our ecotourism programme

What is Ecotourism?

According to The International Ecotourism Society (2015), Ecotourism is the “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education.” The Fair Earth Foundation’s mission is to work towards the alleviation of poverty around the world through helping people to stand on their own two feet and thus empowering them to attend to their own needs. One of the ways we aim to achieve this is through Ecotourism.

The fastest growing consumer segment of the tourist industry belongs to Millennials looking for memorable experiences over the accumulation of things. According to Sustainable Travel International, Millennials are “active, adventurous, connected and socially conscious and want to engage with places they care about; they want to give back”. With this in mind, The Fair Earth Foundation has designed a suite of active, adventurous, socially conscious and engaging ecotourism courses, internships, volunteer programmes and group activities.

One of our volunteers diving with the local dive centre, Zero Gravity Tenerife

Benefits of Ecotourism

​By encouraging tourists to consider their actions as Global Citizens, and travel ethically and sustainably, tourists can support local communities and the natural environment while satisfying their wanderlust, doing good wherever they go and helping towards The Fair Earth Foundation’s mission. Destinations offering adventure tourism see significant economic benefits, with nearly 65% of money spent by tourists staying in the local region as well as the tourist spending an average of $145 on local artisan souvenirs (The Adventure Travel Trade Association, 2016). By establishing Ecotourism programmes on islands around the world, The Fair Earth Foundation wants to encourage wealth to remain on those islands and support the local people and their businesses.

A visit to a local banana plantation to establish a new partnership

The Fair Earth Foundation Ecotourism Programme

The 2021 Fair Earth Foundation ecotourism programme consists of educational courses, activity and sports packages, including various PADI certified diving courses, film and photography courses, cetacean research courses, a nature guiding course and a powerboat course! Our main operations base is with The Atlantic Whale and Dolphin Foundation in Tenerife, with the hope to soon be expanding to other islands, such as Sri Lanka. 

The Fair Earth Foundation is offering low cost, high adrenaline activity packages to get you and your friends back together, to reconnect with nature and have fun whilst also doing good for the planet! Tenerife is home to 28 species of cetaceans, 9 distinct ecosystems, 600 endemic plants and is also ranked the number one activity destination in Europe. All our activities are run through our local ecotourism providers who we have worked with for 30 years, ensuring your stay on the island is fun, safe and ethical at the same time.

The Ecotourism Activity Package

The Ecotourism Activity Package is structured into 3 main elements:

1. DOING: full and half day sessions working with the AWdF Conservation and Research team on the whale watching boats of the South-West coast of Tenerife, on ecological farms, film and photography projects, and general conservation work. 100% guaranteed cetacean sightings.

2. ACTIVITIES: as many as you want! Scuba diving to horse riding, trekking to sea kayaking, surfing to paragliding to list all but a few. Our team will hand curate a tailored programme to your group. Most activities come free of charge and the rest are heavily discounted.
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3. GIVING: the option to take part in fundraisers during your stay, a chance to ‘give back’ to the local and global community. A popular option with our groups is taking on the infamous Teide Challenge.

Our volunteers enjoying a horse riding trip with our local ecotourism provider

Contact Us!

We are very proud of the opportunities we have to offer and want as many people as possible to have access to these life changing experiences. We want to bring people back together to make up for the lost time in 2020 and therefore, we will be discounting our programmes for next Summer (June - September inclusive) because we think everyone deserves some good after all of the bad! For more information on all of the Fair Earth Foundation’s Ecotourism packages follow this link and do not hesitate to email [email protected] for more information!

​Post by: Joss Presdee​