Leaders in Sustainable Tourism
The Legacy Fund is a nonprofit program operating under the fiscal sponsorship of the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST) - a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in Washington D.C. This unique partnership allows the Legacy Fund to leverage the expertise, guidance, and leadership of the CREST team to implement more impactful projects in Torres del Paine National Park and its surrounding communities. Through research, advocacy and partnership, CREST’s mission is to promote responsible tourism policies and practices so that local communities may thrive and steward their cultural resources and biodiversity.
CREST is a unique policy-oriented research organization dedicated to increasing the positive global impact of responsible tourism. CREST assists governments, policy makers, tourism businesses, nonprofit organizations, and international agencies with finding solutions to critical issues confronting tourism, the world’s largest service industry. CREST provides interdisciplinary analysis and innovative solutions through research, field projects, publications, consultancies, conferences, courses, and documentary films, recognizing tourism's potential as a tool for poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation. To learn more about CREST’s impact, view their latest Impact Report.
Impact Tourism
CREST is a recognized leader in impact tourism, which has generated tens of millions of dollars each year from tourists and tourism businesses for development projects in host communities. Originally referred to by CREST as “travelers’ philanthropy,” impact tourism today represents a broad array of travel giving programs that are recognized as a core component of responsible travel.
Recognizing that “doing good” does not always mean “doing right,” CREST released a free, digital publication that shares innovative insights and practical advice from businesses, NGOs, and destinations that are making strategic contributions of time, talent, and treasure to local environmental and social projects. CREST’s 2020 Impact Tourism Handbook takes a deeper look at the thoughtful and innovative ways that impact tourism is materializing around the world.