Explorandes was recognized as the “One to Watch” in the Nature Positive category of the Latin American Travel Association (LATA) Responsible Tourism Awards.
The winners of the Latin America Travel Association (LATA) Responsible Tourism Awards were announced during the LATA Expo Gala Dinner on 24 June 2024. The awards were overseen by Dr. Harold Goodwin, co-founder of The Responsible Tourism Partnership and judged by Anne-Kathrin Zschiegner, Director of The Long Run, Chris Haslam, Chief Travel Writer at The Sunday Times, Edgar Weggelaar, CEO of Queer Destinations, Maria Emilia Correl, Co-Founder & Senior Strategist at Sistema B, and Megan Parkinson, Head of Sustainability at LATA.
The Nature Positive category recognizes the value of wildlife and the natural environment as important drivers for travel. The travel and tourism sector depends on nature's beauty to provide its goods and services, yet poorly managed tourism can have negative impacts on the places we visit. The tourism sector has a responsibility to contribute to the reversal of biodiversity loss and protect nature for future generations by promoting a regenerative approach to tourism. This category recognizes businesses that act as the guardians of biodiversity and take a regenerative approach to their operation.
Explorandes was recognized as the "One to Watch" by the judges for its work with the Misquiyaco community who saw the risk of overtourism on the Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu and created an opportunity to do things differently. Creating alternative trails with the community, Explorandes hires local expedition support staff and pays a per-person entrance fee and camping fees to the community, generating income for the Misquiyaco community in exchange for their landscape conservation efforts. For this effort they have partnered with Regenera, an organization that fosters partnerships between companies, who offset their environmental footprint by providing monthly incentives to local land managers and technical assistance providers that work together protect and restore natural landscapes.
About Explorandes
Explorandes is an inbound tour operator specializing in active and adventure travel in Peru with direct operations in Cusco, Huaraz and Lima. The company was the first tour operator in the America’s to have an ISO14001 certified environmental management system and one of the first to be certified under the Rainforest Alliance’s Sustainable Tourism Standards, accredited by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). Explorandes recently joined the LATA Sustainable Travel Network after its completion of LATA’s Sustainable Travel Programme.