Positive effects of traveling | PART 2

Researchers can pay for the costs involved when studying ecosystems or wildlife by offering nice activities, ranging from for example half day whale and dolphin watching tours to multiple days stay at a marine investigation center in The Azores, where the same guys who used to be on the lookout to kill whales, are now standing at those same spots looking for dolphins and whales to show these magnificent creatures to travelers.

Ancient houses, as for example in the National Park in Northern Portugal, can be renovated to be rented out as holiday homes to hikers, which helps to safeguard the cultural heritage and provides an income for the locals living in rough territory where jobs are scarce.

Indigenous tribes often play an underestimated, prominent role in the fight against global warming. Your visit provides resources so that they can pay lawyers to preserve their land and assert their owners' rights in the courtroom where they face powerful industries who want to deprive them of their homes. Water sources which keep villages alive also often lay on grounds that companies want to get hold of, and lawsuits need to be paid for in order to keep their natural resources theirs. You can help them, simply by spending a nice day with the indigenous, get to know them, see how they live and how they honor nature as their only God. They are the ones who protect our rainforests, the lungs of the earth, which sometimes even ends in them getting murdered. Maybe you are not so much interested in indigenous culture but you are in fauna, flora, the climate? Then do consider a visit as they can share so much knowledge about the pristine environment they live in, and they often live in the most isolated environments, off the beaten track.

On top of that you give the younger generation a reason to stay and not leave to the city out of despair, hoping for a better future there but ending up in poverty or worse. You give them a chance to stay in the environment they are familiar with and earn an income by sharing their knowledge with you. You give them a reason to do their best at school and learn English, to want to become a guide, lawyer or biologist. You give them a future in a world where modernization and materialism do not leave them untouched. After all, the modern Indian also wants a mobile phone to reach his children and also wants to wear skinny jeans instead of a rag rug. Because of this, discussions arise between the elderly and the young within the indigenous community where the young people also want what we have. Tourism can bridge this by offering an income in a responsible way while preserving their individuality and belief in the gods of nature. It is the responsibility of the entire tourism industry to ensure that they do not become a tourist attraction but are visited by travelers who show a genuine interest and the necessary respect for their culture and sacred places such as waterfalls and volcanoes.

YŪGEN tours stands for journeys which provide an income to the local people because they are the ones who will welcome you and give you a good time. YŪGEN puts people, animals and the planet before pure profit. In many countries, tourism is the main source of income.

Our partners also support all kinds of initiatives from nature conservation to economical support for the local population. Your journey makes that possible. You pay for a nice trip, but at the same time you do so much good. Your expenses at the destination can go directly to what you want to support because you can hand over the money directly to the national park, the reserve, the rescue center,  the guide or the local coffee farmer, whatever you like to do for fun. Pack for a Purpose even allows you to save a little space in your luggage to bring something small along which is very much needed at your destination. A box of medicines or some crayons can make a big difference in someone’s life.  Enjoy this beautiful interaction with us. Not many business industries can do what tourism can.

Share your smile, go yugenstyle,

Iris