Kamchatka cruise in Russia, ring of fire expedition

Planet

As a company deeply committed to our responsibilities to our valued customers and stakeholders, we pride ourselves on our ethical approach to travel and protecting the wildlife and environments of the world in which we all live. One of the many ways in which we do this is to strictly use suppliers and operators who are as committed to their social and environmental responsibilities as we are, including only using operators who are active members of the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) and the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO), and are therefore fully committed to the rules and regulations by which their practices are governed.

The operators of this thrilling remote Arctic, Russian Far East adventure are conservation ambassadors and are leaders in travelling in a responsible, conservation conscious manner. In their own words “to travel with us is to travel responsibly”! The operators solely use small ships which carry a maximum of 50 passengers, allowing for not only a more personal and intimate experience of the remarkable regions they visit, but mostly to limit the impact of their ships and operations on the fragile environments and habitats that are visited. When selecting their specialist expedition equipment, vehicles and vessels, they carry out careful research for each itinerary to ensure that they are the most suitable and the most environmentally responsible. On board, every element of travel has been carefully planned to limit its affect on the surrounding environment, including the responsible management of waste. On board, all waste is treated as prescribed by MARPOL, The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships. Any non-recyclable waste generated on the trip will be brought back for disposal at approved sites. Owing to the small-group nature of your expedition, there will be one of the best ratios of guests-to-guide on any Polar itinerary. This means direct access to the experienced guides who know and love the regions you will be visiting, and will offer advice on how you too can improve your methods of travelling responsibly. This includes encouraging recycling at all times, the promotion of ongoing conservation and wildlife protection initiatives and through briefings on responsible behaviour around the flora and fauna you will encounter on your trip. Furthermore, the operators hold active membership of a number of conservation and travel organisations including Sustainable Travel International and, of course, IAATO.

One of the main elements of your tour operator’s responsible travel policy is giving back to the areas that they visit and offsetting their footprint in both a financial and supportive capacity. As biologists and ornithologists, they are intimately aware of the many issues that confront animals and their habitats, the world's oceans and isolated ethnic groups. But not only are they aware, they fully act upon this knowledge by taking proactive action to contribute to the conservation of the places they visit in several ways. One of the ways in which they do this is providing advocacy through responsible travel and providing funds and logistical support for research and management. They have an ongoing association with Birdlife International and are a species champion for the Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper. As well as providing transport and logistics for several researchers, they make significant ongoing financial contributions to the project which goes towards funding the fight against extinction, vital development of conservation for Critically Endangered species who do not yet receive support, communications and publicity that raises international awareness of the extinctions crisis, and contributing to the BirdLife Partnership's International Science, Policy, Advocacy, Conservation and Coordination work. They also make significant annual financial contributions and provide logistical support to various other worthwhile causes including the Russian State Reserve Agency, World Wildlife Fund (Russia) and the Antarctic Heritage Trust amongst many others.

Likewise, as part of our commitment to the environment we also “give back” to the areas to which our customers travel. As a company we support many wildlife organisations worldwide including Save the Albatross, Wader Quest and the South Georgia Habitat Restoration Project and in an effort to further enhance the positive effects of our tours on the wildlife of the Arctic we actively encourage our customers upon return to donate to charities concerned with the Arctic. Throughout your voyage you will also be encouraged to contribute to some exceptionally worthwhile causes, including Birldlife International, especially considering the incredible birdlife that you are likely to see on this tour. We find that the vast majority of our customers return from their trips with a renewed passion for conservation and support of the vulnerable wildlife that has contributed to making their adventures so memorable.

People

Although many of the areas you will visit are uninhabited apart from the intriguing wildlife, throughout your voyage through the Russian Far East you will likely visit a number of small and very remote settlements to meet the people that reside here and learn more about their cultures and ways of life. The operators of this tour are fully committed to their responsibilities to the local communities that their tours visit and you will be offered first-hand insights on respecting the traditions of the communities you will be visiting, including appropriate behaviour at any heritage or cultural sites. As a company we are committed to ethically working with overseas partners who employ and support local communities and local guides who know and love their region like no other, delighted to share knowledge and are dedicated to looking after our valued passengers. With first-hand experience of the areas we visit we also have up to date local information and can therefore provide the most relevant information in our pre-departure literature. This includes information on on-going initiatives and community efforts that we actively encourage our customers to become involved in, cultural etiquette and advice on how to engage with and help the local communities.

The operators are committed to their policy of buying local and employing locally, allowing for your voyage to have nothing but good affects on the communities that you will visit.

The operators of your tour also take their social commitments very seriously, and have backed up this commitment by partnering with the Enderby Trust to provide scholarships for young people, who could not otherwise afford to travel, to join their expeditions.

As a company, we are proud of our principle based values which our community can always depend on. We support several home and overseas charities, organisations and campaigns including AfriCat, Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), Save the Albatross, South Georgia Habitat Restoration Project, Wader Trust, Wildlife SOS India and sponsorship of individual and underprivileged children in many countries.