Asia Transpacific Journeys Travel Ethic

Moving consciously through the world is the obligation of those of us fortunate enough to travel abroad. Our connection to the region became a commitment to these goals long ago. Here is how that commitment has played out over the last two decades:

Walking the Walk
Asia Transpacific Journeys’ founder and president, Marilyn Downing Staff, adopted her son from a Thai orphanage 17 years ago, forging a lasting connection. She created the Asia Transpacific Foundation a decade ago. This all-volunteer-driven 501(c)(3) non-profit has funded an orphanage for children in Thailand, the building of classrooms at refugee camps, and recently has been concentrating its efforts on our successful Clean Water Initiative.

Heritage Awareness
Travel can educate, engender respect, and provide the economic engine for conservation. By incorporating UNESCO World Heritage sites on our Group and Custom Journeys, we help foster local community pride in, and protection of, their cultural heritage. Thus are historic treasures unearthed, and preserved for posterity.

Environmental Stewardship
We have a history of partnership with top institutions whose environmental agendas we support, including the Nature Conservancy, the National Wildlife Federation, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). We partner with these institutions to create unique itineraries with a conservation focus, to places such as Borneo, Micronesia, Sri Lanka, Australia, Fiji, Tonga, Vietnam, and the Mergui Archipelago.

When our travelers snorkel over a live coral reef in Micronesia or see an orangutan in the jungles of Borneo, they have improved the chances of preserving that habitat by providing a realistic economic alternative to hawking coral necklaces and deforesting for timber. The members of these institutions recognize the important role responsible tourism can have in the preservation of habitats and wildlife. These special journeys are open to the public for a nominal annual membership fee.