Meaningful Travel Experiences allows travelers to visit destinations with the knowledge that in doing so, they are supporting local people and businesses in honest work, they are deeply immersing themselves in other cultures, and they are experiencing a destination meaningfully.
What is Meaningful Travel Experiences?
Meaningful Travel Experiences offers its clients the opportunity to enjoy global destinations in the most honest, deep, and meaningful ways.
- Honest, because we partner with people and businesses with good practices and values.
- Deep, because we immerse our clients into the culture of the destination chosen in the most authentic possible way.
- Meaningful, because we involve local projects with a true domino effect in the lives of others.
MTE works in two ways. It offers trips from recognized allied companies and projects who have proven they follow MTE’s own standards. From among their offered trips, MTE selects for its clients those trips with the greatest social impact.
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The second way MTE works is by creating its own travel programs. To assure the company works with allies who reach their standards, MTE uses a format based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), offering an easy way to evaluate whether an ally implements them.
These benchmarks include:
- No poverty
- Zero hunger
- Quality education
- Gender equality
- Decent work and economic growth
- Climate action
“I strongly believe that tourism is a force for global good, and with Meaningful Travel Experiences I’m committed to promoting sustainable solutions in communities around the globe,” says Robert Hubbard, Meaningful Travel Experiences’ founder and CEO.
Who benefits from Meaningful Travel Experiences?
Of course the communities in MTE’s destinations benefit, whether through support of the local economy through visitors’ purchases or through the work that visitors can help with during their stay. MTE also emphasizes local investment in all of its meaningful travel trips. Rather than big international chains, the company works with small, locally owned businesses, helping to keep the overall cost of our trips down—and to keep travel dollars where they are spent. Supporting local entrepreneurs and small businesses throughout the world strengthens communities, raises the overall quality of life, and ensures that the places clients love will continue to be loved.
Who are Meaningful Travel Experiences’ clients?
Thanks to technology, the world is more interconnected than everything before, and people—travelers especially—become more conscious of everything around them. Because Millennials are the first generation growing up with this kind of technology, they have developed from a younger age a sense or that the world is greater than themselves. Meaningful Travel Experiences is the perfect outlet for their wanderlust. Baby Boomers also form a large number of MTE’s clients, as do women, who make up 65–70% of MTE’s client base.
Who are the people behind Meaningful Travel Experiences?
Karem González and Robert Hubbard co-founded MTE in 2016. Each came to Miami from somewhere else, but they are united in their vision of creating a more supportive and inclusive world, connected by diverse people through local travel experiences.
Karem González is Venezuelan—and a Millennial!—with experience in the design and direction of Cultural and Social Projects in her country. Her experience has translated perfectly to helping travelers get involved with a variety of activities in the places they visit.
“My greatest passion in life is supporting people, and what I love most about travel is meeting new people, trying amazing local food, and living great adventures in a sustainable and supportive way,” she says.
A former Alumna of the International Volunteer Leadership Program (IVPL), managed by the U.S. Department of State, Karem has been recognized for her accomplishments as Founder and Director of the nonprofit Human Rights and Cinema Venezuela, which works with children, teenagers, and young people and offers free educational spaces for human rights. Karem’s background and her passion for people invigorate MTE’s clients to live their experiences to the fullest—without compromising the places they visit.
Robert Hubbard, MTE’s other founder, was born on England’s Norfolk Coast, and it seemed inevitable that he would be drawn to the sea and to travel the world. After years of sailing and traveling with the British Merchant Navy, Robert moved to Miami in 1983 and established Interworld Travel, Inc.
The company introduced him to destinations that need more than just tourism—they needed help. When Meaningful Travel Experiences was born, it was from Robert’s desire to give back to society through his passion for travel. “What I love about travel is that it opens your eyes to new things by immersing you in culture, fostering genuine connections, and viewing the world through a widened lens,” he says.
Who are MTE’s partners?
MTE’s partners are Entrena in Dominican Republic, G – Adventures/Canada USA, and Intrepid/Australia/UK/USA.
