How do we work to maximise the positive effects of tourism?
Local group leaders/staff welfare – local group leaders are employed on more than 90% of our trips, and we aim to use local guides and support staff where possible, providing employment for local communities. We are committed to developing long-term relationships with our local suppliers, by working closely with them to develop new products/services and providing staff training to ensure that the economic benefit is ongoing.
Use local services – by using local transport and as many local businesses as possible, money stays in-country and local enterprise is encouraged. We work closely with local restaurants, shops and equipment providers, and also choose locally-owned accommodation, 25% of our trips now feature a homestay, giving money to local families to accommodate our guests.
Information – within our brochure and trip notes we provide our customers with information on how they can act responsibly whilst on holiday, including details of local projects they may visit whilst away. Our local group leaders help our customers gain an insight into the culture of the country they are visiting.
Environment – we audit all of our trips according to their environmental impact and then work to minimise this. This means making sure local trekking guidelines are followed, no litter is left behind, water sources are environmentally friendly and responsible cooking fuels are used, if applicable. We also have guidelines in place for specific excursions, like snorkeling and tiger viewing, so awareness is raised on how to protect, and not disturb, fragile environments.
Itinerary Development – when planning our trips, we consider how each one can run responsibly. Can we source a homestay? Where can we use local transport, instead of a charter bus? Is there a project we can support, or is there a visit where fees paid will go towards environmental development?
Once the trip is operating, it is audited on these things and many more. The trip is then given a score to assess its responsibility and it’s an on-going process to increase that. We aim to ensure our trips are as responsible as they possibly can be.
Projects – we have a number of partnerships with charities and projects, which we support by donating money for every customer that travels on specific trips.
We have ask each of our customers for a £1 donation to our Adventure Company Foundation. These donations are collected over a three month period and then sent to a local project voted for by you.
It is also important we get it right at home as well.
Our office – we offset all carbon emissions from work-related flights and from our staff travelling to work. At work we offset all our energy levels and use an electricity company that invests in wind power. We also have an energy officer, whose role is to monitor our office energy consumption and find new energy-saving initiatives. We drink Fair Trade tea and coffee, and our The Adventure Company staff t-shirts are from a sustainable supplier. We recycle our office paper, and educate staff on how to cut waste. By developing our website and electronic literature, we’re also trying to reduce the amount of paper materials we produce. We recycle mobile phones and toner cartridges. If we have any old computers they are sent to countries we operate in – namely educational centres in Nepal and Morocco. We also collect outdoor gear for porters, foreign coins for Friends of Conservation and clothes, toys, books and stationery and distribute it to our worldwide projects.
Local Community – we link schools in our destinations with schools in the UK to foster mutual education benefits. So far we have links in India, Tanzania and Sri Lanka. This involves UK school children writing to pupils in other countries, in a pen-pal scheme. This enables children in countries worldwide to practise their English and UK children to gain a cultural understanding of other countries through friendship and education.
The suppliers we use and the practices we adopt in our offices in the UK are constantly reviewed. However, we recognise there’s always more we can do, and we’re working on that. All of our initiatives are monitored by a team of staff dedicated to Responsible Travel at The Adventure Company, who meet monthly to review current practices and develop new projects.
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