Individual travellers can make a difference. The term "travellers' philanthropy" was coined to cover the many ways in which travellers can contribute to the destinations they visit. Travellers can make donations to charitable foundations that support destinations, and, individually, they can adopt sustainable practices when they travel -- leaving places better than they found them by preserving irreplaceable natural resources, honoring traditional cultures, and acting to advance positive economic development.

Though their size, emphasis, and methodologies may differ, Travellers’ Philanthropy programs share a number of common features. They:

• Promote face-to-face, authentic connections between people of different cultures
• Solicit donations and determine needs and projects at the local level
• Enable local residents to get involved in funding allocation and governance
• Generate a new stream of cash, goods, and volunteer services
• Establish new partnerships between local businesses and nonprofit organizations
• Engage individual donors—the greatest single source of philanthropic dollars
• Channel resources to grassroots efforts
• Offer a new framework for constructive internationalism and global community-building, as well as cultural and environmental stewardship
• Occur commonly in destinations where the need for economic development and humanitarian assistance is high

BEST's publications include examples of travellers' philanthropy at work in the Galapagos and suggestions for how to be a "civic traveller."