LOS ANGELES, June 12, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Kind
Traveler introduces a ground-breaking initiative to further expand
support of sustainable tourism through a special two-year
partnership with Sonoma County Tourism (SCT). Through this
partnership, Sonoma County will
work alongside Kind Traveler, the first socially conscious Give +
Get hotel booking and education platform, to empower travelers to
make a positive community and environmental impact when visiting
the destination.
Creating a Triple Win: Travelers. Hotels. Charities.
How It Works? - Travelers access exclusive rates and special perks
by booking directly with Kind Traveler and its curated list of
"Kind Hotels" throughout Sonoma
County. A $10-a-night donation
will go to a designated local charity that positively impacts the
destination.
Sustainable Sonoma County
Sonoma County has long been a
leader in the way of eco-consciousness, environmental protection,
and sustainability. Author Jack London made Sonoma Valley his home later in life. He
pioneered many of the principles that form the foundation of
organic farming today. His ranch and home are protected as the Jack
London (California) State Historic
Park.
Famed horticulturist — and Sonoma
County resident — Luther
Burbank made it his life's work to increase the world's food
supply by manipulating the characteristics of plants. He introduced
more than 800 new plants, including the Shasta daisy, and more than
100 varieties of plums, prunes, and plumcots. In 1875, Burbank
wrote, "I firmly believe, from what I have seen, that this is the
chosen spot of all this earth as far as Nature is concerned." The
words still ring true today.
As wine is clearly central to any Sonoma County travel experience, the region is
poised to become the nation's first 100 percent certified
sustainable wine region by the end of 2019. Sonoma County
Winegrowers' sustainability program helps to preserve agriculture
and multi-generational family farms.
Destination stewardship
SCT is dedicated to sustainable tourism and being socially
responsible. In fact, the organization recently announced its
transition from a "destination marketing organization" to a
"destination stewardship organization," in order to protect
Sonoma County's rich agricultural
and natural landscape for generations to come. Along with that
change, the organization is currently drafting a countywide
stewardship and sustainability plan to help guide it and the local
hospitality economy.
Relationships matter
The relationship between Kind Traveler and Sonoma County Tourism
has tremendous potential for positive global impact. Last year
alone, more than 1.2 billion trips were taken around the world.
Nearly 75 percent of travelers polled in Tourism Cares and
Phocuswright's Good Travels research study
(http://www.tourismcares.org/goodtravelsresearch) believe it's
important that their travel dollars benefit the communities they
visit.
However, of those who want to travel sustainably, 35 percent
reported finding it difficult and half don't know how to go about
booking such travel, according to Impact Travel Alliance's 2018
Thought Leadership Study "Bringing Sustainable Tourism to the
Masses."
The new partnership between SCT and Kind Traveler creates a
solution to make sustainable travel choices easy and transparent
for everyday travelers.
"Because of the partnership with Sonoma County Tourism and their
commitment to sustainable travel, travelers will have the
opportunity to have a values-aligned vacation in Sonoma County and support hotels and charities
that are committed to the wellbeing and sustainability of the
destination," said Jessica Blotter,
CEO & co-founder of Kind Traveler.
Charitable travel supports local causes
SCT has selected three Sonoma
County-based local charities to facilitate positive impact
in its local community. The Redwood Empire Food Bank is
Sonoma County's largest
hunger-relief organization, serving 82,000 people. The Russian
Riverkeeper restores and sustains the health of Sonoma County's popular Russian River. Sonoma
Land Trust protects more than 50,000 acres of beautiful, productive
and environmentally significant land in and around Sonoma County.
Participating hotels in Sonoma
County will offer exclusive rates and special perks on Kind
Traveler to empower travelers to support local causes. The lodging
properties include:
- Farmhouse Inn
- Timber Cove Resort
- Vintners Inn
- Hyatt Regency Sonoma
- Flamingo Conference Resort and Spa
- The Sandman Hotel
- Hotel E
The type of impact a $10 nightly
donation will make is celebrated at the time of booking on Kind
Traveler:
- A $10
donation to Redwood Empire Food Bank will help provide 20 meals to
in-need individuals
- A $10
donation to Russian Riverkeeper will help clean 250 pounds of trash
out of the Russian River
- A $10
donation to Sonoma Land Trust will help maintain one mile of hiking
trails
"Sonoma County Tourism is delighted to be partnering with Kind
Traveler," said Claudia Vecchio,
president/CEO, Sonoma County Tourism. "Kind Traveler presents an
entirely new model for booking a lodging stay that matches
perfectly with our programming designed to protect and preserve
Sonoma County's extraordinary
natural resources and encourage responsible travel. The hotels
listed on the website have already committed to integrating
sustainable practices and the site offers those who book the
opportunity to give back to local organizations engaged in
destination stewardship."
For more information on how travelers can #TravelKindly to
Sonoma County, visit
http://www.kindtraveler.com.
Research Resources:
Good Travels (http://www.tourismcares.org/goodtravelsresearch) by
Tourism Cares & Phocuswright
Bringing Sustainable Tourism to the Masses
(http://www.impacttravelalliance.org/thought-leadership-2018) by
Impact Travel Alliance
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Media Contacts:
Kind Traveler
Daniela Petrides / Jared Rodriguez
Bellhop Public Relations
daniela@bellhoppr.com / jared@bellhoppr.com
Find high-resolution photos: MEDIA ASSETS & IMAGERY LINK
ABOUT KIND TRAVELER
Kind Traveler, a public benefit corporation (PBC), is the first
socially conscious 'Give + Get' hotel booking and education
platform that empowers travelers to make a positive community or
environmental impact to the destinations they visit. As a social
enterprise, travelers access exclusive rates and special perks to
book directly with curated hotels upon a $10 nightly donation to a local charity that
positively impacts the visiting destination, or to charity of
choice on Kind Traveler. 100 percent of the donations raised on the
Kind Traveler platform go directly to charities. As of 2019, Kind
Traveler represents 100+ hotels and 60+ charities in 14 countries.
http://www.KindTraveler.com
ABOUT SONOMA COUNTY TOURISM
Sonoma County Tourism is the destination marketing organization for
Sonoma County. Tourism generates
nearly $2.2 billion annually for the
local economy, $193.8 million in
government revenue, and supports more than 22,300 jobs.
More than 85 percent of all tourism businesses are locally
owned, with around 77 percent having fewer than 25 employees.
Hospitality jobs are varied in Sonoma
County, with tour guides, restauranteurs, and brewery
tasting room staff just as likely to interact with a visitor as a
hotel front desk clerk. And this doesn't include the supporting
businesses needed for the industry like commercial laundries,
farmers, and all types of business services.
Currently, tourism in Sonoma
County brings in $193.8
million in government revenue. Of that, $102.1 million were local taxes. Local tax money
is used for regional parks, public safety, economic development,
agricultural promotion, and arts and cultural festivals as well as
general funds for cities and the county.
Tourism and hospitality has more "taxable moments" compared to
other industries, with taxes collected for lodging, sales, rental
cars, and airport charges.
Sonoma County Tourism offices are located at 400 Aviation Blvd.,
Ste. 500, Santa Rosa, Calif.
95403. For more information, call 707-522-5800 or 800-576-6662, or
visit http://www.sonomacounty.com.
SOURCE Kind Traveler