Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia tour

Environment

Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan are a cultural treasure trove, not only for their historic sites but for their traditions and heritage. We always want to show you as much of the real country as we can so we employ a local tour leader and variety of local guides who can really bring the culture to life for you in an authentic way.

In Georgia we are also working with the German government organisation ‘GIZ’ to help our partners train locals further down the supply train – from guides and drivers to hoteliers and restaurant owners. This helps to professionalise the industry in Georgia at a local level and benefits all businesses that we interact with.

In addition to the above, we are continually looking for ways to improve and are proud to be ‘Responsible in everything we do’. Education is key and so all staff, Tour Leaders and partnering suppliers are trained in responsible and sustainable tourism. At our Head Office, we continually strive towards a sustainable and planet-friendly working environment, including having solar panels installed and a company commitment to reducing our plastic usage. As well as this, we have valuable and longstanding partnerships with UK charities Toilet Twinning and Send a Cow, plus many smaller initiatives and projects around the world. We’re members of UK travel industry bodies Tourism Concern and AITO because we believe it’s important to share our knowledge and experience, as well as learn from other operators. We acknowledge that air travel has a negative impact on our environment, so we work together with Cool Earth to offset carbon and protect our important rainforests.

Community

Staying in small and relatively out of the way places and using local guesthouses really brings us closer to the local culture and gives us many opportunities for unique experiences.

Using local guides and crew is consistent with our policy to generate local employment and deliver direct economic benefits to the areas we are travelling in. We also do this by using locally owned hotels, spreading our business to a variety of local restaurants.

In this area which was relatively isolated until recently, the income we generate is really significant to these small businesses. It is important that the people who work for us are treated fairly and confident in their work. This is why we take care to train all our local tour leaders and give them all the support they need to do their job well