Explore policy
Responsible Travel (RT) is at the core of our business, and has been from the very beginning. This means:
We look after our staff
We respect local people whilst providing an economic benefit to them
We minimise our impact on the environment
These principles apply both in the way we plan and operate our tours and how we manage our UK headquarters. Our Responsible Tourism Policy for Overseas Operations is available on our website and is a practical manual for our tour operations. Our People, Energy and Environment Policy encompasses all activities of our UK office, as well as our communications strategy and RT targets.
Economic responsibility
We believe that we should be an economic benefit to the communities we visit. Our tours are planned to visit not just the popular places, but to also get off the beaten track. This helps generate incomes in more remote communities. Wherever possible we use locally owned services; from family run hotels to small taxi firms, local boatmen, cameleers and so forth. Community-based tourism alliances are actively sought and incorporated into our tours. We encourage our groups to eat out at a variety of local restaurants and shop in markets and local shops. We make no profit from any excursions booked locally, meaning money goes direct to the people intended. We maximise employment opportunities for local people by employing them as tour leaders, guides, drivers and crew. We have an active policy of increasing the number of locally based tour leaders and we train every leader who works for us ourselves. Our training is probably the best in the business. We try to ensure that people who work with us are paid a fair wage and that we respect fair tipping practice. We work with Tourism Concern and porter organisations to ensure best practice.
Environmental responsibility
It is our duty to minimise our impact on the environment. Our environmental impact is considered in planning tours and we will only travel where we know our impact is positive. We recognise that the flights are the most significant environmental impact of our tours. We thus offset all flights we book. Our extensive Responsible Tourism Policy for Overseas Operations is practical manual provided to all our tour leaders and suppliers to ensure they work to best environmental practice on tour. We support a wide variety of conservation initiatives working to preserve wildlife and the natural environment in the places we visit. We have implemented extensive measures in our office to reduce our environmental impact; from our Carbon Trust Audit to cycle to work schemes and installing waterless urinals. We even recycle paper towels and bras!
Social responsibility
We care about and respect local people on our tours and in our own community. Meeting local people is one of the highlights of travel. We try to facilitate as many opportunities as possible for our groups to interact. We want any interaction to be positive for both sides so we only go where we know we will be welcome. We train our tour leaders and brief our customers how to dress and behave in order not to cause offence. We want to support people by doing business well, but we think that all responsible businesses should ‘put something back’ into the communities they visit to help the most vulnerable and those unable to benefit from tourism. As such we support pro-poor projects including clinics, orphanages and agricultural projects in a wide variety of countries. We ensure our staff and those who work for us are treated with respect and have fair working conditions. We want to be a good member of our own community here in the UK and are an active member of our local business and community group.
Partnerships
We work extensively with specialist partners and industry bodies to ensure we and the industry as a whole are working to best practice. These include;
The Travel Foundation: The Travel Foundation is a charity established to manage tourism in a more responsible way. It does this through working with tourism businesses to improve their practice and through supporting and initiating sustainable tourism projects in destinations which benefit local people and reduce environmental impact. We are delighted to have incorporates some of the Travel Foundation projects into our tours. If you are travelling on our family tour to Gambia (ref FGA), the hotel sources all it’s vegetables from an award winning local initiative; In Sri Lanka groups can visit the tree planting project and women’s’ lace making co-operative; and in Brazil you may have the chance to join a community tour that gives a fascinating insight into local life whilst really benefitting the local people. Explore is a member of the Travel Foundation Industry Forum also sits on the Activities Committee which oversees projects.
Tourism Concern: Tourism Concern campaigns to effect change in the tourism industry towards fairer and more ethically traded tourism. Explore has supported Tourism Concern on a variety of initiatives and commends the work it has done in raising awareness on many issues such as porters rights and labour standards. We are part of Tourism Concern’s Ethical Tour Operators Group.
Rainforest Alliance: The Rainforest Alliance works with local hotels and suppliers to promote best management practices that will help local business reduce negative impacts and potentially obtain certification in sustainable tourism. Through training, workshops and by providing tools and resources, the Rainforest Alliance encourages the tourism industry to conserve local environments and contribute in a positive way to their local communities. Explore supports the Rainforest Alliance by agreeing that a minimum of 50% of our nightstops in participating countries will be in properties working towards certification in sustainable tourism, and by actively encouraging the other properties we work with to sign up to local sustainable tourism programmes. The Rainforest Alliance works in eight countries in Latin America, and we support their efforts in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Belize.
Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO): Explore is a member of the Association of Independent Tour Operators Responsible Tourism Committee, working with the organisation on policy issues and assisting the membership in putting responsible tourism (RT) into practice.
International Porters Protection Group (IPPG): The IPPG was set up in 1997 to address the issue of working conditions for porters working in mountain areas. With cheap travel increasingly becoming a 'right', more demands are being placed on those people working in tourism. We are striving to follow IPPG guidelines to ensure porters working on Explore tours, particularly Tanzania, Peru and Nepal, are paid a fair wage, given adequate equipment, do not carry excessive loads and have access to health care.
Born Free Foundation: The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity working throughout the world to stop individual wild animal suffering and protect threatened species in the wild. The Foundation has offered invaluable advice and support to Explore over the years, enabling us to make informed and responsible choices about our wildlife visits and improve the quality of our training to staff. Born Free also offer an excellent service to customers to report abuses of wild animals worldwide.
What you can do
It is important that we all ‘do our bit’ to ensure that travel is sustainable.
So before you go…
Language: hello, thank you & goodbye! Know some lingo! Learning a few words of the local language is a great way to break barriers: greet shopkeepers, waiters, drivers, clerks, etc. It is equally important to say your 'thank yous' and 'goodbyes'.
Local Customs: another time, another place Religious customs and local traditions vary enormously around the world and play a large part in the local way of life. It is important to familiarise yourself with the local people's dress codes and thought patterns, and recognise them; the local concept of time is also likely to be less hurried than your own. Remember - you are the visitor, and by showing respect you will be respected and appreciated yourself!
Packing: Keep your packaging down to a minimum and avoid disposable goods as these often can't be disposed of or recycled overseas. Eco-friendly soap gets our thumbs-up.
Presents: You may make special friendships and experience generous hospitality when abroad. Gifts that are evocative of your home country such as postcards and photographs make ideal presents - check your dossier for any specific tips about the area you are visiting; once on tour, your tour leader will also be able to advise you on the appropriate circumstances to give.
On tour
Water: pollution & usage If it is necessary to wash in streams or rivers, do not use detergents or other chemicals. There are a number of eco-friendly soaps available for travellers. Remember, it may be someone's drinking water further downstream. Use water sparingly in dry countries. (For more on Drinking Water, see 'A good drink' below.)
Souvenirs & shopping: Avoid buying souvenirs that exploit wildlife or threaten endangered species. Buying local souvenirs helps the local economy; whilst it is often customary and even fun to haggle, stop once you have got a reasonable price: the low price you achieve may only be due to the desperation and poverty of others. Did you know that it's illegal for travellers to bring all meat and meat products, and milk and dairy products, plus some fish and plant products into the UK from non-EU countries? This is because they could carry pests and diseases, such as Foot and Mouth or Colorado Beetle, which might harm British livestock and crops. So before you bring back souvenirs from your trip, make sure you know the rules. You can find more information online at the defra website. If you are not able to check, or you're still not sure, there's only one way to be safe: don't pack it.
Wildlife: Avoid disturbing wildlife and damaging their natural habitats. Take care not to touch coral reefs and do not feed or touch animals or fish. Stay quiet when viewing animals on safari. For more information see www.bornfree.org.uk
Plants & shells: One of the joys of travelling is the spectacular variety of wild plants and shells you will see. These should remain in their natural environment, so avoid picking any. It is also illegal to import some plant species.
Artefacts: Items from ancient civilisations may still be found or bought in countries such as Peru and Turkey. Although they may appear discarded or available to buy, leave them where you find them.
Transport: big, small, new or old?Transport fuels the local economy and provides a livelihood for many. Sadly it also pollutes. Be sure, however, not to discriminate against those who can't afford some of the newer, energy-efficient technologies, yet may have a lower ecological impact than the wealthier competitor. Many of Thailand's humble tuk-tuks, for instance, are old but run on methane gas, which is relatively clean.
Begging: Don't give out sweets, pens or money, especially to children. Giving to children will only teach them that begging is rewarding and can undermine parental authority. It is far better to interact with children. Cat's cradle, frisbees or simply exchanging drawings or photos can be more fulfilling and fun for both you and the children. Donating to a worthwhile charity will ensure longer term benefits to a greater number of people.
Litter: To state the obvious, the world is full of it and you don't want to add to it yourself! Beyond that, however, it's up to you to decide how strongly you should feel about other people's litter: many walkers, for example, are happy to pick up litter along the trail. It's your call. Remember, however - many countries do not have adequate litter collection, never mind recycling or waste reduction schemes; so the less you create, the better.
A good drink: Where plastics are not recycled, you might consider taking a water bottle or filter and purifying your own water. Wiith this in mind, Explore Trader in association with Nomad Travel Store are offering an additional 5% discount on 6 selected products to encourage you to make the swap.
Photos: think before you click People in colourful local dress always make good subjects for photographs, but think before you snap. Many people, for whatever reason, do not like being photographed. Always ask permission before taking photographs.
Once back home…
Continuing support: Why not consider contributing to the many projects and organisations you may have come across on your tour.
These principles apply both in the way we plan and operate our tours and how we manage our UK headquarters. Our Responsible Tourism Policy for Overseas Operations is available on our website and is a practical manual for our tour operations. Our People, Energy and Environment Policy encompasses all activities of our UK office, as well as our communications strategy and RT targets.
Economic responsibility
We believe that we should be an economic benefit to the communities we visit. Our tours are planned to visit not just the popular places, but to also get off the beaten track. This helps generate incomes in more remote communities. Wherever possible we use locally owned services; from family run hotels to small taxi firms, local boatmen, cameleers and so forth. Community-based tourism alliances are actively sought and incorporated into our tours. We encourage our groups to eat out at a variety of local restaurants and shop in markets and local shops. We make no profit from any excursions booked locally, meaning money goes direct to the people intended. We maximise employment opportunities for local people by employing them as tour leaders, guides, drivers and crew. We have an active policy of increasing the number of locally based tour leaders and we train every leader who works for us ourselves. Our training is probably the best in the business. We try to ensure that people who work with us are paid a fair wage and that we respect fair tipping practice. We work with Tourism Concern and porter organisations to ensure best practice.
Environmental responsibility
It is our duty to minimise our impact on the environment. Our environmental impact is considered in planning tours and we will only travel where we know our impact is positive. We recognise that the flights are the most significant environmental impact of our tours. We thus offset all flights we book. Our extensive Responsible Tourism Policy for Overseas Operations is practical manual provided to all our tour leaders and suppliers to ensure they work to best environmental practice on tour. We support a wide variety of conservation initiatives working to preserve wildlife and the natural environment in the places we visit. We have implemented extensive measures in our office to reduce our environmental impact; from our Carbon Trust Audit to cycle to work schemes and installing waterless urinals. We even recycle paper towels and bras!
Social responsibility
We care about and respect local people on our tours and in our own community. Meeting local people is one of the highlights of travel. We try to facilitate as many opportunities as possible for our groups to interact. We want any interaction to be positive for both sides so we only go where we know we will be welcome. We train our tour leaders and brief our customers how to dress and behave in order not to cause offence. We want to support people by doing business well, but we think that all responsible businesses should ‘put something back’ into the communities they visit to help the most vulnerable and those unable to benefit from tourism. As such we support pro-poor projects including clinics, orphanages and agricultural projects in a wide variety of countries. We ensure our staff and those who work for us are treated with respect and have fair working conditions. We want to be a good member of our own community here in the UK and are an active member of our local business and community group.
Partnerships
We work extensively with specialist partners and industry bodies to ensure we and the industry as a whole are working to best practice. These include;
The Travel Foundation: The Travel Foundation is a charity established to manage tourism in a more responsible way. It does this through working with tourism businesses to improve their practice and through supporting and initiating sustainable tourism projects in destinations which benefit local people and reduce environmental impact. We are delighted to have incorporates some of the Travel Foundation projects into our tours. If you are travelling on our family tour to Gambia (ref FGA), the hotel sources all it’s vegetables from an award winning local initiative; In Sri Lanka groups can visit the tree planting project and women’s’ lace making co-operative; and in Brazil you may have the chance to join a community tour that gives a fascinating insight into local life whilst really benefitting the local people. Explore is a member of the Travel Foundation Industry Forum also sits on the Activities Committee which oversees projects.
Tourism Concern: Tourism Concern campaigns to effect change in the tourism industry towards fairer and more ethically traded tourism. Explore has supported Tourism Concern on a variety of initiatives and commends the work it has done in raising awareness on many issues such as porters rights and labour standards. We are part of Tourism Concern’s Ethical Tour Operators Group.
Rainforest Alliance: The Rainforest Alliance works with local hotels and suppliers to promote best management practices that will help local business reduce negative impacts and potentially obtain certification in sustainable tourism. Through training, workshops and by providing tools and resources, the Rainforest Alliance encourages the tourism industry to conserve local environments and contribute in a positive way to their local communities. Explore supports the Rainforest Alliance by agreeing that a minimum of 50% of our nightstops in participating countries will be in properties working towards certification in sustainable tourism, and by actively encouraging the other properties we work with to sign up to local sustainable tourism programmes. The Rainforest Alliance works in eight countries in Latin America, and we support their efforts in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Belize.
Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO): Explore is a member of the Association of Independent Tour Operators Responsible Tourism Committee, working with the organisation on policy issues and assisting the membership in putting responsible tourism (RT) into practice.
International Porters Protection Group (IPPG): The IPPG was set up in 1997 to address the issue of working conditions for porters working in mountain areas. With cheap travel increasingly becoming a 'right', more demands are being placed on those people working in tourism. We are striving to follow IPPG guidelines to ensure porters working on Explore tours, particularly Tanzania, Peru and Nepal, are paid a fair wage, given adequate equipment, do not carry excessive loads and have access to health care.
Born Free Foundation: The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity working throughout the world to stop individual wild animal suffering and protect threatened species in the wild. The Foundation has offered invaluable advice and support to Explore over the years, enabling us to make informed and responsible choices about our wildlife visits and improve the quality of our training to staff. Born Free also offer an excellent service to customers to report abuses of wild animals worldwide.
What you can do
It is important that we all ‘do our bit’ to ensure that travel is sustainable.
So before you go…
Language: hello, thank you & goodbye! Know some lingo! Learning a few words of the local language is a great way to break barriers: greet shopkeepers, waiters, drivers, clerks, etc. It is equally important to say your 'thank yous' and 'goodbyes'.
Local Customs: another time, another place Religious customs and local traditions vary enormously around the world and play a large part in the local way of life. It is important to familiarise yourself with the local people's dress codes and thought patterns, and recognise them; the local concept of time is also likely to be less hurried than your own. Remember - you are the visitor, and by showing respect you will be respected and appreciated yourself!
Packing: Keep your packaging down to a minimum and avoid disposable goods as these often can't be disposed of or recycled overseas. Eco-friendly soap gets our thumbs-up.
Presents: You may make special friendships and experience generous hospitality when abroad. Gifts that are evocative of your home country such as postcards and photographs make ideal presents - check your dossier for any specific tips about the area you are visiting; once on tour, your tour leader will also be able to advise you on the appropriate circumstances to give.
On tour
Water: pollution & usage If it is necessary to wash in streams or rivers, do not use detergents or other chemicals. There are a number of eco-friendly soaps available for travellers. Remember, it may be someone's drinking water further downstream. Use water sparingly in dry countries. (For more on Drinking Water, see 'A good drink' below.)
Souvenirs & shopping: Avoid buying souvenirs that exploit wildlife or threaten endangered species. Buying local souvenirs helps the local economy; whilst it is often customary and even fun to haggle, stop once you have got a reasonable price: the low price you achieve may only be due to the desperation and poverty of others. Did you know that it's illegal for travellers to bring all meat and meat products, and milk and dairy products, plus some fish and plant products into the UK from non-EU countries? This is because they could carry pests and diseases, such as Foot and Mouth or Colorado Beetle, which might harm British livestock and crops. So before you bring back souvenirs from your trip, make sure you know the rules. You can find more information online at the defra website. If you are not able to check, or you're still not sure, there's only one way to be safe: don't pack it.
Wildlife: Avoid disturbing wildlife and damaging their natural habitats. Take care not to touch coral reefs and do not feed or touch animals or fish. Stay quiet when viewing animals on safari. For more information see www.bornfree.org.uk
Plants & shells: One of the joys of travelling is the spectacular variety of wild plants and shells you will see. These should remain in their natural environment, so avoid picking any. It is also illegal to import some plant species.
Artefacts: Items from ancient civilisations may still be found or bought in countries such as Peru and Turkey. Although they may appear discarded or available to buy, leave them where you find them.
Transport: big, small, new or old?Transport fuels the local economy and provides a livelihood for many. Sadly it also pollutes. Be sure, however, not to discriminate against those who can't afford some of the newer, energy-efficient technologies, yet may have a lower ecological impact than the wealthier competitor. Many of Thailand's humble tuk-tuks, for instance, are old but run on methane gas, which is relatively clean.
Begging: Don't give out sweets, pens or money, especially to children. Giving to children will only teach them that begging is rewarding and can undermine parental authority. It is far better to interact with children. Cat's cradle, frisbees or simply exchanging drawings or photos can be more fulfilling and fun for both you and the children. Donating to a worthwhile charity will ensure longer term benefits to a greater number of people.
Litter: To state the obvious, the world is full of it and you don't want to add to it yourself! Beyond that, however, it's up to you to decide how strongly you should feel about other people's litter: many walkers, for example, are happy to pick up litter along the trail. It's your call. Remember, however - many countries do not have adequate litter collection, never mind recycling or waste reduction schemes; so the less you create, the better.
A good drink: Where plastics are not recycled, you might consider taking a water bottle or filter and purifying your own water. Wiith this in mind, Explore Trader in association with Nomad Travel Store are offering an additional 5% discount on 6 selected products to encourage you to make the swap.
Photos: think before you click People in colourful local dress always make good subjects for photographs, but think before you snap. Many people, for whatever reason, do not like being photographed. Always ask permission before taking photographs.
Once back home…
Continuing support: Why not consider contributing to the many projects and organisations you may have come across on your tour.