India tour, the real Exotic Marigold Hotel

Environment

In India we have developed unique relationships with many people, some of whom help us with our tours, others that simply live in the different regions to which we travel and through. Through our form of interactive, socially conscious tourism we have helped them adapt to the modern, changing world by providing an important additional income. In addition we sponsor the following projects: Environment: - In arid Rajasthan, we have implemented tree planting schemes (a hands on experience for some of our trips!) as well as helping directly with the financing of rural village schools.

We have a strict environmental policy to make sure that the environments we visit are not damaged or spoilt in any way. All our guides are trained to uphold this policy and all clients are fully briefed on appropriate/responsible behaviour whilst in wilderness areas. Our “Leave No Trace” ethic is applied to all trips in all regions and, as tour operators, is something we are careful to promote.

We are very aware of the economic, ecological and ethical impact tourism can have on ancient cultures and fragile environments. We realise that taking clients through such a region can have a negative impact on the environment if not handled responsibly and as such, on all of our trips we go to great lengths to minimise the negative and accentuate the positive… after all, there are also many good things that the traveller can bring.

By keeping the group size to a maximum of 12, we can also minimise the human impact on the fragile sites we visit.

When you take one of our trips, we make a contribution to “Carbon Clear” – an organisation devoted to ‘offsetting’ or ‘neutralising’ harmful greenhouse gas emissions caused by your flight. This is done by funding projects across the world that will reduce greenhouse gases on your behalf through sustainable energy or rainforest restoration. We also support several NGOs around the world such as the Hope Foundation, A-Cet and Adopt-A-Minefield, which are all carefully selected to improve the standard of living for the communities we visit.

Community

In our opinion, our India trips – where we steer our clients off the main tourist circuits and into the rural regions of the subcontinent, to interact directly with local people – is responsible travel at its most immediate and effective.

Responsible travel and sustainable tourism are fundamental ideas that we have been committed to since our birth. It is our strong belief that these words should not be simply ‘tagged on’ to dossiers and websites but should be at the very core of each trip, and our adventures are therefore designed with the local people, culture and eco-system in mind. We believe that a successful trip not only delivers a unique and unsurpassable journey for our clients, but that it also benefits the peoples whose lands we are privileged to visit.

We have spearheaded travel into rural area ensuring that local people benefit from tourism in places where there are not many opportunities to earn an income. We have developed unique relationships with many people,and through our form of interactive, socially conscious tourism we have helped them adapt to the modern, changing world by providing the ability to financially provide for themselves.

All our India cultural tours employ the services of local guides and drivers, stay in locally owned hotels and guesthouses – often staying in our guides villages and homes, which again diverts important funds directly into the area. The wonderful thing about this kind of interactive tourism is that everyone gains – the locals financially, and our clients with the unique experience and social interaction.