Responsible travel policy

With responsible travel, eco-tourism, carbon emissions and global warming on everyone’s mind these days, we have put together a policy to focus ourselves and our clients on these issues; focusing on what these terms actually mean and what we can do to act responsibly to minimize the impact on the environment, while at the same time continuing to enjoy travelling.

By educating ourselves, our staff and our clients we hope to be able to do our part towards protecting people’s lives and values, protecting the natural resources and climate of this beautiful planet, while reducing the negative effects of unsustainable tourism. One thing we are sure of is that everyone can make a difference, however small it seems, when we all work together. We aim to combine a respect for nature, host communities and their culture, helping to improve socio-economic conditions while providing an enriching experience for both the countries we visit and the travellers.

Environmental impact.

Minimizing the environmental impact from the way we travel, and from tourist activities in general, forms an essential part of our company’s policy when planning and running our tours. Of course, travelling by bike is not only a fantastic way to keep fit, to experience firsthand the countryside and local culture of a country but it also has a very low impact on our environment.

We are aware that for everyone’s safety and comfort it is essential for us to offer back up vehicles on our tours and we think carefully about this. We use new well maintained vehicles to minimize emissions, and we keep their usage to a minimum. Of course everything in life is a compromise and we closely monitor the impact of our tours on the environment and communities we visit, and endeavour to minimize the negative effects and to create a positive impact wherever possible. By getting close to the local people, and by building mutual respect and trust we can better develop cross cultural understanding. It’s our objective to stay away from the normal tourist trail, visiting rural villages where we are often the subject of much interest. We are aware of the impact this can have and encourage our clients to behave and dress appropriately, to be aware of local customs, be unobtrusive, especially when taking photographs, and to talk with the local people.  A respectful interaction can make for a fun and memorable meeting for everyone involved and will usually result in warm smiles all round.  Trying out a few words in greeting goes a long way to fostering good positive relations, trust and cultural understanding between visitors and the communities they visit.

One thing we hope to encourage is the protection and pride in their own traditional lifestyles and cultures so this is not abandoned for a more tourism oriented lifestyle. We believe the local communities should benefit directly from travellers visiting their countries; by supporting the purchase of local handicrafts and buying local produce, by supporting development and conservation projects and by directly supporting the local economy where it is most needed. We want ourselves and our clients to come away from our tours wonderful memories, and the one thing we endeavour to leave behind in our host countries is a positive contribution, even if in only some small way,.

Economy, poverty and education

We are guests in a foreign country and by thinking this way we believe we can better promote a respect of local culture and traditions, of local economies, and encourage an understanding and awareness between people of different backgrounds.  We endeavour to support the local economy and create financial benefit to the local communities by using local services as much as possible – from transport companies to locally owned and run hotels and restaurants, visits to the local markets, and by using local guides and drivers whose knowledge of the culture, traditions and problems of the areas visited help to further our understanding and respect, having positive benefits all round.

Education is a two way thing and we encourage people to speak out if things are not right, to ask questions, and to spread the word about how we can make a difference. We also encourage our clients not to support illegal practices by not buying products made from animal parts/skins, some hard wood products, ancient artefacts etc. If we all take responsibility in these ways, we believe this will offer long term benefits for the local people, their environment, travellers and the tourist industry as a whole and as importantly for the protection of our planet as well.

Natural resources/wildlife

Tourism can have a huge negative impact on the natural resources of our planet and even when water and energy are abundant and inexpensive, which is the case in some developing countries, we encourage small gestures aimed at saving resources and limiting waste; the practice of asking hotels to restrict the unnecessary washing of towels and linen, encouraging our clients to take shorter showers, and to refrain from wasting energy. Pollution is also a problem and we make a commitment to, and ask our clients to never leave rubbish behind them, to avoid accepting plastic bags or unnecessary packaging, and to recycle whenever possible.

We ask our clients not to encourage any ill treatment of animals and not to support the illegal wild animal trade used for tourist activities. In national parks and reserves we follow good practice guidelines. We ask travellers to stay on paths and tracks and never to approach or disturb the animals. Keeping noise levels down to a minimum and always asking the advice of the guides about acceptable practices to keep the intrusion into these wild animals’ lives down to a minimum.  Again we ask everyone to be responsible by adhering to the guidelines and instructions given to them by the guides and to question practices that appear to be causing distress or abuse to animals.