Sustainable Travel is one of those phrases that gets tossed around a lot to help sell trips, but without a clear definition it is pretty meaningless.

To Detour, Sustainable Tourism is defined as a level of tourism activity that can be maintained over the long term because it results in a net benefit for the social, economic, natural and cultural environments of the area in which it takes place.

It is tourism that meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future. It provides economically viable and environmentally sound alternatives to destructive practices such as clearcutting of forest lands. Sustainable tourism has the potential to improve the lives of local residents and to provide incentives for conservation of wildlands, waterways, and cultural resources.

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