Responsible Travel, Real Commitment

At Genius Loci Travel, sustainability is more than a principle – it’s part of who we are.

Founded by experts in nature conservation and rural development, we believe that tourism should create value for local communities and protect the places we explore, not just use them.

We don’t follow trends. We turn our values into real actions every day.

What We Do

We design and operate low-impact, active holidays: walking, cycling, and sea kayaking tours that connect travelers to Italy’s landscapes, heritage, and people in a respectful and meaningful way.

Since the start, we’ve chosen to work with small, often family-run businesses – accommodations, guides, producers – building a local network that supports the economy while keeping tourism on a human scale.

We’re proud to be a Travelife Partner, meeting over 100 sustainability criteria across our operations, and we are continuing to improve to achieve full Travelife Certified status.

Our Involvement in European Sustainability Projects

We’ve taken part in two important EU-funded initiatives that have helped strengthen our approach to responsible tourism.

The SUSTOUR Project provided us with the tools, training and structure to better assess, manage, and communicate our sustainability efforts. It was a valuable accelerator for us – helping us take more concrete and measurable steps on our path toward long-term sustainability goals.

More recently, we joined the First Mile Project, which works to make sustainable travel choices simpler and more intuitive for travelers. It focuses on removing friction and encouraging more responsible behavior through small, smart interventions. This fits well with our vision of making sustainability a practical part of everyday travel, not something extra or complicated.

Founding Members of ActiveItaly

We are also among the founding members of ActiveItaly, a national network of tour operators and professionals promoting sustainable active tourism in Italy.

The network works to encourage tourism that is low-impact, inclusive, and aligned with local communities. Through shared principles and collaboration, we’re helping raise the standard for how active travel is designed and delivered across the country.

Learn more about ActiveItaly’s sustainability principles →

A Transparent and Ethical Business Model

Our commitment doesn’t end with the tours we design. We were the first Italian tour operator to join Banca Etica, Italy’s ethical bank, which supports projects with strong social and environmental impact.

And we take transparency seriously: we’re a 100% Italian company, and we pay 100% of our taxes in Italy with no shortcuts and no tax havens.