Sustaining Village Communities

We work in partnership with communites and funding partners, and with travel industry partners who share our values, to manage the planning and development of Village Tourism Enterprises.

Step by step, in remote, rural places, Village Ways Partnership...

Identifies village communities with need and untapped tourism
Designs tourism micro-enterprises within communities' management capacities
Constructs relevant infrustructure to be locally owned and run
Sets standards of operation and quality across village tourism enterprises and regions
Monitors the impact on communities
Markets the projects internationally, in well-tailored holidays matching the market
Provides economic benefits to host communities and holidays that delight guests
Finds development and funding partners

Development of Village Tourism Enterprises

We work with rural communities. We seek out villages where we can identify a strong need for sustainable tourism, and where we can help create the necessary support structures, such as village committees to organise and manage the tourism enterprise, so that tourism brings long-term benefits to the entire community. With the communities, we develop small guesthouses (new-builds in traditional style or renovations of traditional buildings) or other tourism enterprises (for example, a houseboat for the quieter corners of the Kerala Backwaters). These village tourism enterprises (VTEs) are managed and owned by the communities themselves. A fundamental principle is that the business should be commercially profitable from the VTEs upwards, to assure sustainability. Our robust values as a social enterprise are enshrined in our Founders’ Charter.

Working alongside NGOs and Funding Partners

We work, wherever possible, in partnership with NGOs, local government bodies and donor agencies. We also seek capital funding assistance for our community guesthouses. We have cooperated with many agencies to create our Village Tourism Enterprises.

Helping to bring guests

Village Ways Travel, based in Mumbai, offers holidays for independent travellers. We work with leading tourism businesses around the world to promote visits to our communities. In ddition, we are always looking for new partners, who share our commitment to sustainable tourism. In the UK, the award-winning tour operator Inntravel has worked with Village Ways for many years, and we are beginning a cooperation with acclaimed French operator La Balalguere.