Partners and Affiliates
At the core of the mission of Offbeat Travel is support of locally owned and operated businesses. Though we would lie to you if we told you that 100% of where you will sleep, eat, and experience are locally owned and operated. It’s sadly nearly impossible to do that as a traveler. But we strive to maximize our use of locally owned vendors as a means to stimulate the local economy and support sustainable development of the local tourism industry.
Tourism represents 17% of the GDP of the Dominican Republic, 8.2% of that of Costa Rica and 10% globally. Tourism can have an enormous impact on economies and thus policy. For that reason we partner with affiliates locally that 1) are locally owned and operated 2) if not locally owned and operated are established businesses locally and have their employees on the books and contribute to local tax structure. We do this to assure that people in the communities we visit get a share of the economic benefits of travel to their communities.
We partner with grassroots organizations that are doing the tough development work in communities. These are not global NGO’s but rather small organizations that have boots on the ground in the communities, and form a part of them.
We have international affiliations with trade groups, industry networks and other organizations that help set policy in the industry. We bring them the local lens and assure that destinations have a voice.
We partner with local, regional and international governments to collaborate on best ways to serve the needs of their constituents. We do not get involved in politics and never contribute to campaigns.
Lastly we represent travel brands that align with our commitments to diversity, inclusion and sustainable travel.
Comprehensive risk management, medical, and mental health services for the travel and experiential education industries
Inbound Travel Group is the world’s leading destination management company for student travel. We partner with travel companies and educational organizations to design, deliver and manage experiential education programs around the world.
Travel Unity is a 501(c)(3) focused on increasing diversity in the world of travel through individual and community empowerment. We work with organizations in the world of travel to broaden their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, including aligning with best practices for DEI.
SYTA is the premier association of businesses dedicated to providing life-enhancing travel experiences to students and young people. We instill confidence in our travelers by establishing quality and safety standards for travel providers, and we empower our members through advocacy, education, training, and networking opportunities.
Global Glimpse is a nonprofit that provides powerful international travel and leadership opportunities to high school students from diverse backgrounds. They are one of the only youth travel organizations that places diversity and equity at the heart of their model. Since 2007, they have served over 8000 students and teachers from more than 100 high schools and provided over $14 million in scholarships to make their program accessible to students from underrepresented backgrounds.
FUNDEMAR is dedicated to promoting the sustainable use of coastal marine ecosystems and resources through research, education, and support for the development of conservation projects.
AEC (Adventure Education Center) Spanish Institute was founded in 2001 and has three locations throughout Costa Rica. They specialize in groups, families, medical, volunteer, with both online and in person classes for all levels of Spanish language learning.
Sonidos del Yaque is a community owned and operated eco lodge nestled into the mountains of the Dominican Republic. All proceeds from the lodge return to the community.
FUNDECODES ), es una organización sin fines de lucro, dedicada a la búsqueda del equilibrio entre el desarrollo y la conservación, por medio de la promoción de la cultura del desarrollo sostenible, a nivel de empresas, entidades de conservación, apoyo a Áreas Protegidas, proyectos y comunidades locales. Se desarrollan programas de voluntariado para la gestión y consolidación de las áreas silvestres protegidas del Area Conservación Tempisque (ACT)"
Futuro Brillante is a Costa Rican non-profit organization that was founded in 2016 in the community of Matapalo, Guanacaste. Our vision is for Futuro Brillante to truly change lives for the better. We work towards our vision through community development initiatives that focus on education and technical training, infrastructure, food relief & agriculture and economic empowerment. We develop our projects based on the needs shared with us by local residents through consistent, open communication.
The Future of Tourism Coalition is a collaborative effort to chart a new, more sustainable direction for tourism and shift the status quo. The Coalition is pursuing a shared global mission: to place destination needs at the center of tourism’s new future.
Clúster Túristico de La Romana Bayahibe (CTRB) es una organización sin fines de lucro que tiene como objetivo promover el destino e integrar el sector turístico y sus comunidades. Como método para cumplir estos objetivos, el CTRB provee orientación, dirección y acompañamiento, con el propósito de aumentar la competitividad, la calidad de vida de sus habitantes, la preservación de la cultura local, el medioambiente y el progreso económico logrando con esto el desarrollo integral del destino.
El Centro para la Conservación y Ecodesarrollo de la Bahía de Samaná y su Entorno (CEBSE) trabaja en la Península y Bahía de Samaná. Dentro de su área de trabajo están gran diversidad de ecosistemas que son vitales para la biodiversidad de la República Dominicana y la Región del Caribe tales como zonas de manglar de alta productividad biológica, arrecifes de coral con características únicas en toda la isla, bosques húmedos captadores de aguas, especies endémicas en peligro crítico de extinción y además la Región de Samaná juega un papel muy importante para la conservación de la poblaciones de ballenas jorobadas del atlántico norte, el manatí antillano, además tres especies tortugas marinas que anidan en las playas de la región.
Off Cape Experiences offers both scheduled and customizable, nature and cultural based travel experiences to Asia, Africa, Latin America and the South Pacific while providing support to local nonprofit initiatives.
Latina Traveler is a travel blog meant to bridge the gap regarding the lack of representation of Latina voices within the travel industry. The content shared is to inspire women of color, particularly Latinas, to travel solo around the world with confidence. Learn tips, get advice, and more directly from a Peruvian American solo female traveler.
Levee Digital Advisors is a project-based digital consulting firm focusing on early- and growth-stage organizations. They support teams and companies in customer acquisition, retention, scaling, & optimization of systems, process, and tooling across the client journey.