Let’s Travel Sustainably, Together.
What Does it Mean to be a
Sustainable Tourism Company?
At Costa Rica Trails, we believe that sustainability is a practice. It’s something we intentionally strive to do and act on, every day.
Below, this is how we choose to practice sustainable tourism.
We Support Our
Communities.
It’s simple. We take care of our providers and partners. We strive to keep the supply chain as local as possible. Because we know if our community thrives, we all thrive.
And for you? This means your guests will always be well taken care of.
Supporting Local Businesses
We guide you and your guests towards locally owned businesses, restaurants and hotels. As a result, people in our local community gain training and meaningful employment.
Whenever possible, our travel experiences feature food, supplies and service providers that are 100% Costa Rican made and grown.
We also put a lot of our attention on making sure everyone is paid promptly. We don’t like to squeeze prices. We believe that if we treat our partners and providers well, they’ll ensure your guests are well taken care of.
Authentic Experiences
We encourage you and your guests to explore more remote communities and less heavily visited destinations for an authentic experience with a positive impact.
And each year, through monetary donations and volunteer hours, Costa Rican Trails directly supports nonprofit organizations that work to increase the well-being of all Costa Ricans. Especially women & children. These include:
- The Code. We are co-signers of The Code of Conduct, which seeks to end the sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism.
We Protect
Our Environment.
We are proud to have the “5 Leaves” Certification for Sustainable Tourism.
This is the highest level awarded by the ICT (Costa Rican Tourism Board). Since our inception, we’ve developed policies and programs that protect our natural resources and minimize our impact in natural areas.
Our Environmental Policies.
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- Minimizing waste by using products that are returnable, biodegradable or recyclable
- Ensuring efficient energy and water usage at our headquarters
- Prioritizing hotel partners who share our environmental values
- Serving food or supporting restaurants who source their fare from sustainable, local and organic sources
Support of Environmental Nonprofits
At Costa Rican Trails, we support a number of environmental nonprofits through financial donations and volunteer hours:
- The Foundation for the Balance between Conservation and Development (FUNDECODES). It is the organization executor of the Tourism Development Project in communities surrounding the National Park Diriá, an initiative that Costa Rican Trails has been supporting through various actions such as such as: technical workshops on various tourism topics (customer service, market profiles, among others). We have also provided financial support for aspects of improvement of infrastructure and acquisition of various materials and utensils in some of the undertakings of this project. The communities initially involved in this project are:
From Santa Cruz: Arado, Santa Cruz, San Juan and San José de la Montaña.
From Nicoya: Oriente, Juan Diaz and La Esperanza.
- The Corcovado Foundation. It is a non-profit organization, created by residents of the Corcovado National Park in order to stop hunting and illegal logging. It is an organization local, leader in conservation who since 1999 has worked closely with the Ministry of environment to protect wild heritage and the future of protected areas. Promotes the environmental education and defends the rights of local communities. Support tourism sustainable as a tool to protect the incredible treasure of the Osa Peninsula.
We are a Silver Morpho member
We are proud to provide sponsorship for the “Make a Difference” program, an effort that we make through financial contributions that allow us to maintain the conservation of Corcovado Foundation.
- The Allies Climate Change Program (ACC). is legally a Foundation, which carries the same name. It has an articulating function between citizens, companies, professionals who provide local reforestation services and organizations. Through the Allies to Climate Change Program in Costa Rican Trails we have achieved compensation actions by planting trees in the Tenorio-Biological Corridor Miravalles, at Finca Walter Flores 1, in Bijagua of Upala.
We Engage You
& Your Guests.
We support different conservation organizations and support activities and experiences led by local families and hosts, and we love to include these in our itineraries for you.
This means your guests can feel fully immersed in our local community, and have life-changing experiences with organizations and people doing incredible work.
Transformative Experiences that Engage Your Guests.
Here are just a few examples of experiences we love to include in your client’s itineraries:
- Learn from researchers at The Sea Turtle Conservation Program in Tortuguero, and actively participate in their conservation efforts to protect Costa Rica’s sea turtles
- Visit artisanal carvers in a rural indigenous community and learn about the craft and their cultural significance
- Spend a day with a small organic coffee producer and learn the full process of organic coffee production
- Visit a local school with a donation of supplies given by your guests, so that your guests can feel totally immersed in our local community.
Pack for a Purpose
We also support Pack for a Purpose. A nonprofit that positively impacts communities around the world by helping travelers bring meaningful contributions to the destinations they visit.
We can provide you with a list of desired items that you can bring with you to Costa Rica to donate.
Or even better, we can help you purchase the supplies you wish to donate from small,local markets in Costa Rica.
If you’d like to get involved, please contact your Sales Consultant or chat with us.
