TORONTO — Planeterra’s new Around the World Challenge hits all the right notes: it encourages travel lovers to join its movement to support community tourism enterprises as travel reemerges post-COVID, while celebrating the diversity and power of community tourism.
The challenge will take place over the course of 10 days, May 17 – 26. Participants will collectively ‘travel the globe’ by walking, running, or biking 40,087 km – the distance around the equator – while aiming to raise US$40,087.
Emails and social media posts each day highlight a new region. Participants can look forward to exclusive events and videos from community tourism enterprises in places like Bolivia, Rwanda and India, plus unique cuisine, facts, and culture in more than a dozen destinations.
Jamie Sweeting, President, Planeterra, says the challenge dovetails with the non-profit’s Global Community Tourism Network, launched last week. Community partnerships have more than doubled since December 2020 and Planeterra now works with communities in over 65 countries. “We thought it was the perfect time to highlight these new community partners, and help Planeterra support them as they prepare to recover and the world prepares to travel again,” said Sweeting.
Sweeting adds that Planeterra felt it was crucial to acknowledge the current situation in India. “Planeterra has pledged to match the first US$1,500 raised during the Around the World Challenge, to be allocated to operations and community partners in Delhi,” he said.
The Global Community Tourism Network supports community tourism enterprises to achieve their social and environmental goals by breaking down barriers that exist in the tourism marketplace. It aims to increase capacity, quality and accessibility of community tourism enterprises all around the world by providing online training, peer-to-peer connection, marketing, and promotion.
Last year’s Planeterra Trek Challenge garnered overwhelming support, with 550 individuals on 62 teams trekking the distance to virtually climb Everest Base Camp.
Many travel agents took part in the 2020 Planeterra Trek Challenge, and for 2021 survey participants asked Planeterra to develop another fitness challenge for spring 2021
TPI CEO Zeina Gedeon, who’s a board member for Planeterra, says: “Agents are excited to get behind the Around the World Challenge. I’m calling on agencies to sign up for this challenge so they can support, learn about, and embrace community tourism as we start to help our customers travel again.”
For more information on the Around the World Challenge click here.
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