SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL

WE ADVOCATE SUSTAINABILITY ABROAD THROUGH THE FOLLOWING:

• On our land-based adventures, group sizes do not exceed 16 travelers. Group size is an important feature of sustainable tourism. Larger groups can inundate small communities and trample sensitive environments. By traveling in smaller groups, the social and physical impacts are minimized.
• On our ship-based adventures, we use expedition style ships -- not cruise ships. Smaller vessels allow for more personal interaction with fellow travelers and staff, and reduce our impact on the sites we visit.
• We facilitate meaningful, non-exploitive exchanges between our travelers and the local people. It is our hope that local people will benefit both commercially and intellectually through the exchange, and that our travelers will return home as educated ambassadors for the places they have visited.
• We work with local businesses and smaller hotels and accommodations wherever possible. By injecting money into the local economy, we aid local businesses who hire local people, thereby fostering real economic growth in the communities we visit.
• We visit important natural areas sensitively. We help to demonstrate that sensitive tourism can provide a viable alternative to natural resource depletion, thus helping to protect these sensitive areas.