Sri Lanka Family Holidays

Planet

Overall, the intention is to combine the well-known tourist sites with off-the-beaten-track, rarely visited, destinations so spreading tourist revenue and contact into areas not usually benefiting, as well as providing a more authentic view of the region visited. Group sizes are deliberately kept small in order to limit impact on site and communities as much as possible. (Groups of 4 to 8 persons.) Small numbers also permit us to use local cafes plus street and market stalls for drinks, meals and shopping.

Hotels are, as much as possible, small and independently owned with proven responsible travel policies and our emphasis is on eating and drinking in local cafes and restaurants. All ground staff are fully licensed and trained in sustainable tourism practices.

With regards drinking water guests have a personal flask refilled from large, reusable water containers thus cutting out single-use plastic.

We include Kelanivally rainforest area and Horton Plains and Wilpattu national parks on this tour where entrance fees help park authorities finance upkeep, maintenance and conservation projects as well as providing employment and revenue for local residents as drivers, guides, park rangers and staff etc.

People

All ground staff – drivers, guides and tour-leaders – are locally employed and fully licensed. Leaders and guides provide suitable, relevant information for our customers to help them to gain a wider understanding of our style of tourism that focuses on learning; genuine interaction with the local communities, reciprocity and cultural exchange processes.

They also make visitors aware of the potential impact of tourism on the local society, culture and environment, and explain how to behave and dress appropriately with a respect and appreciation for local customs, mores and traditions as well as having a respect for the ecology of areas visited.

By explaining our methods and the reasons behind them local agents, guides and hotels are encouraged by us to adopt further responsible tourism practices themselves and guides and drivers are provided with additional training in this respect.

Projects we support include the Elephant Transit Camp rehabilitation centre.

By limiting groups to a maximum of 8 persons we aim to reduce the impact on both local communities and the environment whilst allowing for greater genuine interaction with said communities. This helps to spread the ‘tourist dollar as well as in a small way relieving pressure on popular sites. It also results in a higher guide/customer ratio thus offering a greater facility for supervision and individual assistance and allowing us to use smaller hotels and restaurants and employ the services of more genuinely ‘local’ operators on a personal and friendly basis rather than dealing with establishments primarily equipped for larger groups.