GX 2024: G Adventures, Planeterra Bring 500 Members to India

G Adventures and its non-profit partner, Planeterra, hosted the second annual GX World Community Tourism Summit on 27SEP 2024 in Jaipur, India.

The day focused on the impact of community tourism and how it can change lives and create positive effects.

Discussions tackled challenges and opportunities, including how community tourism is empowering women in India to gain economic independence and how the climate crisis is disproportionately affecting in-need communities globally.

The Summit brought together close to 500 travel industry representatives from all corners of the globe, including travel agents, partners, suppliers, and travellers.

With Incredible India as the headline sponsor, the event was a celebration of travel.

Jamie Sweeting, president of Planeterra, has been committed to uplifting communities through tourism for over two decades.

“Project 300 has a bold target to uplift 300 communities through travel by the year 2030. I’m delighted to report that in the past year, 13 new community tourism enterprises have been integrated into G Adventures trips, including four in India,” said Sweeting.

“This means that today, 130 community projects are currently benefiting from the power of tourism. New partners include Pink City Rickshaw in Jaipur which offers women from low-income households sustainable livelihoods as they proudly drive designer e-rickshaws and Sheroes Hangout in Agra - a café that offers acid attack survivors opportunities for personal growth and recovery.”

Sweeting also announced that over three million trees will be growing by the end of 2024 as part of the Trees for Days initiative which sees a tree planted for each day a traveller is on a G Adventures trip.

“Since its launch 12 months ago, we’ve nurtured 18 community tree-growing projects in 14 countries, benefiting over 40,000 community members. We’ve learned that if you plant the right kind of tree with the right kind of people in the right kind of place, it can be absolutely extraordinary.”

The event also featured a conversation between G Adventures’ founder Bruce Poon Tip and Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler. In an ode to the impact Wheeler has had on local communities with his Lonely Planet guides, they reflected on how backpacking defined responsible tourism and discussed how community tourism today can help shape the future of travel.

Other speakers of note included Meenu Vadera, the Founder of Azad Foundation; Aayusha Prasain from the Community Homestay Network; Indian poet Aranya Johar and presenter Ernest White II of Fly Brother, as well as Paras Loomba, the founder of Global Himalayan Expeditions.

Attendees also had the chance to learn more about Planeterra-supported social enterprises in India, including Women with Wheels, Sheroes, Anoothi, Sunder Rang, Together we Earn (TWE), Tenacious Bee Collective, Odisha Ecotourism Foundation, Pink City Rickshaw, and Salaam Baalak Trust.

During the event, Planeterra also announced a new five-year community tourism development partnership with G Travel Community (GTC) member G Touring, featuring a donation and match funding model to support future projects.

The day wrapped up with the announcement of the host destination for the next GX Summit, which will be held in Jordan in September 2025.

In partnership with the Jordan Tourism Board North America (JTBNA), Royal Jordanian Airlines will sponsor the event, along with support from USAID Jordan through its Tourism, Resilience, Innovation, and Promotion Activity (TRIP).

The event will also celebrate G Adventures’ 35th anniversary.

The full line-up of speakers included: