in Quito, Ecuador to discuss the role of ecotourism and certification for their communities. Click here to read about the meeting.
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See our Partners section to learn more about the organizations we work with, or to learn about conservation and sustainable development work worldwide.
Our Recent Reports, Documentaries, Conference Proceedings