Global Community Impact

Global Community Impact

Each year, we evaluate the impact our students and programs have in communities around the world and publish those results in our annual Impact Report.

There are three ways that we work to achieve our vision of creating a world where travel is a model of sustainable development that has a positive impact in the places where we operate programs: responsible travel, community service, and the Rustic Pathways Foundation.

Responsible Travel

We are committed to decreasing our environmental footprint, stimulating local economies, supporting community initiatives, and teaching our students responsible travel practices. We travel to locations where tourists rarely go, buy goods from locally-owned businesses, and respect local cultures and customs. Our programs provide direct support for education, infrastructure development, conservation, and other community projects.

Community Service

We believe through responsible travel and well-designed service initiatives, our students can gain an understanding of pressing social and environmental challenges at a global level and help combat these challenges at a local level by:

  • Identifying and designing long-term projects with local partners
  • Providing students opportunities to engage in meaningful service
  • Working together to achieve community and student goals
  • Monitoring and evaluating the process and impact of ongoing initiatives
  • Ensuring projects are sustainable and have a lasting impact

The Rustic Pathways Foundation

The Rustic Pathways Foundation is a key piece of how we support the communities where we travel.

The foundation is a non-profit organization that was initially started because students returned from programs inspired and wanted to stay involved with the communities they visited with Rustic. Through the foundation, the Rustic Pathways community raised more than $500,000 in 2018.


Want to learn more about Rustic Pathways’ student and community impact? Click below to get the full Impact Report.