Page Text Content
Responsible Tourism
Travel can bring many benefits to the traveller and the countries we visit, such as learning about different cultures and contributing to local economies. Sometimes, though, tourism can be negative local people can be exploited and their environment damaged. Thats why weve believed, right from the start, that exploring as Responsible Travellers is just as important as actually enjoying the holiday.
>>SUPPORT
As well as operating responsibly, Explore supports a variety of charitable projects. If you are travelling to one of these countries, please see the dossier for more information on how you can add your own support. India We are sponsoring a school in Pudupattinam, through Hope Worldwide. www.hopeworldwide.org.uk Travel Operators for Tigers Working with suppliers and the industry in the UK and India to effectively manage tiger tourism and protect the tiger. www.toftiger.org
AFRICA Egypt The Sunshine Project, which provides a home for abandoned children in Luxor. www.sunshineinternational.org.uk Tanzania Construction of an orphanage in the Mufindi Highlands to care for children affected by HIV/AIDS. www.wildorphans.org Morocco Working with our supplier and the Imlil Village Association to sponsor young girls through secondary school. ORGANISATIONS The Travel Foundation Promoting responsible tourism practice through practical action and projects worldwide. thetravelfoundation.org.uk The Friends of Conservation FOC is committed to working with local people to promote a balance between their needs and the wildlife around them. THE EXPLORE RT FORUM Our Responsible Tourism principles are as relevant at home as they are on tour. At head office, the members of the Responsible Tourism Forum are constantly looking at ways of reducing our own environmental impact through energy efficiency and recycling. PARTNERS We are also actively involved with a variety of organisations promoting better practice in tourism, including the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) and Tourism Concern.
RT AUDIT We audit all our tours specifically on RT matters to ensure we are able to monitor and improve our performance.
>>
ALL FLIGHTS NOW CARBON-OFFSET
For some time we have offset carbon emissions for all Explore staff flights, and we have encouraged customers to follow suit. Now though, we have taken the next step, to carbon offset all our passengers flights, by including in the tour cost a sum to fund projects that reduce global CO2 emissions we are one of the first tour operators to do so. This has been no small decision as we expect to hand over a cheque for several hundred thousand pounds each year and so we have chosen our offsetting partner very carefully as well as the specific projects our funding will help.
>>
>>
For more details visit our website at explore.co.uk/responsibletourism
Essential information about our tours see pages 45-51
7
|
inbro