Because there are different definitions and interpretations of responsible tourism, the best we can give you is our understanding of responsible tourism (which some people also refer to as ethical tourism or sustainable tourism). At its most abstract, responsible tourism is an ethos or attitude where tourism companies and their customers recognise the potential damage or disturbance tourism could cause local people and put measures in place to ensure this doesn’t happen. Put simply, tourism can sometimes cause problems for local people and responsible tourists don’t want this to happen. Taken a step further, responsible tourism also ensures that a fair share of the money generated by tourism
reaches the local people in the areas tourists are visiting.

Responsible tourism has become very popular in recent years and it has come in response to the ever-growing tourism industry (which is really various different industries across several different countries). The more money the tourism industry produces, the more businesses are attracted to it. This growth is usually positive for the companies, their
customers, and the people living in the places they’re visiting, but it isn’t always, and sometimes businesses are more than a little reckless. There are numerous potential problems associated with irresponsible tourism, such as:
– Pulling too many tourists to a remote part of the World can cause infrastructural problems with public transport, litter, traffic, etc.
– Some local people prefer their privacy and a sudden influx in tourists can be upsetting.
– If spending isn’t encouraged in a place — perhaps because tourists are in all-inclusive resorts or brought to a location on a bus excursion — then local people might enjoy few
of the advantages of tourists visiting their home, but all of the inconveniences mentioned above.
– Animals’ natural habitats can be harmed by companies ignorant of a location’s delicate ecosystem.
There are countless other more specific problems, depending on the area you visit, but we won’t go into everything here. Irresponsible tourism is an ever-growing problem as money is prioritised over people, animals, and the environment, so we want to make sure that San Blas Adventures is a force for good in the World and that our company — and our customers
— Are giving back to the beautiful San Blas Islands.

The indigenous people living on the San Blas Islands are called the Kuna. They have been on the islands for a very long time and have a rich history and culture that we admire and respect. The people at San Blas Adventures have spent years talking to the locals, getting to know them and asking for their input. We want to know if there’s anything tourists do that bothers them so that we can brief the groups of people we bring on our San Blas island-hopping trips.

We also want our customers to meet the locals as we feel that meeting the Kuna is meaningful part of any authentic visit to San Blas. The relationships we’ve formed with the locals allow us to bring our guests to parts of the islands that other companies can’t (or simply don’t know about).

However, while it’s important for our guests to meet the Kuna, we also believe it’s important to not overstay our welcome or for our presence to become obtrusive. This involves a certain level of cultural sensitivity and good communication skills. We make sure our activities are as unobtrusive as possible and we always encourage the locals to come to us if they have any problems.

There can be benefits to being an outsider as we can bring a different perspective, knowledge, and skills to the Kuna. This is why we run community projects, helping the Kuna learn from us. The Kuna have formed a committee and they come to us when they have a new project they’d like our help on. We regularly provide the Kuna with the tools, resources, and intel they need to improve their quality of life. Given that they’ve welcomed us into their home

There is no centralised waste disposal system in the San Blas Islands and there can be
some similar infrastructural problems. As such, we are very careful about the impact we
have on the environment. We are careful about the amount of plastic we bring with us and
we take all of our waste with us.

We will always improve our responsible tourism practices, allowing them to evolve over time. We hope anyone reading this blog has learned lots about responsible tourism and why some companies (like us) are putting so much time and money into it. Ultimately, we wouldn’t exist as a business if the San Blas Archipelago wasn’t such a paradise, and we want to do everything we can to ensure they stay that way. It’s good for us, it’s good for our customers, and it’s good for the local communities. If you’d like to know more about our island-hopping experiences, check out our Panama to Colombia and our Colombia to Panama San Blas trips!