Making a difference: how to engage positively with local communities

At its best, travel broadens the horizons and nourishes the soul. Time and again we hear people say that their lasting travel memories involve learning how to engage positively with local communities and people. Moments of connection with local people, insights into a whole different way of life to their own, and the heartwarming recognition of a shared humanity. Enabling these authentic connections to happen while empowering local communities is what we are all about.

The best initiatives for positive-impact tourism begin within communities at a grassroots level. They go beyond businesses employing local people (though this can be positive, too), and place local communities and individuals at the heart of the process. Education, business model support, and access to market are key. There are projects and organizations all over the world working on this model, but they can often get buried in the sheer volume of trip offers out there.

Here at TravelLocal, we seek to offer a platform for these businesses to reach you and other travelers. But we also have some ideas for fostering positive interactions with locals and communities, however and wherever you are traveling.

Make respectful encounters with local communities

For any trip, large or small, do a little research before you travel to a new destination and familiarize yourself with local customs and norms. These could be around eating habits and etiquette, dress, both in general and for holy sites, and ways of approaching new people. As far as you can, adapt to these social mores out of respect for the people and places you are traveling to.

Learning a few words of the local language goes a long way, too. Having a go at simple greetings shouldn’t be too challenging and makes a big difference when it comes to interacting and connecting with local people. Be aware that photography can be a sensitive area and that travelers should always be respectful when snapping a picture. If you want to take a photo of someone, it’s polite to ask their permission first, and a quick gesture along with a smile is all you need in most situations.

Support community initiatives and businesses

There is an increasing awareness around supporting small businesses these days. If at home you make the effort to buy your coffee from an independent or stock your pantry from the local farmers market, then the same ethos can be easily extended to your travels. Rather than visiting a chain hotel and restaurant, opt for a homestay or a locally-owned guesthouse then eat at the corner food cart or family-run neighborhood bistro. By making a mindful choice of where and how to spend your cash, you can easily support local communities.

Likewise, when it comes to activities and experiences, always ask around for recommended people and places that have local backing. This might be someone’s friend who runs a small vineyard, a workshop collective for local makers, or a cooperative coffee farm. Likely, these are the kinds of places where your support will be most appreciated and best directed.

Go off the beaten track to make authentic connections

The big-hitters travel-wise are popular for a reason, but high-season visits to top destinations are becoming more and more problematic. For many destinations around the world, over-tourism is causing unrest and dismay for local residents. So, instead of being another tourist vying for space at a major sight, think about taking a different track.

If there’s somewhere you’ve always dreamt of visiting, by all means, go, but could you travel there in the low season instead? Alternatively, opt for something completely different in a favorite destination. Choose a lesser-visited town or region, explore smaller off-the-radar destinations, and travel slowly to get to know an area better. It’s often in these quieter, less tourism-centric destinations that you’ll have the most authentic and interesting encounters.

Help communities through responsible tourism

Responsible tourism is about being a citizen of the world and treating the places you visit as you would want others to treat your home – respecting the environment, the people, and the places that you pass through. It’s also about asking questions of yourself and of those organizing your trip. Choosing community-based tourism or adding an element of it to each of your trips will go a long way to improving the social impact of tourism the world over.

Volunteer and support local projects

Volunteering your time and energy is a wonderful way to help support the communities that you visit. But it’s important to make sure that your skills and experience are a good match for an organization or project. If you’re serious about volunteering, you’ll need to do some solid research, asking plenty of questions of your potential volunteering match and essentially vetting them for authenticity and ethics.

The advantages of community-based tourism

When done right, the advantages of community-based tourism are many and they benefit all parties. For the visitor, it should be culturally enriching, authentic and interesting. For those offering the experience, it will be empowering, foster awareness and appreciation of their heritage and/or environment, and support them financially in a fair way.

How to engage positively with local communities: tips for planning your trip

• Consider the timing of your trip – will it be high season in your chosen destination and could you tweak your dates?
• Get clear on the types of experiences that are important to you and your travel companions, and then think about where you might experience them best.
• If you’re traveling with children, how can you best broaden their horizons and give them opportunities to connect with new cultures?
• Think about slow travel – could you skip a short trip or two and stay longer in one destination, instead?
• Might you travel by rail or take a biking or hiking vacation, instead of flying from hot spot to highlight?
• Could you weave one (or several) community tourism stays into your itinerary?
• Download that language app, read a few articles and buy that book – getting to know your travel destination’s history, culture and language, even just a little, will deepen your experience and your conversations with locals.
• Go with the intention that you will travel with impact – positivity breeds positivity and intention will go a long way.

Make it happen

Ready to start planning a trip through which you’ll make meaningful connections and engage positively with local communities? Browse our destinations for plenty of trip inspiration and get in touch with our local experts today.