Lake Balaton family holiday, Hungary
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
Our company is committed to environmentally, socially and culturally responsible tourism. During our hikes in the Balaton Upland National Park we aim to leave the environment in the same state as we found it, if not better. We advise our guests not to pick flowers or disturb the natural resources. We also ask guests during the walk to keep waste with them until back in nearest settlement. We are committed conserving the biodiversity of the areas visited, therefore we tell our guests about the actual environmental issues of the areas visited, such as water eutrophication, deforestation and the role of Small-Balaton in the ecosystem. Where possible we engage in partnership with local environmental groups and land managers to actively campaign conservation or promote environmental protection or rehabilitation. We also invite our guests to participate in upcoming environmental actions.
The accommodations are selected on the basis of their environmental policies, e.g. waste management and commitment to sustainability. The Badacsony accommodation is located centrally so that a number of sights in the village can also be reached just by walking. This way, and considering all the outdoor hiking and cycling activities during the week, we decrease our carbon emission. We also encourage our guests to carbon offset their flights. The small group sizes (5-18 persons) enable us to minimize impact on delicate environments.
Community
During the walks we visit remote locations too where our presence helps local communities to generate income. To make sure the money stays within the visited community we rely on local suppliers both in terms of accommodation and catering. We actively minimize the negative effects that tourism can have by ensuring that tourism does not divert resources away from local communities or drive up prices on local resources. The tour provides opportunities for cultural exchange both in the small communities and in the lakeside resort visited. Our presence also encourages local governments to invest into tourism-related infrastructure. There is also a great need for this because tourisme in Hungary is much too focused on key locations while other places with great potential and a high level of touristic complexity remain unnoticed.
An indirect benefit of this holiday is that we support hiking, cycling and canoeing activities of state adopted children by donating 1% of our income to this charity. In collaboration with an NGO we organise and guide these activities, and document the tours on the internet with itinerary, budget, names of participants and photos. Environmental education of the young generations, and especially of those most in need, is the guarantee for our principles to live on and for our efforts to bear fruit.
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