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Community
This tour not only visits Vietnam’s most attractive and famous sites; it is brimming with fantastic local experiences – from taking a local cookery or martial arts lesson, to staying aboard a traditional junk, visiting a local school and learning about local farming techniques. A highlight of the tour is the homestay in Vinh Long. We really believe this gives a more in depth view of the country as we see so many more aspects of it and there are so many opportunities to meet, mingle and interact with local people. Family tours are a great way to educate young people about the world around them… who’d have thought it would be so much fun at the same time?!
Throughout our tour we use locally owned services, eat out at a variety of local restaurants and try to shop outside the large tourist centres where it really benefits local people in smaller towns and villages.
We are always extremely sensitive to the impacts of visiting rural communities. One of the reasons we prefer to use local tour leaders where possible is they can give a real insight into the local culture; anything from learning about the education system, to making sure we don’t fall foul of any taboos! It is our policy to generate business and employment opportunities in the countries we travel to by employing local people. All our leaders in Vietnam are locals and we’ve trained them all too so they are comfortable in their work and you get great service.
First if all we want to support local development by doing business well and buying locally but we do also like to support people who are unable to benefit directly from the tourist pound. On our way to Halong Bay, we may stop at the Hong Ngoc Humanity Centre, a Vietnamese run NGO, which enables disabled children and adults from the local area, to receive vocational training in the manufacturing and marketing of handicrafts.
Environment
As well as the above, we support a variety of charities and projects worldwide which support vulnerable communities and habitats including Friends of Conservation, Hope Worldwide and Send A Cow. We are also actively engaged with UK travel industry bodies which promote best practice in responsible tourism, such as Tourism Concern, The Travel Foundation and AITO. Our commitment to responsible tourism is not limited to our overseas operation and we have measures to ensure our UK office operates according to our responsible tourism policy. Carbon offsets for all flights booked with us are included in the tour cost.
This small group operator is just celebrating its 30th year and was originally set up to enrich people’s lives through adventure travel. They find the family travel experience is very popular and groups gel together quickly. Taking your children to local communities creates an instant fascination and can be a natural ice-breaker. Family adventure holidays can offer an opportunity to learn about other lifestyles and break down barriers. There is great advantage to spending time together, doing things you would never normally consider, as opposed to taking a package holiday where your children are separated and sent off to their own area.
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