Slovenia and Croatia photography tour
How Slovenia and Croatia photography tour makes a difference
Environment
In our office we operate mainly with computers. We moved our operations on internet; we use emails rather than fax, we do not print documents but store them on our computers and in online clouds, most of our paperwork is handled electronically (we send/receive invoices, balances and other to our accountant via email). All our invoices to our clients are issued as PDF rather than printed on paper, same goes for itineraries and travel information.
We do not print any paper brochures – all our communication with our clients is via internet (website, affiliate websites or social media).
Luckily Ljubljana, the city where our office is located is very small so we can all drive to work by bicycle.
All our guests get reusable plastic water bottles so they can fill them anytime – tap water in the region is drinkable. This way they do not have to buy new bottles over and over again which is good for environment and their wallets.
While photographing we often pick up trash, educate our guests about nature, animals and plants and how it’s all connected. We always carry binoculars with us so the guests can use it for watching birds and other wildlife which helps understanding nature and its fragility. Also books about animal and plant life are always present in our van.
Most of our staff are members of organisations like Birdlife Slovenia, Birdlife Croatia, Cave explorers society of Slovenia and others. We volunteer as a company on events like census of endangered bird species in Slovenia, initiatives of cleaning trash dumped in nature. Many times we contribute our photographs to non-profit organisations or projects.
Our guides always educate our guests about rules of conduct in national parks and other important nature areas.
Community
We use only small local private suppliers of accommodation (pensions, b&bs, farmhouses). This way our guests benefit the true hospitality and more authentic experience and local community benefits from the money they spend – a fair trade. We communicate directly to these suppliers so there is no middle man who would get most of the money. We caress our relationship with these suppliers (usually local family or a small company) because our interest is long-term partnership. Most of the places we use will also offer something more to our guests – like invitation to wine cellar or in the season our guests can join grape harvest or help feed the farm animals…
It is very important to us that we only use established local eateries and restaurants that offer locally produced seasonal food - run by local people who know traditional food of the area best. Food is one of the most important parts of the travel and we educate our guest of local specialties, the background of the food they eat (where it comes from, why it is important, ingredients & recipes…).
All our small group or private tours are run by local guides and photographers. Local people know the area intimately and this is very important for us as a photography tours business. Great guide/photography leader is of key importance for us. The right person can make or break the experience of our guests so we work only with best guides and in off season we offer free training, study trips and education on different aspects (one of them is how to travel responsible). Also local photographers know what conduct is acceptable and where is allowed to photograph and where not.
We also promote traditional crafts performed by local people, like stone cutting in Karst, copperware in Sarajevo, cheese making in Bohinj, a visit to a beehive at Lake Bled… All these places supplement their income in this way – we pay for their demonstration plus our guests can buy their products directly from them.
We are a small business with a small budget so we cannot make significant donations to charities. However we do get involved in different ways. Most of our staff are members of organisations like Birdlife Slovenia, Birdlife Croatia, Cave explorers society of Slovenia and others. We volunteer as a company on events like census of endangered bird species in Slovenia, initiatives of cleaning trash dumped in nature. Many times we contribute our photographs to non-profit organisations or projects.
Slovenia and Croatia photography tour
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