Snowshoeing in the Austrian Alps holiday

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION

Given most of the time is spent exploring on foot, the trip itself is low carbon. it is important that our staff, local partners and customers are aware of the delicate balance which exists in the places we visit, and leave no trace.

ENVIRONMENT & WILDLIFE

We are committed to offering low impact holidays that benefit the country and communities we visit. This tour operates during low tourist season and utilises Austrian owned hotel, meals, services and guide.

Although the water in Austria is safe for customers to drink, on our holiday information sheet we encourage customers to purchase a discounted filter bottle which combines three different technologies to remove over 99.9% of all microbiological contaminants in water. This prevents the need for single use bottles.

We operate a ‘leave no trace’ policy on snowshoeing and winter walking days to help maintain trails for future generations. Our tour leader and snowshoeing local guide are trained to promote this message to customers whilst on this trip. Lunches can be purchased at mountains refuges which helps spread the benefits of tourism.

The focus of this trip is primarily snowshoeing however, there is some winter walking involved depending on the amount of snow. We aim to leave minimal impact in all the areas we travel. This includes sticking to the trails to avoid upsetting the delicate balance for plants and animals, as well as not feeding wildlife as they become reliant on tourists, plus maintaining a safe and respectful distance from wildlife.

People

LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

This tour operates during the quieter Austrian tourism season. This helps to curb the massive decline in tourism numbers following the busier summer tourism months.

We work with a local guide who shares our commitment to responsible travel where possible. It is important for us that we employ and train Austrians to ensure locals benefit from tourism.
On this tour we stay in a family run hotel; during winter months the hotel has been known to struggle to fill. The owner employs only Austrian staff, provides equipment for our groups, plus provides most meals.

We cap this tour at the maximum of 22 customers so as not to impact on the fragile environment of the areas we pass through on foot. On this tour we contract both private and public transport and helps provide economic benefit to the local communities we visit.

We ensure that our staff are equipped with suitable footwear and clothing to cater for the environment in which they are working on.

EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY & DIVERSITY