Making Travel Meaningful: Connecting with Indigenous Communities

By: Gina Bang, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Avanti Destinations

In a world increasingly dominated by mass tourism, travelers are seeking more meaningful experiences. Immersing yourself in the traditions of indigenous communities offers a window into a world that is both ancient and profoundly different from our own. These cross-cultural experiences are a vital aspect of regenerative tourism.

Regenerative tourism goes beyond sustainability by aiming to leave a positive impact on the environment and local communities. Engaging with indigenous cultures in a respectful and authentic manner not only helps preserve endangered traditions but also provides essential income for these communities. This form of tourism allows visitors to gain insights into lives and practices that have remained unchanged for centuries, offering a truly transformative experience.

Here is a selection of indigenous and ethnic minority encounters—from short visits to full-day tours—in Australia, Belize, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, and Peru. English-speaking local guides make it possible to interact with native people committed to maintaining traditions that have endured for centuries, even millennia.

Australia

This full-day, small-group tour of eastern Queensland’s Daintree Rainforest and Mossman Gorge, home of the Kuku Yalanji tribe, puts Australia’s ancient roots on display. Included is participation in an Aboriginal Dreamtime painting class, a form of storytelling taught by a native artist. Travelers learn to throw a spear and hunt for fish in the Kuku Yalanji way, witness a soap and paint-making demonstration, learn how the tribe prepares “bush tucker” food and medicines from local plants and animals, and participate in a traditional smoking ceremony to ward off evil spirits.

Belize

A private seven-hour tour visits a Kekchi Maya family’s home, furnished with all natural materials. Travelers help prepare and partake in a traditional meal with these descendants of the ancient Maya and also explore the ancient Maya archeological site Nim li Punit, known for its intricately carved stone stelae. Another private all-day tour visits the Garifuna, a people who trace their origins to the Caribbean’s first inhabitants, the Carib-Arawak, and Afro-Caribbeans. Learning about the Garifuna’s history, their musical and culinary traditions, and how to make a typical meal are the highlights.

New Zealand

Private tours in Rotorua teach you the traditional Maori greeting—pressing your nose and forehead to another’s—and how to play Maori musical instruments. A ceremonial war dance is performed in traditional costumes inside the beautifully carved meeting house, Te Aronui a Rua. The tour also visits Te Puia, the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, which houses schools for flax weaving, and wood-, stone-, and bone-carving. An evening tour takes travelers to a forest village experience, featuring Maori songs and a “hangi” feast, which changes with the Maori lunar calendar.

Norway

The Sami people are indigenous to northernmost Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. They are renowned as semi-nomadic herders of reindeer. On a small group evening tour out of Tromsø, Norway, you walk among 300 reindeer and feed them, then take a sled ride to a traditional meal cooked over an open fire. The evening continues in a “lavvu” tent—similar to a Native American tipi—with storytelling about Sami life and culture and a traditional Sami chant.

Panama

Panama boasts a surprising variety of indigenous groups. A private all-day excursion takes you to the pristine San Blas Islands, home of the Guna people, who produce colorful textiles called “mola.” Another tour visits an Ngäbe indigenous community, where they will show you where they source ingredients and teach you how to make an authentic, organic meal. In a thatched-roof village in Chagres National Park, travelers are greeted with Embera traditional music and dances and enjoy a lunch of local specialties. The Embera people are renowned for their unique baskets, masks, carvings, and body painting.

Peru

In the scenic Sacred Valley, Misminay is a village of 120 families who are descendants of the Inca with a unique worldview. On a four-hour private tour, you are welcomed with traditional music and dances, learn how they plant and harvest native crops, watch Andean textiles being made by hand, and enjoy a Pachamanca lunch prepared in an underground hot stone oven.

About Avanti Destinations:

Since 1981, Avanti Destinations has been selling custom-crafted independent travel vacations in Europe, Asia, North Africa/the Middle East, the South Pacific, and Central and South America. The Portland, Oregon-based wholesale tour operator offers a wide range of FIT components to travel advisors only, including air, rail, rental cars, hotels, sightseeing/attractions, transfers and hard-to-find experiential travel options.  Avanti specializes in hand-picked, locally-owned hotels in both large and small cities and in connecting all the pieces of complex or multi-destination itineraries. The company also creates complete packages for custom groups of 10 or more passengers. For more information: https://book.avantidestinations.com.