Self drive holiday in Norway
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
We have a close working relationship with our suppliers and encourage them to share our concerns about minimising impact on the environment. Norwegian hotel owners, staff and activity providers are passionate about their beautiful environment, committed to its conservation and many have working responsible tourism policies.
Hotel Augustin is the first hotel in Bergen to receive an Environmental Lighthouse Certificate, focusing its efforts on recycling and pollution prevention. For example, there are no plastic cups in the rooms saving 40-50,000 plastic cups being thrown away every year; paper serviettes have been replaced with cloth ones; leftover pieces of candle are recycled to make new, artistic candles; and a grease trap is used to purify waste water.
Norway’s commitment to responsible tourism has been reinforced by the establishment of Ecotourism Norway, set up to promote the concept of ecotourism by developing guidelines and environmental standards for the tourism industry. There is an award scheme in place with criteria such as an underlying ecotourism philosophy, active nature and culture conservation, positive contribution to the local community and sustainable operations.
We are proud to hold the AITO 3-star Responsible Travel accreditation recognising our commitment to sustainable tourism. In 26 years of operation, we have raised a significant sum of money for a number of extremely worthwhile causes. One of the organisations we support is the Friends of Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) at the University of Cambridge. Their pioneering research investigates social and environmental issues in the Arctic and Antarctic, such as global warming.
Back home we have an active environmental policy in our office including recycling bins throughout; printing our brochures on FSC accredited paper from sustainable forests; systems to encourage a paperless office; and movement sensor lights which use the latest energy-saving long-life elements.
Community
We are dedicated to ensuring that local communities and environment are treated with the utmost care and respect. In the remote areas visited by this tour, tourism is one of the main income sources for rural communities, providing economic benefits for the local businesses and employment for the residents, thus avoiding a drift towards more urban areas.
We strive to ensure that the impact of tourism on communities throughout the tour is positive and work closely with our suppliers in maintaining this. We use family-run hotels where possible, such as Hotel Union in Geiranger which is run fourth generation Mjelva family, Hotel Ullensvang which is run by fifth generation Utne family and Hotel Kviknes which has been owned by the Kviknes family since 1877. We encourage our guests to visit local attractions, use local restaurants and buy local produce and crafts.
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