We have chosen to align our vision for Positive Impact Travel with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Not only do these goals offer a comprehensive guide to solving the challenges facing our planet, but they act as a focal point for all of us to rally together and support as one.
With travel touching the lives of so many, it is only right that the industry take brave, bold steps towards creating a brighter future in which places, biodiversity and people thrive.
Even before Steppes Travel opted to work towards these goals, many of the projects and partners that have been a part of our network for decades have already created significant change in these areas.
We have made a commitment, as part of our Positive Impact Travel vision, to ensure that every single holiday takes strides forward in supporting at least three of these goals. When you book with us, our Travel Experts will be able to outline exactly how and why your itinerary is creating positive change.
Working under the umbrella of this initiative lets you assess how your holiday will help the world and sets a benchmark for those around us in the travel industry. Take a closer look at each of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in detail below and keep an eye out for the logos on our holiday ideas and hotels pages to get an understanding of how your holiday can contribute to a better planet.
Goal 1: No Poverty
Prior to the pandemic, tourism accounted for 1 in 4 new jobs created worldwide. Travel supports sustainable social and economic development by working to employ local people from surrounding communities.
Goal 2: No Hunger
Tourism can bolster local agricultural productivity by integrating communities and farming methods. Our partnerships that promote this offer a very real path to eradicating hunger and poverty across the planet.
Goal 3: Good health and well being
Supporting destinations and projects that operate through a lens of sustainability, where access to education and basic health services are a priority, reduces the impact of malnutrition and disease.
Goal 4: Quality education
Around 6 out of 10 children and young adults worldwide lack basic literacy and numeracy skills. Economic benefits provided by travel increases exposure to quality education for young people.
Goal 5: Gender equality
Increasing girls’ education has boosted economies by 25% in countries that are a part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) over the past 50 years. Working with projects that promote gender equality is a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation
New water management technologies align with the needs of tourism and create a knock-on effect that trickles throughout local infrastructure and benefits the surrounding area and its people.
Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy
When tourism and energy work side by side through a focus on carefully measuring and reducing carbon emissions of partners and air travel, holidays can create a net positive impact on the environment.
Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth
In 2020, 62 million tourism jobs were lost due to the COVID pandemic. Sustainable economic growth is built on a foundation of giving local communities access to the kind of prosperous, meaningful jobs that the projects and hotels we work with create.
Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Tourism ventures deeper into destinations than most. Spreading access to jobs and technology strengthens infrastructure in places that would typically remain unseen by governments.
Goal 10: Reduced inequalities
Income inequality is at some of its highest levels, with the poorest 10% of the world’s population earning as little as 2% of its total income. Authentic, considered travel is driven by nurturing those who work on the ground through economic fairness.
Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
Urban spaces account for 3% of the world’s land but 75% of its carbon emissions. Choosing destinations that are not over-visited, or employ strict limitations on travel frequency, reduces this strain in these hotspots.
Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production
Consumption and construction with sustainability at its core, an ethos that all of our partners share, reduces the impact of carbon emissions, preserves delicate natural spaces and strengthens communities.
Goal 13: Climate Action
The heart of everything we do at Steppes Travel. Operating and collaborating with a focus on halting climate change and working to reduce the incidence of habitat loss, conflicts, natural disasters and disease
Goal 14: Life below water
Ecotourism provides income that encourages locals to protect the waterways and oceans that tourists come to visit. It has supported the recovery of whale populations over the last few decades and as we know whales are a significant store of carbon and magnificent creature that can help fight climate change.
Goal 15: Life on land
Tourism funds protect habitats, maintaining biodiversity, helping reforestation and providing financial support to preserve endangered species. Tourism can also play an important role in deterring poachers and provide income to local residents who go on to help protect their ecosystems.
Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
Travel is a great way to break down the misplaced fear of the unknown and different, leading to greater tolerance and peace. The cultural exchange during our travels can contribute to a more equal world, providing it engages with local communities and makes them part of the tourism experience.
Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals
Tourism reaches every corner of the world and by forming connections with charities and partners it can contribute to the development of the poorest countries and enhance species conservation.
Learn more about the SDGs in the United Nations Foundation video below
The Goals in Motion
These UN Sustainable Development Goals create an effective structure for tackling climate change. Each of our holiday ideas, partners and hotels have been chosen because they align with these goals. Explore the key holiday ideas and hotels found across the Steppes Travel website and you will find UN Sustainable Development Goals icons that outline the positive change being supported.
Yasuni, Kichwa Anangu Community, Napo Wildlife Centre, Ecuadorean Amazon
Napo Wildlife Centre
Napo Wildlife Centre is a community-owned lodge located deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon that uses an eco-tourism model where profits are reinvested into renewable energy, education and health care.
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 4, 7 and 10
Masai Mara, Kenya
Cottar’s 1920s Camp
Cottar’s 1920s Camp sits on the edge of Kenya’s Masai Mara and has built an innovative land lease model that works with over 6,000 independent, local landowners to preserve the surrounding natural spaces.
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 11, 12 and 15
Misool Foundation
Misool Eco Resort
Misool Eco Resort, a beautiful private island in Indonesia, has created its own marine reserve alongside local communities to ensure the protection of endangered species in some of the most heavily fished waters in the world.
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 11, 13 and 14
Galapagos Conservation Trust
When travelling to the Galapagos with Steppes Travel, you will be given membership to the Galapagos Conservation Trust, which funds essential conservation on the islands while providing girls and young women in the Galapagos with essential access to education.
UN Sustainable Development Goals: 4, 5, 9 and 13
