Committed to growing its inclusive community and expanding the travel industry’s impact, Travel+SocialGood, a nonprofit working in the global travel industry since 2013, changed its name to Impact Travel Alliance (ITA). The new name better reflects the organization’s long-term vision to affect the choices an average leisure or business traveler makes and the importance travel businesses put on a triple-bottom line.
“Our goal is to reshape the narrative around sustainable tourism, and help average consumers understand that sustainability can be applied to any type of travel,” said Kelley Louise, Impact Travel Alliance’s executive director. “Our new name reflects our commitment to build an inclusive community of professionals dedicated to building a more impactful travel industry.”
The organization’s rebrand was announced on Nov. 17, at the end of its Global Summit, an event presented in partnership with Global Sustainable Tourism Council, Sustainable Travel International, Center for Responsible Travel and Tourism Cares. ITA is working with these partners to make sustainable tourism more accessible to all travelers. The Summit challenged all 150 attendees to think about increasing transparency in the industry.
“Working together with our partners has helped us to shape our vision for the future of ITA,” Louise said. “We believe business and leisure travel can help to solve some of the world’s most pressing issues, and hope that through collaboration, we can continue to push the industry toward a more impactful future.”
In 2018, ITA will begin building a comprehensive platform of vetted travel resources to help professionals gain a holistic understanding of sustainability, and implement it into their business models or own travel experiences. ITA’s goal is to provide a resource of trusted materials to those looking to learn more about sustainable tourism. ITA will first look to its current industry partners, such as Ritz-Carlton, Hostelling International USA, Lokal Travel, Kind Traveler and Myght, Inc., but will be expanding its network rapidly.
“Sustainable travel is up to all of us – travelers and industry providers alike – to integrate into every journey. We’re excited to have a partner like ITA to accelerate the collective efforts of providers like HI USA committed to responsible tourism,” said Hostelling International USA’s Director of Communications And PR Netanya Trimboli.
Impact Travel Alliance is the world’s largest community for impact-focused travel professionals. Through education and advocacy around sustainable tourism, the organization aims to transform the travel industry into a force for good, and to address issues like poverty and inequality through business and leisure travel. ITA is an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit with a highly engaged and active global community with 20 Hubs (local chapters) in cities around the world. ITA is run entirely by volunteers and the passion of more than 200 active Hub leaders and Media Network members. For more information, visit impacttravelalliance.org.
