When global travel stopped, GME and Amazon co-built a virtual experiences program that brought nature, culture, and tree planting into Amazon customers' living rooms — and kept local Costa Rican operators earning revenue when their tours couldn't run.
The challenge
In April 2020 two things happened at once: international travel collapsed, and millions of Amazon customers were suddenly stuck at home looking for ways to experience the world. The Costa Rican operators GME had worked with for years had no income, no bookings, and no clarity on when either would return.
Amazon proposed something speculative: a program of live virtual experiences delivered by real local guides. GME's challenge was to build it fast enough to matter — and structure it so local operators actually earned the revenue, not just appeared in the marketing.
The work
The partnership was operational within 90 days of the first conversation. The work ran across four parallel tracks.
Twelve live experiences mapped to what customers could receive at home: wildlife rescue centers, indigenous artisans, guided forest meditation, museums, salsa lessons, and tree planting in La Maestra — GME's reforestation network.
Direct partnerships with Costa Rican operators to host the live sessions — with a revenue model that routed payment to the local operator on each booking, not through intermediaries.
Real-time delivery infrastructure — booking, scheduling, language support, equipment for guides — built in weeks, not months.
Every session counted, every product sold tracked, every dollar to local operators accounted. The methodology Asuaire built for sustainability adapted in real time to measure economic impact.
The same methodology that measures sustainability can measure economic impact.
The outcome
Revenue moved to Costa Rica during a period when zero was the expected number.
Beyond the table: trees went into La Maestra, GME's reforestation network, as part of the experiences — and the team kept building on what the crisis taught them long after travel resumed.
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