<%@LANGUAGE="JAVASCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> Responsible Tourism
Small Ship Adventures

Responsible Tourism

 

Small Ship Adventures helps people travel to remote and unspoilt parts of the world and this undeniably changes people and places. We know that this can be a change for the better – money and facilities are taken into needy areas, people begin to understand a little more about each other's culture – but it can easily be a change for the worse. We are committed to trying to make the world a better place by the way we deal with people, the way we do business and the care we show for the environment.

 

We encourage those that travel with us to be thoughtful about how they travel. The pre-departure information supplied when you book a trip contains guidelines to help you enjoy your trip in a culturally and environmentally responsible way.

 

We work with Tourism Concern and Climate Care

Tourism Concern is an organisation campaigning on behalf of people who suffer as a result of tourism but also works to encourage best practice within the industry.

Tourism is a huge business which affects the lives of millions of people world-wide. But while huge amounts of money change hands, local people rarely benefit. People living in many tourist destinations are now paying the cost of development which has failed to put their interest on a par with those of their visitors.

Tourism Concern is for people who care about the quality of the experience for the tourist and the quality of life for the people who live there. Footloose is pleased to be a member of Tourism Concern.

If you are interested in their work, please visit their website: www.tourismconcern.org.uk

 

Climate Care
The more you travel the more you pollute this world. We are great believers in the value of travel, but we are realistic and honest enough to know that there is a cost to people wandering the globe.

There are the obvious effects of pollution and environmental damage on the ground, and we work hard to minimise those. But look at the huge number of planes in the skies – many with you on board – and think of the exhaust gases being pumped out into the delicate upper atmosphere. And think of the floods, famines and natural disasters around the world. Yes, there's a connection.

We're not advocating less travel, but we are offering a way to help find solutions. When you book a flight with us we ask you to make a small contribution, based on the amount of carbon dioxide your seat on your flight produces, to the Climate Care Trust. The Trust then invests the money in short term solutions like tree planting, but more radically in projects researching sources of cleaner power. More information can be found on the website www.co2.org.


At Small Ship Adventures we network worldwide through the adventure and travel community. This helps us give you the best possible service by being up-to-date and well connected to all new developments and by having a small degree of influence on the direction the travel trade is moving.

We are members of the Pacific Asia Travel Association and the African Tourism and Travel Association. These are the main trade bodies for these regions and work to improve the standards of tourism in their areas.

Ethics, impact and responsibilities


•We have a strong commitment to having a positive impact on the culture and environment of our destinations.


•We have great respect for the cultures of the destinations and work to encourage the development of these cultures, rather than their dilution.


•Facilities that are appropriate to the destinations are used where possible.


•Local guides are used, who are well trained and are usually native to the areas visited.


•Small local operators are used who have local interests and staff. This ensures close contact with the local community and maximises the benefit of the money we spend.


•Group sizes are small – this lessens the impact on the local people, wildlife and environment.

 


•We provide cultural and environmental information before departure and encourage thought and respect for local communities, cultures and their environment.


•We recycle all paper and old brochures and use environmentally friendly paper where possible. We are providing more information on our website to lessen the need for paper.


•We give thought to our energy use in the office and endeavour to minimise waste.


•We seek to encourage operators to be energy efficient and sensitive.


•We support and are members of many organisations that follow and promote these ideals.