October 21, 2021

Vegan Travel Asia by VegVoyages created history as it became the first-ever vegan tour company not only to be nominated for a World Travel Award in its twenty-eight-year history but to actually win it, winning the World Travel Awards "Asia's Responsible Tourism Award." But the story doesn't end there – they have also just won the International Travel Awards "Best Sustainable Tourism Company in the USA" and the "Best Vegan Travel Company in the USA" awards.

These awards are seen as a landmark win not only for the company itself but for veganism as a whole as it shifts the travel world's gaze towards a new kind of tourism that can be more sustainable and easier on the environment. Veganism and plant-based eating have been almost universally acknowledged now to create a ripple effect that many say make it environmentally friendlier because of the multiple ways in which it reduces one's environmental footprint as animal agriculture has numerous detrimental effects on the environment and on communities.

This is one of several important concepts that Vegan Travel Asia by VegVoyages' responsible travel principles have revolved around since its inception. These principles have won the company not one, not two, but three prestigious awards this year. The first vegan tour company ever to be nominated in the history of the World Travel Awards was not just nominated for any award, but for the World Travel Awards "Asia's Responsible Tourism Award" – shedding light on the fact that traveling vegan is becoming part of traveling responsibly, sustainable and eco-friendly. The World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward, and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries.

The first vegan company ever to be nominated for the World Travel Awards

"As the first vegan tour company nominated in the history of the World Travel Awards, we are so happy and grateful to receive this award," said Suresh Sharma, Director of Operations of Vegan Travel Asia by VegVoyages for the Himalayan Region, from his office in Kathmandu, Nepal.

At a time when veganism and plant-based lifestyles are taking the world by storm, these awards serve to solidify the position that the travel world is heading in the same direction as the fastest-growing lifestyle in the world. 

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, there were 1.5 billion tourists' visits worldwide in 2019; this includes almost 11 million foreign tourist arrivals in India, 40 million in Thailand, 26 million in Malaysia, and 16 million in Indonesia. On a planet of almost 8 billion people, with declining food and water resources, traveling vegan would seem like a substantial way to lessen our travel footprint on community and environmental resources.

A great success to inspire others and create awareness 

"We see these awards as a great opportunity to help raise awareness that traveling vegan is very much a part of traveling responsibly and sustainably. This is something that has long been ignored or discounted in many responsible, sustainable, and eco-friendly travel discussions and checklists; we hope this award will help change that conversation," said Zac Lovas, Co-founder of VegVoyages, "An important part of sustainable travel is by definition to lessen the negative impacts on local environments and community resources," he continued.

"Traveling vegan is one way to help lessen our travel footprint on community and environmental resources," elaborated RK Singh, Co-founder of Vegan Travel Asia by VegVoyages, "To lessen the impact on the local environment, to lessen the impact on food and water resources, and to make the increasing amounts of tourism sustainable for communities, their local resources, and their environment, is to be a responsible traveler. So responsible travel in our opinion should also include the conversation of traveling more vegan friendly which isn't just a conversation for us, it's what we do," elaborated RK Singh, Co-founder of VegVoyages who has seen drastic environmental changes in his family's own communities in Rajasthan, India over the years. 

Traveling vegan and having more vegan options readily available at hotels, homestays, and on tour, groups can be seen as an easy and effective way to make travel more sustainable.

Overcoming challenges and creating the best, one step at a time 

"Our team, and the communities we collaborate with, have seen firsthand the negative and exploitive effects animal agriculture is having on our environment and communities. From diminishing and damaged fish populations and coral reefs, and environmental pollution from the rapidly growing factory farm practices increasing throughout Asia, to zoonotic diseases, severe fresh water and food resource challenges facing ever-growing populations, deforestation, coastal degradation, and labor exploitation that often comes with this larger-scale animal agriculture and fishery industries," continued Zac, who has lived in Asia for over 30 years. 

Vegan Travel Asia by VegVoyages serves only plant-based meals prepared by the locals themselves to their guests during their tours. "Traveling vegan is not a contradiction to local cultures or communities, but just the opposite, it is very much in line and complementary to local cultures as plant-based dishes have traditionally been a major part of many communities daily meals and diets in the Asian countries we live in, and our guests travel to," says Suresh Sharma.

Busting myths around vegan food 

"In India, there's sometimes a myth that vegan food is more expensive. What I like to point out to people who say this is to look at their local restaurant where they have veg and a non-veg set meal on the menu; the veg meal is almost always cheaper. Now for a vegan meal – prepare the veg meal, but when making it, don't use any of the expensive stuff – like ghee, paneer, butter, curd or cream, now how does that become more expensive?" continued RK Singh.

For Vegan Travel Asia by VegVoyages, traveling vegan is not just limited to the vegan meals they serve their guests. They also avoid all forms of animal exploitation, including no animal rides, no zoos, no "selfie ops" with animals, and no animal shows. In addition, when they bring their guests to explore national parks and protected marine life reserves – they make sure to do so in a meaningful, educational, and conservation-oriented, and minimal footprint manner by collaborating with frontline conservationists and wildlife protection organizations enabling their guests to make a positive impact and contribute in a beneficial manner to the ecosystems they are visiting.

The team and their story 

Vegan Travel Asia by VegVoyages is a team of 5 friends from 4 different countries and four different faiths who came together to combine their diverse backgrounds and mutual passion for animals, people, cultures, travel, and storytelling. They create and organize cultural tours that focus on bridging cultural gaps through cultural immersion and local interaction with local communities while enjoying 100% local vegan food along the way. Starting with three trips to India 17 years ago, they now organize 27 trips a year in 9 different countries, including Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, and coming soon Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.

"To all the communities, families, friends, and fellow travelers who have made Vegan Travel Asia by VegVoyages possible over the past 17 years – these awards are for them," Zac closed.

Should responsible travel be about making travel sustainable and non-exploitive for all living beings - humans and animals alike? It's a valid question, one that will most likely be debated for some time to come, but like many other issues that involve the planet's welfare, it's about time for people to start addressing these issues more seriously and bring this discussion to the next level.

To learn more about Vegan Travel Asia by VegVoyages, you can visit: www.VeganTravelAsia.com

 For more information on their commitment to responsible travel, please visit: 

https://vegantravelasia.com/responsible-travel/