Of course, the good work is not exclusive to resort properties. At The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, Grand Canal, guests are invited to visit an on-site vertical farm that creates the 22 pounds of fresh produce used at the hotel’s culinary venues every single day, and learn about the importance of agricultural sustainability. Some iterations of Community Footprints are more behind-the-scenes, but no less important: A training and education program at The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto helps adult refugees in the city hone their talents and improve their chances of working directly in the industry. Across the Ritz-Carlton properties, options to get involved with Community Footprints meet the guests where they are—whether they’d like to fish out ghost nets, plant sea oats, or check into The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin and order a specific cocktail whose proceeds go to a local charity.
Community Footprints has always been and will always be a volunteer opportunity, Benzaquen says, but moving forward, she hopes it will be less of a missed opportunity. More and more guests are participating in the program, says Edmundson, offering feedback and spreading the word among fellow travelers. Now, the Ritz-Carlton brand is working to increase visibility of the program and make it more accessible to anyone who wants to get involved. Marriott as a whole is evaluating how to better focus on one or two social causes to ensure the company is leveraging their size and scale in a way that makes a broader global positive impact.
All things considered, it can be difficult to quantify the impact of these efforts, no matter how worthy, Edmundson says. But that’s the thing about doing good and paying it forward: “We can’t immediately see what we’ve prevented or what harm we’ve curbed. The most visible results of our actions will likely come after our lifetime,” she says, “so we’re bringing these programs to the forefront more actively than we have ever had in the past.”
Whether it’s through volunteering during a stay at a Ritz-Carlton hotel, or independently going on give-back trips, responsible tourism is about seeing and protecting the world. And now more than ever, travelers have plenty of opportunities to learn more about the places they’re visiting in addition to leaving it better than they found it. As Benzaquen says, “At the end of the day, we all just want to do more good.”
