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Responsible tourism is very much imperative as it becomes a responsibility of each and every individual in the tourism industry as the very sustainability of the industry depends on this significant factor. Before our Festival Tour commences our guide will brief group members on the importance of conservation in the environment as part of our responsible tourism efforts.
Bhutan has a Royalty levy (included in trip cost) which goes into education and health projects, for example community schools and basic health units. Many western visitors travel to Bhutan each year for the spectacular display of festival entertainment, although festivals are not held as tourist attractions, but genuine expressions of religious traditions which are thousands of years old. This authentic interaction with the local population, customs and culture is a way of encouraging tourists to invest within the local community, with preference given to locally produced goods.
We choose our suppliers on a rotational basis and different ones in each area to ensure that the money we bring in is distributed evenly throughout the community. Local hotels, before the construction of any hotel can commence an EIA, (environmental impact assessment) must be obtained from the National Environment commission. Hotels adhere to eco friendly methods of operation including minimizing the use of non-bio degradable products and basic precautions like switching off electricity energy when not in use or required. Organic vegetables, fruits and consumables are mostly sourced from the communities to benefit the villages.
We ensure all local vehicles used for transportation are serviced frequently in addition we fully comply with Government Road Worthy standards. The life span of our vehicles is around 5 years after which we purchase new vehicles which allows for new fuel efficient and safe vehicles. This ensures minimal gas emissions are lost from our vehicles, poorly maintained or malfunctioning vehicles can release as much as 10 times the emissions of a well-maintained vehicle.
Along our Festival Tour we are very cautious about the human imprints such as garbage and refuse disposal. We bring back garbage from all our tours and dispose them in government landfills for recycling into compost or sales to recyclers. We do not use firewood as means of heating or cooking on our tours. All staff on this trip are local Bhutanese, chosen for their excellent indigenous knowledge of the area and training. Their understanding of the country's flora, fauna and local culture will guarantee an accurate insight to traditional Bhutanese life.
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
