Month: April 2021

How do you immerse yourself in the places you visit, without doing harm? And if it’s your first time travelling to a new country, how do you move beyond surface-level exchanges in a culturally safe way, or know which experiences are ethical and sustainable? 

A responsible travel company will guide you on these aspects – and more. They’ll encourage you to become aware of how your travel impacts local people, environments and species. And they’ll ensure your travel leaves lasting social, economic and environmental benefits for the destinations you visit.  

Keen to protect the world you love exploring? Read our checklist to discover the top things to consider when choosing a responsible travel company. 

Responsible travel companies strive to improve things for the communities they visit. Their relationships are based on mutual trust and a shared commitment to tangible, long-term benefits. Before offering an activity to travellers, they’ll first assess its net positive effect on a community, and on the wellbeing of the individuals and families living there. 

Take community service projects, for instance. A responsible travel company develops them in cooperation with local people’s committees, NGOs and women’s organisations. Typically, they use a community-led design approach to ensure they’re helping solve the most pressing problems while also building local capacity. 

Ask your company how they’re socially accountable to the people and communities they do business with – that is, their staff, suppliers and partners, as well as travellers like you. Ideally, they’ll have a social impact framework, policy, or a set of criteria that guides their business practices and helps them assess the ethical operations of local organisations they work with. 

To learn how Edventure Travel takes care in all our relationships, visit our positive impact page. 

A responsible travel company should teach you to be socially and culturally aware while you’re on tour. They’ll make sure your education starts before you’ve left home, so you can engage with confidence when you arrive. 

For instance, our pre-departure briefings teach you essential social etiquette and acceptable behaviour in-country. Things like when to remove your shoes, what to wear to a Buddhist temple, or why not to touch people’s heads. 

We also encourage you to learn at least a little bit of the local language. Being able to say basic greetings in a country’s national language, along with ‘please’, ‘thank you’ and ‘I’m sorry’, shows respect. 

Your tour price is influenced by a wide range of things, from trip duration to flight distances. Responsible travel companies are upfront about what this price includes and excludes. They’re transparent about their administrative and operational costs, and will itemise the activities your choose without fuss. 

What’s more, responsible travel companies can demonstrate how each activity they offer has a lasting economic impact in a local community. Ask yourself: is your travel company transparent about each link in their supply chains? Do they engage smaller vendors and family-run businesses in communities? Do their community projects provide paid employment to local tradespeople, transport suppliers, cooks and homestay staff? If the answer is yes, it’s a positive sign. 

The best people to lead you through a country are the locals who live there. They know the most efficient travel routes, the best local restaurants, and where to enjoy the most magnificent views at the end of a busy day on tour. 

But more than just having expert local knowledge, your tour leader should also be a qualified professional. A leader who can teach travellers of all personalities, interests and abilities. An educator, interpreter and problem solver. 

At Edventure Travel, each of our passionate tour leaders has at least three years’ experience leading groups. They’ll warmly welcome you when your group arrives, take care of all of your trip logistics, and work responsibly to make sure you and your group stay healthy and safe. 

Responsible travel companies are prepared for any worst-case scenario. The best ones will offer both major international services for medical and crisis care, as well as trusted on-the-ground staff who speak the local dialect. This blended approach ensures you can access expert medical attention anytime and anywhere. It’s especially important outside of major cities, where some major providers’ services can be limited. 

Edventure Travel’s health and safety providers include companies like International SOS and Global Rescue. We complement their reach with expert knowledge of the nearest and best medical attention within every local area, so you can be sure you’re in the best hands, no matter where you are. 

To find out more about how we keep you safe on tour, check out our latest COVID-safe protocols and visit our FAQs page. 

Responsible travel companies go all-out to reduce their carbon footprint and help shift unsustainable views. They take their environmental responsibility seriously and see themselves as stewards and environmental educators both at home and on tour. 

For instance, we’re vigilant about the energy and resources we use, the waste we discharge, the carbon emissions we create, and their consequences for our living world. Visit our positive impact page to discover some of the ways we’re limiting our environmental footprint. 

No two groups of travellers are the same. Responsible travel companies will work hard to customise your tour itinerary to match your group’s specific learning goals, needs and interests. They’ll deliver a tour that’s tailored – a student trip to match your school’s curriculum, for example, or a private tour that complements the mixed ages, abilities and interests in your group. 

School groups in particular need sound educational outcomes from their tour itinerary. If you’re a teacher, you’ll want a customised itinerary showing quality and depth of engagement, so your students are learning the whole time they’re travelling. If your travel company can’t quantify how your group will benefit from the tour, then you might ask whether they’re the right fit for you. 

Similarly, a responsible travel company will offer private group tour itineraries that include meaningful cross-cultural interaction and authentic local experiences. They’ll avoid ‘off the shelf’ experiences, like the kinds of generic tourist activities you can find through a simple Google search. 

So, there you have it – seven signposts of responsible travel companies. Get in touch to find out how Edventure Travel delivers on them all, with every trip we take.