The project’s goal is to consolidate the practice of responsible tourism with the promotion of local development.

Press Release: Barcelona, September 27, 2016

The nonprofit organizations Dianova International and Dianova Nicaragua Foundation are proud to introduce the joint initiative “Responsible Tourism in Nicaragua” RTN. This project takes tourism one step further: aside from being a traditional source of wealth and a vehicle for culture exchange, in the framework of “Responsible Tourism in Nicaragua”, tourism also becomes a tool to fight poverty.

The project was created in 2013 to promote socio-community development through practices of responsible tourism, and it was later enhanced over influence of the UN 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. In the project, nonprofit organizations, tourism companies, and public authorities are working together to find the balance between tourism, social and economic development of under-privileged communities, Environment protection, and the satisfaction of both travellers and residents.

RTN is administered by the nonprofit Hotel Europeo in Managua. The Hotel is one of Dianova’s projects in the country, created to support the organization’s financial sustainability, to promote environment protection, and to boost social progress

RTN offers a way of traveling that “does not turn its back on the local community but contributes to its development”. To make it possible, Dianova partners with local travel agents working with responsible tourism practices to offer travellers a set of differential travel packages. The packages under Dianova’s RTN brand combines the trip to an extraordinary country with an opportunity to get involved with a socio-community development experience. Travellers learn about the community culture, values and practices and they are given the opportunity to visit and take part in social projects of partner NGOs and local cooperatives along the way, interacting with the community and/or donating their time to a project.

Both travellers and community members become instrumental in the healthy cultural exchange promoted by the project and experienced by all parties, strengthening the regional and national heritage and cultural identity. Additionally, the project is oriented to support youth development by providing capacity building trainings to young people in the field of responsible tourism and by generating financial resources for Dianova’s projects through the promotion of the Hotel Europeo in the packages sales.

The project website offers services in two languages (Spanish and English) and markets the North America population (the USA and Canada).

More information: www.turismoresponsableonline.org