Grand American Adventures
Aims
Footloose operates tours that foster understanding, appreciation and conservation of the cultures and environments we visit. We are committed to working with our clients and the peoples of our host destinations to ensure direct economic benefits at a community level, and to contribute to cultural and environmental conservation. With the continual monitoring of our operations, we aim to operate beyond best practice guidelines and to provide a tour programme that creates a positive impact on the lands that we visit and a lasting impression for those who travel with us.
Economic responsibility
Purchasing policy: Fresh vegetables and meats are purchased and prepared locally whenever possible. All of our camping based tours utilize portable field kitchens and we endeavour to shop at local fruit and vegetable markets in Mexico, Central and South America whenever possible.
Working with Locals: The vast majority of our itineraries (95%) are led by local guides using local suppliers for transportation, accommodation and activities to ensure the economic benefit stays in the local community.
Examples include: We utilize locally based adventure specialists (rafting, cycling, horse riding, etc) and properties (campgrounds, small hotels, etc) in each community that we visit. This allows us to develop a positive, long-term relationship with local providers and support their business endeavours.
An example of how we benefit a specific community: Over the past 12 years we have brought our groups to the Manayalluk aboriginal community in Australia. During this time, we have assisted them to professionalize their approach to tourism which has enabled them to better educate tourists and locals, to provide services and sell locally produced goods direct to the tourists (rather than through city-middlemen) maximizing economic benefit for the community.
Educating travellers: Our tour leaders explain to our passengers that because of our support to local businesses over the years (in both busy and slow seasons) that we have developed a positive working relationship and also helped to sustain the local providers. As such, they recognize our economic benefit and reward our groups with preferential treatment and rates (typically observed for local patrons).
Environmental responsibility
Carbon off-setting:
Partner with Climate Care to encourage clients to off-set domestic/international flights.
Off-set vehicles’ emissions with Footloose matching client contributions (up to £5,000).
Office based: 100% of Footloose UK corporate headquarters’ power is green (renewable). Reduced brochure production by over 100,000 in 2007 and sourced sustainable production supplies for 2008 brochure.
We recycle paper, cardboard, glass and plastic bottles, and also utilize a “Think before you print” policy.
All toilets have a water saving device
Paper recycling bins in every office
Biodegradable washing liquid
Fair-trade coffee and tea
Recycled paper used for printing
Strict policy on shutting off lights, monitors and other office machines
Recycled water from water butts for watering plants
Office furniture is recycled
Recycled water proposal - collecting water from the roofs used for grey water
Recycling: Established policy to support recycling (and to educate our clients on recycling) on all of our tours in North/Central/South America, Australia and New Zealand.
Reduce - When staying in hotels avoid having sheets and towels changed daily; turn off lights, air conditioner/heater, and television when not in the room; take shorter showers.
Reuse - Avoid repeated purchases of plastic water bottles. Refill them where possible; use a water filtration system where not.
Recycle - Many places we visit provide recycling facilities and we encourage use of them when possible. We routinely recycle plastics, metals and paper products.
Leave No Trace (LNT) policies are discussed by our tour leaders at every tour’s first orientation meeting. We list these and our traveller’s code of conduct on our website and link to LNT so clients may do additional research prior to their journey.
Leave No Trace is a national and international campaign designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts about how to reduce their impacts when enjoying the outdoors. Because many of our trips spend time exploring National Parks and other "wilderness" areas, familiarizing clients with the "Leave No Trace" ethic will help minimize the impact on the natural environment
Plan Ahead and Prepare
Know the regulations and special concerns for the area you'll visit.
Prepare for extreme weather, hazards, and emergencies.
Schedule your trip to avoid times of high use.
Visit in small groups. Split larger parties into groups of 4-6.
Repackage food to minimize waste.
Use a map and compass to eliminate the use of marking paint, rock cairns or flagging.
Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
Durable surfaces include established trails and campsites, rock, gravel, dry grasses or snow.
Protect riparian areas by camping at least 200 feet from lakes and streams.
Good campsites are found, not made. Altering a site is not necessary.
In popular areas:
- Concentrate use on existing trails and campsites.
- Walk single file in the middle of the trail, even when wet or muddy.
- Keep campsites small. Focus activity in areas where vegetation is absent.
In pristine areas:
- Disperse use to prevent the creation of campsites and trails.
- Avoid places where impacts are just beginning.
Dispose of Waste Properly
Pack it in, pack it out. Inspect your campsite and rest areas for trash or spilled foods. Pack out all trash, leftover food, and litter.
On rare occasion without a flush toilet, deposit solid human waste in cat holes dug 6 to 8 inches deep at least 200 feet from water, camp, and trails. Cover and disguise the cat hole when finished. Pack out toilet paper and hygiene products.
On rare occasion without established shower and washing facility- wash yourself or your dishes, carry water 200 feet away from streams or lakes and use small amounts of biodegradable soap. Scatter strained dishwater.
Leave What You Find
Preserve the past: examine, but do not touch, cultural or historic structures and artifacts.
Leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them.
Avoid introducing or transporting non-native species.
Do not build structures, furniture, or dig trenches.
Minimize Campfire Impacts
Campfires can cause lasting impacts to the backcountry. Use a lightweight stove for cooking and enjoy a candle lantern for light.
Where fires are permitted, use established fire rings, fire pans, or mound fires.
Keep fires small. Only use sticks from the ground that can be broken by hand.
Burn all wood and coals to ash, put out campfires completely, then scatter cool ashes.
Respect Wildlife
Observe wildlife from a distance. Do not follow or approach them.
Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers.
Protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and trash securely.
Control pets at all times, or leave them at home.
Avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter.
Be Considerate of Other Visitors
Respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience.
Be courteous. Yield to other users on the trail.
Step to the downhill side of the trail when encountering pack stock.
Take breaks and camp away from trails and other visitors.
Let nature's sounds prevail. Avoid loud voices and noises
An example of our commitment to the environment in Peru:
On our Inca Trail tours we adhere to a policy of “100% carry in/carry out” whereby all the camp waste is hauled out of the park. Our system includes portable chemical (biodegradable) toilets, with no holes in the ground and no solid waste left within the park boundaries.
An example of our commitment to the environment in North America:
On all of our tours in the USA and Canada, we endeavour to recycle 100% of cans and plastic bottles. As such, we have a devoted storage space on all of our vehicles’ trailers so that we can haul waste to appropriate recycling facilities.
Social responsibility
Educating Travellers:
We have produced a "Trek Travellers’ Code of Conduct" to help prepare and inform our travellers of the various positive or negative effects they could have on a destination. Topics include: respect and cultural awareness, successful observation of wildlife, effective means to provide support to street children. This information is discussed by our tour leaders during the first night’s orientation meeting of each tour.
Learn about your destination
Buy guidebooks or use the internet to learn something about the culture, history, politics, and geography of the places you'll be visiting. Most importantly, know how to be a good guest in the country or culture.
Be open to different ways of thinking, living, and working. Accepting the differences in cultures is part of the travel experience.
Learn the language
Learn a few simple words and phrases; "hello," "how are you?" "goodbye," "thank you." Even the simplest words and phrases will go a long way in allowing you to interact with the local people. And, no matter how little you know, it's always appreciated.
Respect Wildlife
Observe wildlife from a distance. Do not follow or approach them.
Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers.
Protect wildlife and your food by storing rations and trash securely.
Control pets at all times, or leave them at home.
Avoid wildlife during sensitive times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter.
Be Considerate of Other Visitors
Respect other visitors and protect the quality of their experience.
Be courteous. Yield to other users on the trail.
Step to the downhill side of the trail when encountering pack stock.
Take breaks and camp away from trails and other visitors.
Let nature's sounds prevail. Avoid loud voices and noises
Avoid giving money or candy to children
Giving directly to children encourages begging and can undermine parents who cannot afford to give their children such items.
If you must give gifts give useful items- pens, paper, clothing, etc.
Give to organizations instead. While you may not get the immediate gratification of the smile on a child's face; the long term benefits are much more substantial.
Tour Leader Training:
Our operations department has produced a Responsible Travel Guideline that is incorporated into all training materials and reviewed on a regular basis. Topics include: water conservation and waste disposal, minimizing campfire impact, respect for the local peoples, and “Leave No Trace” guidelines.
Charitable project support:
Footloose contributes to local charities and projects such as “Tourism Cares for America” (of which we are a founding member.)
We have contributed $500 for the past 3 years as a member.
We’ve sponsored up to 4 volunteers to participate in their annual project which focuses on repairing an historic tourist attraction. In 2005, the project was Mt. Vernon, VA. In 2006, the project was Biloxi, MS: clean-up after Hurricane Katrina.
We will continue to contribute and work with Tourism Cares for many years ahead.
Paid member of “Friends of Big Bend” and the “Mojave Desert Land Trust”- organizations dedicated to improving and/or expanding national parks.
The Friends of Big Contribution is $20.
The Mojave Desert Land Trust was $50.
We have volunteered with both organizations to contribute manpower and vans, camping gear and leaders for any worthwhile programs or trail work they have scheduled. We have also volunteered to take any “problem youth groups” for two or three day camping trips to Joshua Tree NP [associated with Mojave Land Trust]. In the future we will endeavor to host at least one group per organization per year.
Friends of Big Bend supports, promotes, and raises funds for Big Bend National Park in partnership with the National Park Service and other supporters who value the unique qualities of this national resource along the Rio Grande. Friends of Big Bend National Park supported projects and donations:
Time Lapse Video Camera
Persimmon Gap Entrance Station
Wildlife Research
Water Quality Equipment
Donation Box
Business Plan Printing
Computer Research Equipment
Five Wayside Exhibits
Seasonal Wildlife Technician
Trail Maintenance (Ride for Trails Rally)
Chihuahuan Desert Symposium
Lighting Evaluation
Museum Storage Equipment
Flora Study in Dead Horse Mts.
Travelers Information Radio System
Power Point Projector
Update Chisos Basin Visitor Center display
Redo Chisos Trailhead Sign
Panther Junction Visitor Center Expansion
Panther Junction Visitor Center Exhibits
Resource Management Projects
Chisos Mountains Visitor Center Displays
Trespass Livestock Removal Project
The Mojave Desert Land Trust Land is a non-profit charitable organization whose mission is to conserve land through acquisition and stewardship in perpetuity. The Land Trust works through outright purchases, conservation easements and bequests. Independent and entrepreneurial, the Land Trust is flexible and able to work across political boundaries to meet the needs of landowners, public land agencies and municipalities. Its two most famous projects are the purchases of Nolina Peak (adjacent Joshua Tree National Park) and the Desert Conservation Vision Workshops (research and educational program on Mojave and California Desert regions).
Paid member of “Bus & Coach Association of New Zealand”- membership fee supports Conservation Department and management of the parks of New Zealand.
Support for additional projects throughout the Americas, Australia and New Zealand are currently under review by our Responsible Travel Committee. Projects under consideration:
Donation of 1% profit to individual national and provincial parks, national reserves and respective conservation projects based on passenger visits
USA- Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Acadia, Monument Valley
Canada- Jasper, Yoho, Banff
Costa Rica- Tortuguero, Rincon de la Vieja
Mexico- Isla Contoy National Park
Ecuador- Galapagos
Peru- Machu Picchu Sanctuary
Chile- Torres del Paine
