r:travel, official magazine of the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards 2007 by Alex Lyons

exclusive Your guide to the Virgin Holidays responsible tourism Awards

Go easy on the jets

Can we still fly with a clear conscience?

No way, Mandalay

Why weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re right to stay out of Burma

steps to holiday heaven

And the winner is...

The people and places making the best contributions to travel that respects destinations and benefits local communities

www.responsibletravel.com Holidays that respect destinations and local people

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Editor’s Letter |

Jive talking

iving with the rather attractive head of the Serbian Tourist Board in a Belgrade blues club may not have been the most responsible way to open my eyes to the potential of tourism to be a force for good. But neither had I expected it to. I’m not a responsible travel pioneer. I didn’t have my epiphany in an ecolodge in the Amazon rainforest, or while trekking in the Himalayas, I was visiting a country slouching in the shadows of Europe, that just a few years before had had NATO bombs raining down on it. I was among a group of travel writers who were among the first to be taken to this Balkan hotspot not long after the Kosovan conflict. Serbia then was a country on the cusp. Either it embraced the rest of Europe, or it turned in on itself and sulked for several decades. Forces were at work on both sides. As well as enjoying the nightlife of Belgrade, we were taken to Mt Kopaonik, a ski resort literally overlooking Kosovo. A satellite-tracking station on top of the mountain had been bombed during the conflict. I remember standing on a piste with a local guide who was pointing out their internationally-renowned black run. Unlike the rest of the mountain, it was still closed. Although it had been swept for

stray cluster bombs, he said, they just wanted to make sure before they opened it. Going off-piste wasn’t recommended. Anyway, Kopaonik had been a favourite with Brits on a budget before the war. With our help, maybe it could be again. The ‘progressives’ in favour of showing a happy face to the world saw tourism as a way of reviving a moribund economy and literally bringing Serbia back in from the cold. We weren’t just hacks on a jolly. We had cameras pointed at us, and were interviewed for Serbian TV. Our views mattered. If our visit was a success, the forces of light would prevail

“

you to r:travel, the magazine for the responsible tourist, and official magazine of the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards. This is the fourth year the awards have taken place and they get bigger and better. The Awards were founded in 2004 by responsibletravel.com, a handpicked directory of thousands of responsible holidays to over 150 countries and one of the pioneers of responsible tourism. Launched in partnership with with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical magazine, the aim of the awards is to recognise those individuals, companies and organisations in the travel industry that are furthering the scope of responsible tourism. Responsible… Sounds serious. A bit ‘worthy’ perhaps? Let’s bury that one right now. Responsible tourism is not about being po-faced – who wants to be a part of that? You’ll either feel guilty for having fun or fed up if you’re not. But if you travel for relaxation, fulfilment, discovery, adventure and to learn rather than simply to tick off places and things then responsible travel is for you. All the winners and highly commendeds of the Responsible Tourism Awards, featured in the pages of this magazine have cracked that equation. What they offer maximises the benefits of tourism to the local community and environment, and minimises any negative impacts. But most importantly, they are all offering truly enjoyable and rewarding experiences. Hopefully, some of that has rubbed off on r:travel, too.

I didn’t have my epiphany in an ecolodge in the Amazon rainforest, or while trekking in the Himalayas, I was visiting a country slouching in the shadows of Europe

”

and the door to Europe would be flung open. This is, of course, a gross over-simplification of a complex situation but as an introduction to responsible-ish tourism it worked for me. Serbia still has much to do but things are improving. The government is investing in tourism development in many regions, including Palic, Stara Planina, Upper and Down Danube regions, Zlatibor and Zlatar mountains, Kopaonik and Vlasina Lake. This will give a lot to communities in these regions. Tourism is seen as an impulse for regional development. And since then, I’ve travelled to many more places around the world and seen how developing tourism in the right way can make a positive difference to people’s lives. All of which ramble is a roundabout way of introducing

3 | r:travel

Roger Fulton, editor

•

Help the environment? Help yourselves? RELAX AS HARD AS YOU LIKE

Whose responsibility is the environment? Yours? Ours? At Neilson we believe it’s everyone’s. After all, going on holiday affects the local population, wildlife and ecology – some things we’ll all benefit from preserving. We’ve made a start by auditing many Neilson-run hotels and yacht operations for their sustainability, against a checklist created by Travelife (an independent initiative funded by the European Union). In 2005 we were also highly commended in the ‘Best in a Mountain Environment’ at the Responsible Travel Awards at the World Travel Market. And what’s more, all our brochures are available as paper-free downloads from our website. So that’s what we’re doing. You can do your bit by using responsible holiday operators. It’s a respect thing.

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Contents |

The Awards 22 24 30 34 40 46 50 54 58 64 70 76 80 84

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

•

| Best for Conservation of Endangered Species | Best for Poverty Reduction | Best Tour Operator

Features

Cover image Portrait of an Egyptian girl Nathan B Dappen, shutterstock.co.uk

8 | How to be a responsible traveller 12 | r:travel news 16 | Three steps to holiday heaven

92 | The trip that changed my life 98 | Can you fly guilt-free?

Paper supplied by Sappi Fine Paper Europe which holds both the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and the PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Systems) certifications. Sappi Fine Paper is quality certified with ISO 9001, OHSA and environmently certified with EMAS (Eco Management and Audit Scheme) and ISO 14001.

Published by | Circle Publishing CIRCLE PUBLISHING

102 | Sightseeing for geeks 104 | Green kit

jacob fields

110 | Why we must boycott Burma 114 | Tribute to Anita Roddick When you have finished with this magazine please recycle it

5 | r:travel

•

)"% &/06()" Thousands of holidays to hundreds of places that havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been ravaged by mass tourism.

How to be a

responsible traveller

Can you be a tourist without wrecking the planet or other people’s lives? Luckily for you, it and them, you can!

8 | r:travel

o, you want to be a responsible traveller? Fed up with flopping and dropping on a beach pockmarked with sun umbrellas and surrounded by spit-roasting fellow Brits loudly demanding egg and chips and PG Tips for breakfast, and fish and chips and ten pints of lager for supper in an expat bar before vomiting it all back up in some Mediterranean backstreet, in front of the horrified locals? Of course you are. Responsible travel is a new way of travelling for those who’ve had enough of mass tourism. It’s still about enjoying yourself, but doing so while respecting and benefiting local people and the environment along the way. And it goes deeper than that. It’s about challenging everyone engaged in tourism to take responsibility for what they do – whether that’s people in the destinations, the tour operators or travellers themselves – and play their part in building sustainable livelihoods and communities and preserve fragile environments. Awareness of ethical or responsible tourism is growing. From around one million responsible holidays taken in 2006, industry forecasts predict that figure will top 2.5 million by 2010. Of course, the first hurdle for any would-be responsible traveller is the big one. Flying. It’s a feature in itself, which is why we’ve devoted three whole pages to the issue, starting on page 98. For now, let’s move on. Responsible travel is about bringing the visitor closer to local cultures and environments by involving local people in tourism but in a fair way, not one that exploits them. For example, a local guide from the destination will open your eyes to the local culture and way of life far better than an expat guide ever could – they will also earn a valuable income from you. The responsible traveller appreciates

all illstrations: Jennny vallis

How to be a Responsible Traveller |

local people’s relationship with their environments, and that income from tourism can be a powerful incentive for their conservation. Responsible tourism is about treading lightly and not overwhelming a place, visiting in smaller groups, and meeting some local people, rather than being surrounded by thousands of folk from back home. Less intrusive and more satisfying, this also makes local people and cultures more welcoming, more accessible. The responsible tourist wants to get more out of their travels, and to give a bit back to the places and people that they encounter. That may simply mean buying local products and using a local guide, or it may mean supporting a project or taking part in a volunteering scheme that helps build sustainable communities. The buzzword in all this is authenticity – experiences integral to local people’s traditions, cultures and rituals, rather than those specially created or re-packaged for tourism. The responsible traveller values diversity – of people, cultures and environments. At the same time they understand that some cultural experiences are best kept private, and that their visit would be an intrusion. Respect earns respect.  On an elemental level, responsible travel is also about re-discovering how to experience nature – to feel it, smell it and learn about it rather than just look at it. What better way to nourish the soul? Responsible travellers would rather get out and walk than sit in a coach, and try to leave no physical evidence of their visit but their footprints. Above all, the responsible traveller wants to cut loose and explore the world, to have an unforgettable experience and bank some great memories. It may be hard always to do the right thing – but experienced responsible travellers are humble and learn from their mistakes. And wherever they go, they make and experience a difference.

•

Doing the right thing Before you book your holiday Plan your route to minimise carbon emissions – travel by train and public transport where possible.

Minimise flying time and stopovers – the worst carbon emissions are emitted during take-off and landing. For the flights that you cannot avoid, offset the carbon emissions.

Ask to see the tour operator’s policy for responsible tourism. All responsibletravel.com members must have one.  Make sure it explains how they minimise environmental impacts and support the local economy.

Quiz your hotel/ accommodation to see if they really are eco! Go to www. responsibletravel.com/checklist for a 10-point checklist

9 | r:travel

While on holiday Buy local produce in preference to imported goods

Hire a local guide – you'll discover more about local culture and lives, and they will earn an income

Before you travel Read up on local cultures and learn a few words of the local language – travelling with respect earns you respect

Remove all excess packaging – waste disposal is difficult in remote places and developing countries

Ask your tour operator for specific tips for responsible travel in your destination

Ask your tour operator/hotel if there are useful gifts that you could pack for your hosts, local people or schools

Do not buy products made from endangered species, hard woods or ancient artefacts

Respect local cultures, traditions and holy places

Use public transport, hire a bike or walk when convenient – it’s a great way to meet local people on their terms

Use water sparingly – it’s very precious in many countries and tourists tend to use far more than local people

Remember that local people have different ways of thinking and concepts of time, this just makes them different not wrong – cultivate the habit of asking questions (rather than the Western habit of knowing the answers)

Ask your tour operator whether there are local conservation or social projects that you could visit on your trip, and if/how you could help support them

When you get back Write to your tour operator or hotel with any comments or feedback about your holiday, and especially include any suggestions on reducing environmental impacts and increasing benefits to local communities.

Finally, if you've promised to send pictures or gifts to local people remember to do so. Many are promised and not all arrive!

80 | r:travel 10

How to be a Responsible Traveller |

•

Rise and rise

of the responsible traveller

The story of responsible tourism is inextricably linked with the story of responsibletravel.com. As it happens, both are doing pretty well

n a trip to Zambia in 2000 Justin Francis spent two nights staying with the people of Kawaza – a traditional Kunda village not far from South Luangwa National Park. On the second day the village headman, Jackson, asked to see him. Jackson began a very long and seemingly aimless story about friendship involving various creatures of the forest. He told Justin that during his stay he had become a friend of the village, however he finished by saying that this was not enough. Jackson explained how tourism provided the village with employment, school funds, a clinic, a new well and money for orphans. He asked Justin to go home and tell everyone about Kawaza village and the benefits of tourism. Soon after, Justin quit his job as head of marketing at The Body Shop and started an MSc in Responsible Tourism with course director Harold Goodwin. Six months into the course Justin and Harold concluded that change in tourism would be slow until there was a proven demand for more responsible holidays, and that this in turn depended on tourists being easily able to find and buy this type of holiday. responsibletravel.com was launched in April 2001 with backing from a small group of private investors including Anita and Gordon Roddick from The Body Shop. The idea was to create a profitable international business, and to help re-invent travel and tourism – one of the world’s largest industries – for the benefit of travellers, the industry, and local people and conservation. Initially the site offered just 15 holidays from founding partners Tribes Travel and

Discovery Initiatives. Recognising that no travel agent can possibly know all the holidays as well as the experts who run them, the site was created to enable travellers to contact carefully pre-screened tour operators and hotel managers directly to make a booking. Travellers can use the site to find more real, authentic and responsible holidays and to make a booking. They can also read operators’ responsible travel policies; review how they meet responsible travel

“

People are a lot more aware of the effects their lifestyle choices have on the environment and local community

Responsible Tourism Awards, in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical magazine, to recognise people, places and organisations that seek to benefit local people and be as eco-friendly as possible. Responsible tourism used to be the domain of a minority, but responsible tourism is a growing trend that has earned its place in public consciousness alongside other established and better known movements – such as organic food and fair trade. ‘People are a lot more aware of the effects their lifestyle choices have on the environment and local communities, and travel is a huge part of that,’ says Justin. ‘This is knowledge that we as a society and as individuals have built up, and will not just be forgotten or ignored. I believe it is a change that was long overdue, and the only way forward for a responsible tourism industry. ‘In different ways we have worked with tourism companies ranging from small operators and accommodations to larger operators. ‘There are now various initiatives in the US – such as the Responsible Tourism Committee founded recently by The United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) – and the UK, such as the Green Tourism Scheme, The Travel Foundation and of course the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards that we run. Organisations such as Tourism Concern have been working hard with communities in destination countries to reduce social and environmental problems connected to tourism, and with the outbound tourism industry in the UK to find ways of improving tourism so that local benefits are increased. And finally, today, 14 November, sees the first-ever World Responsible Tourism Day.’

”

criteria; see how every trip benefits local people and the environment; and read independently published travellers’ feedback which is used to help tour companies improve their practices responsibletravel.com grew steadily with very modest funding and in May 2004 it was offering holidays in 140 countries from more than 200 leading tourism organisations (now up to more than 265). That same year the company persuaded Thomson Holidays, Thomas Cook and MyTravel to publish policies for responsible tourism and its pressure persuaded the Federation of Tour Operators to commit to publishing policies for sustainable tourism. August 2004 also saw the launch of the

81 | r:travel 11

r:travel news |

• r:travel news | • r:travel news | • r:travel news | • r:travel news | •

Pure as the driven snow?

Megeve leads the way for France as the country’s first tourist office to be awarded the coveted ISO 14001 Eco Award, joining Aspen, Jackson Hole, Sun Peaks and Austria’s Lech at the top table of green skiing. Megeve Tourisme has invested in two Toyota Prius hybrid cars which consume less and pollute less than normal cars. A Toyota Prius issues 104g of CO2/km while a normal car issues between 110 and 115g. Bumping up its green credentials, the tourist office now uses mainly recycled

paper for all its literature and also makes its resort magazine available on USB memory sticks. It’s the latest in a growing string of initiatives as resorts in Europe and across the Atlantic try to get to grips with the impact of climate change. This year, Powderhorn in Colorado became America’s 60th ski resort to join the renewable energy club, following the lead of Aspen (winner of the Best Destination in the 2006 Responsible Tourism Awards) in promoting sustainable policies. Aspen officials have repeatedly warned about the impact of

Penguins should

be so lucky

Australia’s famous Phillip Island Little

global warming on the state’s snowpack levels and the longterm viability of the ski industry. Powderhorn is the first of the smaller Colorado ski resorts to make the jump into renewable energy. In addition, it has adopted a resort-wide recycling plan, which has reduced its landfill impact nearly 40 per cent. ‘America is shifting to a “green culture.” More and more ski areas now realise that environmental responsibility starts with us,’ says Sarah Allen, marketing director for Powderhorn. ‘Our goal is to raise awareness and help educate consumers about the benefits of wind power. By making the green commitment, we hope our customers can ski or ride guilt-free today and many, many, more tomorrows,’ said Allen. Journalist Patrick Thorne, who runs a website devoted to highlighting the environmental issues facing the ski industry, www.saveoursnow.com calls skiing the ‘miner’s canary’ for global warming. He says: ‘Many ski areas are doing a lot, most could do more, but while

area and welfare of the little penguins has been preserved, and I hope they will find a place in the hearts of the many tourists who visit each year.’ Phillip Island Nature Park is a wildlife haven featuring Koala Conservation Centre, the largest Fur Seal Colony in Australia, wetlands and breathtaking coastlines. American comedienne Joan Rivers is also an

penguins have a new high-profile supporter – in the

ambassador alongside a number of Australian

shape of local girl turned superstar Kylie Minogue.

celebrities. Kylie joins the programme as it

Melbourne-born Kylie is backing the welfare of the little penguins on Phillip Island after being

celebrates its second anniversary. The Penguin Parade

named an ambassador of its successful Penguin

costs from around £7

Foundation. As a ‘penguin parent’, Kylie will assist

for adults and £3.50

the foundation in raising awareness of its work to

for children.

generate funds for little penguin research and

For more information

protection at Phillip Island, a 90-minute drive

on Phillip Island visit

from Melbourne.

www.penguins.org.au.

Kylie, a long-time fan of the Phillip Island

For more information

penguins, commented: ‘One of my fondest

on Melbourne and

childhood memories is our family’s trips to Phillip

Victoria visit www.

Island. It was our regular holiday destination and

visitmelbourne.

we always visited the little penguins. I’m thrilled the

com/uk.

12 | r:travel

climate change is a global problem, ski areas don’t seem to work internationally.’ Author of the Green Resort Guide for the Ski Club of Great Britain, Thorne insists skiers and ski resorts should not take much of the blame for the fact that global warming is destroying delicate mountain ecosystems. ‘This is predominantly due to mankind’s collective activity.’ Thorne’s website lets you find out what more than 200 ski areas are doing to fight climate change and gives each a star rating for its green credentials. So, if you want to be a responsible skier, use saveoursnow.com to find some truly green runs this winter.

The right destination Six years ago, responsibletravel.com created The Responsible Travel Pavilion at Destinations – the UK’s leading consumer travel show – and has exhibited every year since, with up to 20 of its members. Again, in 2008, the responsibletravel.com team will host The Responsible Travel Pavilion at the Destinations Holiday & Travel Show at Earls Court, London from 31 January to 3 February. If you are planning a trip to the show, do drop by and say ‘hi’. Come armed with any questions you may have about responsible travel and you’ll also have the chance to chat with other companies operating on responsible travel principles. Who knows, you might even find that dream holiday! Check the website for further details and tickets: www. DestinationsShow.com. You will be able to download free tickets for the show from www.responsibletravel.com from December.

• r:travel news | • r:travel news | • r:travel news | • r:travel news | •r:travel news

Blow the whistle on irresponsible tourism A new online travel forum has been launched to expose examples of irresponsible tourism. Professor Harold Goodwin, Professor of Responsible Tourism Management, at the International Centre for Responsible Tourism, Leeds Metropolitan University, created the website, IrresponsibleTourism.com, as a way of giving people a chance to call to account practices in the travel and tourism industry which they think are irresponsible, and to discuss them with others. He says: ‘Many are now beginning to use – and abuse – the language of responsible tourism while doing nothing or worse, being irresponsible. This forum is about stopping the responsible travel movement from becoming diluted. ‘Its aim is to provide a discussion space where

people can blow the whistle and debate what is and is not responsible. ‘If Responsible Tourism is about “making better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit”, it requires that operators, hoteliers, governments, local people and tourists take responsibility, and take action to make tourism more sustainable. ‘People can use this site to criticise, debate and campaign. Exercise your responsibility, don’t just mutter – call people to account.’ The website is officially launched this month, and so far word of mouth has seen around 100 members registering and ongoing debates include gap year schemes and irresponsible volunteering. Register at www. irresponsibletourism.com

SHORT BREAKS • SHORT BREAKS • SHORT BREAKS • SHORT BREAKS • Brits top air travel emissions list Britons have emerged as the nationality with the highest carbon emissions produced by taking regular flights, according to figures published by market research company Global TGI. Emissions amount to an average of 603 kilograms of carbon per adult – almost a third higher than the world’s second worst offenders, from Ireland, whose carbon footprints from flying add up to an average of 434 kilograms per person, per year. Of the 20 nationalities surveyed, citizens of China and India have the lowest carbon footprints resulting from flying.

Bug-power arrives! A team of students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, USA, has created a battery that’s powered by plant-eating bacteria. As part of a science and engineering competition, the team of material scientists and engineers designed a prototype of a microbial fuel cell that runs on waste plant material. As the bacteria feed on the sugars, starches and other organic material, they release electrons, which can be harnessed to produce electricity. The bug-powered fuel cells have been designed for household use in off-grid locations and less economically developed countries. Eco-lodges take note.

Vultures trump golfers’ eagles

shutterstock.co.uk

A Croatian conservationist who has devoted 25 years of his life to protecting the island habitat of the Eurasian griffon vulture is celebrating a victory over golfers and transcendental meditators. In London last month to highlight the work of his Eco Centre, Caput InsulaeBeli

(ECCIB) on the unspoilt Adriatic island of Cres, Dr Goran Susic said they had fought off plans for a golf course and a centre for transcendental meditation which would have attracted 30,000 devotees. ‘To build such a centre would have required enormous infrastructure – electricity, roads and so on,’ says Dr Susic. ‘The island is the only nesting place in Croatia for the griffon vulture, the highest-fflying of any bird. We have 70 pairs here; they mate for life and live for 50 years.’ Dr Susic has been studying griffons since 1981, and opened his Eco Centre on Cres in 1993, creating a sanctuary where injured, exhausted or poisoned griffons as

13 | r:travel

well as young birds which fall into the sea during their first fflights, can recover before being released back into the wild. ECCIB runs an eco-tourism programme which, as well as supporting the vulture conservation, also protects the island’s biodiversity and its cultural and historical heritage. Around 350 volunteers visit the island each year to help monitor the vulture population, and to carry out nature conservation work. ‘Our intention is to show that real eco-tourism is possible,’ says Dr Susic. ‘It’s already too late in some parts of Croatia, but not for Cres. Our island decided that its tourism would be based on a sustainable approach’ www.supovi.hr

r:travel news |

• r:travel news | • r:travel news | • r:travel news | • r:travel news | •

Growing more responsible by the day

The largest freshwater protected area in the world is being set up off the northern shores of Lake Superior, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced. The national marine conservation area will encompass more than 10,000 sq km (3,900 sq miles) of Lake Superior, the biggest of the Great Lakes, including lake bed, islands and north shorelands. The area – about the size of Lebanon – stretches to the east of Thunder Bay, Ontario, and down to the Canada-US border, north of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The area seeks to balance environmental protection with preserving the livelihood of local residents who work in marine industries such as commercial and sport fishing and shipping.

SHORT BREAKS • SHORT BREAKS • SHORT BREAKS • SHORT BREAKS • Count your carbon Google has launched the UK Carbon Footprint Project, allowing you to calculate your personal carbon footprint, choose carbonreducing steps from a personalised action plan and compare your actions to those of others around the UK by putting yourself on the Google UK Carbon Footprint Map. The Google Carbon Calculator, built in partnership with the Energy Saving Trust and RSA, draws on Defra’s ‘Act on CO2’ calculator for its data, calculations and approved methodologies. Go to www.google.co.uk/carbonfootprint

Green sails in the sunset An ecologically strategic piece of one of the world’s most threatened habitats – the Atlantic Forest of Brazil – will be reforested and protected as part of an innovative partnership between the Rainforest Alliance and organisers of the transatlantic yacht race the Transat Jacques Vabre. The international conservation organisation was approached by Jacques Vabre – the coffee brand behind the race which started from Le Havre in France on 4 November – to create a programme that would enable the greenhouse gas emissions from the event to be offset through a reforestation project in Brazil, where the race ends later this month. An estimated 2,700 tons of carbon dioxide will be offset by thousands of native trees being planted in deforested areas within the Caraiva River Basin, home to about 7,000 people who depend on its natural resources, and to many endangered plant and animal species.

80 | r:travel 14

past year and the available choices have grown by more than 200 per cent. One of the latest UK members is Deepdale Backpackers and Camping, an eco-farm on the north Norfolk coast with a range of accommodation from campsite to private en-suite rooms. Companies running volunteering trips continue to increase their portfolio and the latest addition, Travellers Worldwide joined the site in October this year, offering teaching trips and volunteer opportunities throughout the world. In the luxury category, The Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa and The Great Ocean Ecolodge in Australia are just two of the exclusive but responsible places to stay that are new to the site this year. There have been plenty of new adventure tours added, too – Ace the Himalaya, for example, offers off-thebeaten-track trips in Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal while generating a fairer income for the local community. Justin Francis, managing director and co-founder of responsibletravel.com comments: ‘It never fails to amaze us just what a diverse range of businesses are now adopting responsible tourism policies and implementing changes in their businesses so as to meet our criteria.’

shutterstock.co.uk

Superior protection

Fifty new tour operators and 150 great places to stay have signed up to market holidays through responsibletravel.com, over the past six months, taking the total to more than 265 tour operators and more than 540 places to stay in more than 150 countries. As more tourism companies begin to place a greater emphasis on sustainable development, the website’s rigorous screening process for new members continues to ensure that only those with the highest standards on responsible tourism are included. The growing trend in responsible tourism has led to a number of more mainstream tour operators and accommodations joining as members. Radisson, for example, now has two properties in Malta on the site. The innovation behind the holidays is impressive, too, Paradise Bay Resort and Spa in Grenada for example, is leading the way in Caribbean sustainable development with the installation of a utility grade windmill. responsibletravel.com has put an emphasis on expanding UK accommodations over the

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Steps to holiday heaven Most travel agents’ first question to would-be tourists is where do you want to go? However, to really get the most from your holiday, there are a few other things you need to ask yourself before that poser. Here are r:travel’s three steps to holiday heaven

ou’re thinking of taking some time out for a holiday or to travel, but where do you start? With so much exposure to adverts, recommendations from friends and a forest of brochures available, it can be a daunting prospect to choose a destination, let alone contemplate what to do while you are there. Maybe that’s why so many people settle for an all-inclusive package that takes away the hassle of planning and organising your trip. But planning a holiday can, and should be a fun part of the holiday. With a few tips, everyone should be able to find their ideal trip – whether that’s lazing on a beach, swimming with dolphins or volunteering at an orphanage. Here are three questions to ask yourself before you decide. Choosing exactly what to do can be difficult. We can pretty much travel anywhere in the world, and do everything from chilling on a beach, to sky jumping over the North Pole. If it’s sheer relaxation you’re after, think about how you relax; do you like doing nothing, enjoy yoga, read a book or do you like to get your teeth into something to take your mind off everything? Sometimes all we need is to kick back and enjoy sea, sand and

sunshine – although there is usually the option of some cultural exploration or activities if the relaxation gets too much! Maybe you feel like escaping. You can experience the humbling forces of nature on a wilderness holiday. Anything from retreating to an Alaskan lodge with only bears as your neighbours, to spending time with nomadic people on the Mongolian steppe. Perhaps you’ve always dreamt about climbing Everest or wondered what it’s like to live with an African tribe? Why not use your well-earned holiday to fulfil one of those dreams… Whether it’s thrill-seeking or self-discovery, there are many specialist operators who can take you to these remote corners of the planet. If you’ve spent every day behind a desk, an active holiday may be what

16 | r:travel

you’re looking for. Walking holidays range from introductory walking to high altitude trekking, depending on your fitness. Then there are cycling and mountain biking trips (also classified according to your experience and fitness) or various winter holidays. What about learning something new? You can now learn almost any new skill in the stimulating environment of a new country and different culture – from languages to cooking, from game ranger skills to journalism, from sailing to scuba diving. Maybe you want to make a difference? It’s not everyone’s cup of tea to be building dams or getting up at 5am to survey beaches during their holiday. However, volunteering can be a most rewarding and life-changing form of travel. You’ll gain so much when volunteering, while also giving something back to the local community or the environment. Finding out what you want to get out of your holiday is the first important step in planning a holiday and as you can see there are many different things that people can look for in a holiday. Beware though; don’t try and tick too may boxes but concentrate on one thing at a time. The last thing you want is to have to recover from your holiday after trying to cram too much in!

Choosing the right holiday |

It is important to think about who you are traveling with (if anyone), and about their needs and aspirations. Travel can be a great way to meet new people, and how better than on a small group adventure holiday! This can take you to some of the most breathtaking and inspiring natural and cultural landscapes in the world. Perfect for anyone who

enjoys meeting like-minded people and making new friends – and great value! Perhaps you’re going on a journey of selfdiscovery that you would rather undertake on your own, or with a partner, or maybe you would like to bring your young grandchildren along. There are many aspects to a great holiday and these requirements are very individual. Try to ensure that the experience is going to be enjoyable for all of you by thinking about what type of travel your family/friends enjoy, and discuss with them how to meet both your objectives. Think about the best holiday you have ever had. What was it that made it so special? Perhaps it was your travel companions, something you experienced

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or learnt, spontaneity, tranquillity or discovering different ways of life. Try to find out what the highlights were and what makes you happy when on holiday. Remember that you are not the same as you were, but what types of experience could you repeat and how? Of course there are always restrictions such as budget, travelling with children or flying times which may dictate which country or part of the world you travel to. However, having gone through these three steps, you should now be ready to search for ideas for your holiday with focus – without being seduced or distracted.

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•| The Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards

A Source of Inspiration

ince 2001, responsibletravel. com has become a great source of inspiration for tourists looking for wonderful and authentic holidays that bring increased economic benefits to local people and minimise any negative environmental impacts. From the early days when I ran the business out of my front room in Brighton marketing just 15 holidays, we now have a team of 17 staff and over 2,700 handpicked holidays from more than 265 tour operators and over 540 places to stay in more than 150 countries. As well as marketing holidays through responsibletravel.com, we founded the Responsible Tourism Awards in 2004 to surprise and inspire tourists and the tourism industry by showing just what it is possible to achieve through responsible tourism; and to reward those travel organisations, individuals and destinations who are leading the way in putting its principles into practice. We are now in the fourth year of our

Responsible Tourism Awards and it has been a year of great change in which we have not only welcomed on board Virgin Holidays as our new headline sponsor, but also created for the first time this beautiful publication allowing us to celebrate the achievements of our winners to the full. Since the launch of the Awards in 2004 we have seen the profile of responsible tourism move from niche to mainstream as the need to reduce poverty and conserve our environmental and cultural heritage becomes ever more pressing. We all recognise that tourism brings both positive and negative impacts to local people and the planet. Responsible tourism is about holidays (in the UK and overseas) that strive to improve the benefits of tourism to local people while minimising negative environmental and cultural impacts in destinations. When we choose to fly to our destination it is more important than ever that our holidays do this. With over 1,700 nominations received from members of the public this year, we are proud that our Responsible Tourism Awards have become the largest and most respected awards of their kind. We hope you will join with us in congratulating and drawing inspiration from the 2007 winners celebrated in these pages. To find out more about Responsible Tourism Award winners past and present and to view our Responsible Tourism Awards film featuring the awards ceremony and interviews with the winners, visit www.responsibletourismawards.com. Finally, we would like to say a very big thank you to our partners – The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical magazine – our headline sponsor, Virgin Holidays, all our category sponsors, and our expert judging panel. Without their support the Responsible Tourism Awards would not be the success they are today. JUSTIN FRANCIS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, RESPONSIBLETRAVEL.COM

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•| Headline Sponsor – Virgin Holidays

Virgin Holidays This year Virgin Holidays is the headline sponsor of the 2007 Responsible Tourism Awards. These awards give companies and individuals valuable recognition for their efforts to make the travel industry greener, cleaner and more responsible. Started in 2004 by responsibletravel.com, the awards are managed in partnership with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical – the magazine of The Royal Geographical Society

Amanda Wills Managing Director of Virgin Holidays

dividends that Virgin Group receives from Virgin Holidays, Atlantic and Trains (estimated to be $3bn over the next 10 years) will be ploughed into research and investment to develop sustainable sources of energy. In addition to this groundbreaking initiative, Richard has also offered $25m to anyone who can find an effective solution to climate change! But, if that tinkering you’ve been doing in your shed hasn’t quite come up with the answer yet, at least you know that in choosing Virgin Holidays for your getaway you are helping us to try to make a real difference. We continually strive to make our business more sustainable. This includes auditing and improving our supply chains for sustainability performance, working with responsible tourism charities such as The Travel Foundation www. thetravelfoundation.org.uk and Tourism Concern www.tourismconcern.org.uk, who help care for the places we all love to visit, and ensuring that our head office operations are as green as possible.

utiful ibly bea ts. It d re c in ir paren rited an as inhe rom the ir children f h y n e io h t t era d the ts and tion Our gen dren an r paren il u h o c genera r m e u h o ro t f r e e d rl h b t wo he not ment hands w orld. We must environ e h t g is in our w in e mag he sam rsibly da e inherit t v re ir r ible fo 06) respons (Sept 20

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e are delighted to be able to act as headline sponsor of the 2007 Responsible Tourism Awards. Virgin has always been about driving change through successful entrepreneurship, and Virgin Holidays is no different. We are passionate about responsible tourism and proud to be associated with awards that provide recognition to those individuals and businesses whose success in pioneering social and environmental responsibility acts as inspiration to others. The importance of sustainability in tourism has never been greater. We support sustainable tourism and do our best to ensure that your children and their children are able to enjoy a holiday as beautiful as the ones we offer you today. We recognise that demonstrating responsible business practices towards the environment and the communities within which we operate is key to our achievement of this long term goal. To prove we aren’t all talk, ALL profits and

Meet the Sponsors |

sponsored by the

adventure company

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winner The New Forest

What the judges said... ‘The judges were unanimous in their praise for The New Forest, a destination which has worked over the last 15 years with visitors, the industry, the community – including commoners and small holders – to look after the environment (using the VICE model: Visitor, Industry, Community, Environment) and benefit all interests as well as providing a model for other destinations to follow. This includes the exciting contribution of the New Forest Breakfast to sustainable development, only possible because there are now sufficient local suppliers to meet the demand for local produce from locals and visitors.’

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Overall Winner |

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How the New Forest learned to love the grockle Tropical rainforests eat your heart out. A woodland closer to home is setting the pace on responsible tourism

tanding in Lyndhurst on a summer weekend, as a never-ending ribbon of cars stretches back three miles to the Cadnam turn-off of the M27, you can understand why the New Forest has often had a hate-hate relationship with visitors. It’s ironic then that the New Forest owes its very identity and existence to an outsider, a ‘grockle’. Nearly 1,000 years ago, after his successful invasion of England, William the Conqueror set up his court in Winchester and created a nova foresta, a new royal hunting ground on about 150 square miles of heath, wetland, grassy plain and wild wood. Forest laws were set up to protect the deer and their habitat, while indigenous peasants unable to enclose their land were given common rights to graze domestic animals throughout the forest. Some 6,000 ponies, donkeys and cattle still roam freely as they have done for centuries, the ancient traditions kept alive by the 400 or so commoners who still exercise their right to graze their livestock, cut turf, take firewood and let their pigs out in the autumn when they eat the acorns that are poisonous to the ponies. It’s a delicate ecological balance – and when tourism really took off in the 1960s and 70s, those living in the New Forest resented the growing annual influx of tourists who roamed as freely on four wheels as the animals did on four legs. Until 1970, there were no restrictions on cars. Visitors could go off road and drive all over

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winner The New Forest, UK

Swan Green, Lyndhurst the forest, pitch their tents and light their fires wherever they wanted. Some attempts at managing this invasion were introduced during the 1970s – ditches and barriers were constructed by the Forestry Commission to corral the cars into a new network of 150 car parks all over the forest. Inevitably, many visitors drove from car park to car park, ate their sandwiches and drained their thermos flasks before going back home. Everyone hated the grockles. Far from being an affectionate nickname, it became a term of open abuse. People wrote to local newspaper editors complaining that tourism was destroying the forest and everything about it that was held dear. Tourism was the football that was kicked into the game whenever anything was wrong. It was blamed for pratically everything. And yet the one thing that united the local community, businesses, industry and the tourists was a love of the forest. That shared love of the forest environment has been at the heart of the strategy introduced by tourism manager

Tony Climpson when he joined the New Forest District Council 20 years ago. With 13.5million visitor days to the forest, Climpson’s message to the local community and businesses was blunt: ‘You can’t get away from tourism. It doesn’t matter where you live or what you do, your life will be, to a greater or lesser extent, shaped by tourism. It’s just a fact. ‘But if we were going to turn the story around we needed to create tourism which benefited everybody rather than screwed everything up.’ Over the past 20 years Climpson has done just that, devising an operating model called VICE – Visitor, Industry, Community and Environment – which has sought to involve all parties in creating a responsible form of tourism that has helped build a sustainable community fully engaged with the visitor, rather than fighting him at every turn. ‘Our first consultation document was called Living with the Enemy? Then there was Making New Friends. It’s a measure of how far we’ve come that our latest plan is called Our Future Together.’

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The VICE model came about as a practical tool for pointing out to all the groups that to maintain the forest they needed to take care of each other. ‘Conservation only comes when you’ve got an economy to fund it.’ The New Forest District Council was in a unique position to play honest broker in this

Beaulieu

Best Destination | vision, to help build relationships and set up networks among local businesses to share information and experience. Primarily, what Climpson has been working for is a local solution. ‘We’re trying to declare local UDI here. We’re trying to create our own food networks, our own economy, based on local ownership. In the forest we have an immensely strong brand and a strong fabric which people can recognise as valuable and which shouldn’t be destroyed. That in turn entices a lot of people here so businesses can set themselves up and live from that. We have very few nationally-owned businesses. They’re all local, so they reinvest into the local economy and employ local people. ‘It’s no different really to the way responsible tourism tries to help build sustainable local communities in the developing world. ‘With the exception of, maybe, one or two places like Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst or Lymington, many of the pubs and shops in virtually every other village would have closed without visitors coming in and spending money. Local expenditure alone would not keep them going, but the additional revenue, sometimes up to 40 or 50 per cent is enough to keep that amenity open.’ Among the initiatives begun over the past 20 years, of which many are only just now beginning to bear fruit, are visitor information services, car-free transport, a network of local produce, visitor stewardship (which encourages visitors to respect and maintain the forest environment, through practical action and a gift aid scheme), sustainable business development, and the involvement of the local communities.

Facts… New Forest Area: 290 square miles Location: southern England between Southampton and Bournemouth Population: 179,690 Governance: The New Forest National Park (est. 1994) is managed by the New Forest National Park Authority. Tourism development and promotion is managed by New Forest District Council

www.thenewforest.co.uk

A ‘green’ tourism initiative, the Green Leaf Tourism Scheme – which now has 80 members – further helps to link businesses by sharing information about local produce, biodiversity, planning issues, transport, research and marketing skills. All these members are committed to reducing their carbon impact, and many have seen their fuel and energy consumption cut by as much as half. In June Green Leaf providers had their first Green Tourism Business Scheme assessment and achieved three gold and five silver awards. Andrea Nicolas, managing director of the GTBS says: ‘When an area first joins a scheme we expect most businesses to get a bronze award. Because New Forest businesses had already worked their way through the Green Leaf scheme they were all well past entry level.’ Eleven more accommodation providers are waiting to be GTBS accredited. Undoubtedly, the most significant achievement over the past few years has been the development of New Forest Marque products and its use by local tourism businesses. This also goes to the heart of the commoning system which gives the forest its unique character. Until very recently commoners could only sell to wholesalers at poor prices meaning many could not afford to carry on their way of life. Using local tourism to stimulate an increased market value of their produce by direct selling to hoteliers, b&bs, restaurants, pubs and shops has given the commoners and small local producers a sustainable business future. Working with the New Forest Tourism Association – an independent network of tourism-led businesses which it set up in 1988 - the district council built up this local supply chain by creating the New Forest Breakfast and the New Forest Marque. In 2004, no New Forest breakfasts were sold; in 2007, it’s estimated that more than 75,000 will be served. The Marque – which puts quality and animal welfare at the top of the agenda – now boasts 111 accredited members, of whom 20 are new or returning producers. More than 40 NFTA members are selling marque produce and it is also sold in major retailers such as Harrods, and abroad, in America, France and Ireland. A pivotal moment in reaching this point was during the 2001 foot and mouth crisis, when restrictions in animal movements meant cattle had to be penned in the commoners’ smallholdings. The hoteliers

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What the judges said... ‘The New Forest has shown how the economic, social and environmental objectives of Responsible Tourism can be achieved with the full participation of all the stakeholders at the destination level. The New Forest has set an example which others are seeking to emulate and surpass.

The hotelier Carey’s Manor Hotel and Spa, Brockenhurst This four-star, 80-bedroom hotel, owned by the Leach family, has a gold GTBS award and offers a ten per cent discount to guests arriving car-free. It’s also been piloting the New Forest Trust’s Visitor Gift Scheme which encourages visitors to donate £1 to the Trust when they leave. This cash contributes directly to conservation projects. James Hiley-Jones, the general manager says: ‘The gift aid scheme has been well-received and we’re hoping other hoteliers will participate. ‘The car-free idea has resulted in seven per cent more guests coming by train: we make around eight journeys each day to pick up guests.’

Other green initiatives include: New Forest water in returnable bottles sing mostly New Forest Marque produce U – it has served 50,000 New Forest breakfasts Green electricity generated by a wind farm Recycling, including giving old blankets and leftover toiletries to a homeless hostel Using bird and bat boxes built by staff

and tourism managers resisted commercial pressures to open up the forest and the commoners recognised that they were taking a financial hit as a result and began to see them as colleagues. The mistrust between commoners and tourism has greatly diminished as a result – certainly among the commoners’ leaders. ‘The advantage tourism can bring,’ says Climpson, ‘is that commoners have started doing b&b or farm tours as well as local produce. We are growing a way of life and providing a living for smallholders from the visitor experience.’ ‘This is desperately important,’ he adds. ‘After all, what’s the alternative for the forest if we don’t have commoning? It might not be the kind of slash and burn degradation we see in some developing countries, rather it would be building and development. Unless the forest has intrinsic value it’ll be gentrified and built upon. It’ll become Basingstoke with trees. ‘We are fighting that. The whole reason the forest has National Park status is to protect it from being encroached upon by Totton on one side and Christchurch on the other.’ One of the biggest challenges facing all those involved with tourism is the car. Presently, 96 per cent of visitors arrive in the New Forest by car. Efforts to encourage more to come by rail and use bikes have been hampered by the problems of getting sufficient bike capacity on trains to make a real difference. ‘However hard you try to persuade them, the vast majority of people will continue to arrive by car,’ says Climpson. ‘What we are doing is not to deal with what is a national, even an international issue. We’ve decided to concentrate on getting visitors out of their cars once they’re here.’ Visitors are encouraged to hire bikes or use the New Forest Tour Bus, a hop-on, hop-off open-top bus service which links to 192 miles of cycle tracks. The National Park is co-funding a project to bring 10 electric cars into the forest for hire by visitors, while in 2007, a car-free scheme offering incentives such as accommodation discounts to visitors who leave their cars at home has been trialled by 15 hoteliers and b&b operators who provide a free shuttle service to railway and bus stations. ‘As a result of these initiatives, the amount of people who do not drive in the

forest per day is in the hundreds, per week in the thousands, per month in the tens of thousands and per year in the hundreds of thousands,’ says Climpson. ‘We‘re trying to stop the forest becoming a giant country park, where people just drive around, eat their sandwiches and drink their coffee. That’s what it used to be. But the forest is full of bikes now, and for the first time the New Forest Ordnance Survey Map is outselling the Lake District ones. For the future, Climpson and his tourism team want to reach out to even more businesses within the forest community and aim to double the number participating in the Green Leaf Tourism Scheme by June 2008. They plan to launch a community tourism version of the GLTS by April 2008, and hope to improve the Visitor Stewardship programme. ‘It’s about all of us realising that we’ve all got a bit of a jigsaw and that if we all put our pieces down together we’ll make the right picture. As a destination, 20 years ago we were perceived as a wet night on a campsite. Not any more. We’re trying to get people to fall in love with the forest, to come back time and time again and in doing so add value rather than take it. If you do that you’ve got an organic process which is good for the people and good for the environment.’

The B&B operator Cottage Lodge, Brockenhurst The lodge was built in 1650 from timber salvaged from an old ship built at nearby Bucklers Hard. Christina Simons and David Mascord are the only B&B owners to hold a Green Tourism Business Scheme gold award and have dished up 15,000 New Forest Breakfasts over the past two years. As well, Cottage Lodge offers free tea and cakes as well as off-season discounts to guests joining the car-free schemes and is up to around 40 per cent participation rate. Christina, chairman of the New Forest Tourism Association’s hotels group, has enthusiastically embraced energy conservation at the couple’s 12-room five-star Cottage Lodge- resulting in a 50 per cent reduction in energy consumption, and is planning a trial of microfibre cleaning cloths instead of chemicals. She also hopes to convert a garage into a carbon-neutral showroom using solar and other renewable energy, and harvesting rainwater to flush toilets.

The commoner Rick Manley is a practising commoner and grazes his cattle on forest land ‘I wouldn’t say the New Forest Breakfast is saving commoning on its own. The majority of commoners have always been part-time and still are. And 80-90 per cent keep less than ten animals. But commoners are able to utilise the local producers’ markets, which is beneficial. ‘What I am very heartened by is the change of attitude within the tourism industry in realising how important commoning is to the forest. It’s the bedrock. And some of the initiatives such as the stewardship scheme, and the Visitor Gift Aid scheme being piloted by Carey’s Manor have the potential to bring in a lot of money to reinvest into the infrastructure of the forest – building animal pounds in the forest, for example, which will be of positive benefit to the commoning community. ‘Also the education of visitors that’s going on through the Green Leaf Scheme is really helping to get people to act responsibly. ‘Commoners have always been a fiercely independent people, but now we’re talking to those in the tourism business and are aware of one another’s needs. That’s the big line we’ve crossed here.’

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Best Destination | highly

commended

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Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

Bay watch

Arugam Bay on Sri Lanka’s east coast has long been a fabled surfers’ paradise. But it hasn’t always been a paradise for many of the local community. What direct economic benefits tourism brought were mostly limited to hotels, restaurants and transport providers. In what is one of the most neglected and disadvantaged regions of the country, the poorest sectors of the community were left out of the loop. Now, however, that is changing. The Responsible Tourism Partnership (RTP) is bringing together different sectors – and the three ethnic groups, Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims – to work together to establish a community-based approach to tourism. In an area which has also been troubled by ethnic conflict, tourism is also helping to bring peace. After the 2004 tsunami, the government wanted to take over land at Arugam Bay and build luxury hotels. But the community united against the proposals. Now different communities outside the main tourism sector, such as fishermen, rural women and farmers also benefit. Revenue is shared by local participants, and income is used to protect the mangrove ecosystems

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and archaeological sites, and to boost local arts and crafts. A plant nursery has been set up to restore areas that were severely affected by the tsunami. Schoolchildren attend conservation awareness programmes. Organic farming was once neglected; now rural workers receive money from visitors as well as from the produce they supply to hotels. Thirteen young men have trained as eco-guides, and now operate their own agency. And fishermen can earn 10 dollars a day from fishing and lagoon tours – using rowing boats instead of motorboats. Community Based Tourism Centres have been set up to provide information, special offers and a booking service for tourist attractions, as well as the chance to buy handicrafts. And a free booklet tells visitors about Sri Lankan lifestyles and culture to ensure a higher level of sensitivity during their stay. ‘We want to create a different model for Sri Lanka tourism,’ says RTP’s founder and director Charmarie Maelge. ’The success of that will really be when our experiences are used for future development.’ Arugam Bay is still a surfers’ paradise; now things are looking up for their hosts, too. www.responsibletourismsrilanka.org

•| Best Destination highly

commended

Costa Rica

Costa Bravo! Sleep to the sound of tree frogs, wake to the call of Howler monkeys, trek through lush rainforest, glimpse cascading waterfalls, watch the jaw-dropping sight of molten lava ooze from volcanoes or chill out along Costa Rica’s 762-mile coastline. With so much to offer the adventurous traveller, the Costa Rica Tourist Board (ICT) has been working to conserve this Central American paradise. A Peace with Nature plan has been launched to raise awareness of global warming and the need for all sectors to reduce their carbon footprint. The board has also established a Certificate of Sustainable Tourism (CST) – a grading system awarded to businesses for their level of commitment to the sustainable development of local communities and the surrounding environment, driving competitiveness within the tourism industry to encourage ethical and eco-friendly initiatives. Situated in Guanacaste along the Pacific coast, the town of Nandayure is an example of radical

change. Over the past ten years the Punta Islita Hotel has transformed the lives of local inhabitants, taking them out of poverty, unemployment, alcoholism and other social problems. The town has bought in to the idea of sustainable tourism, and local women, in particular, have organised themselves to produce crafts and other products that are sold to tourists. The Hotel Forest Verde Lodge in Sarapiqui has founded the Center of Conservation and Learning where young and old can get involved and learn about new conservation techniques, viable native species for reforestation and other methods of enhancing the environment. Other lodges have embraced responsible tourism with recycling and reutilisation schemes, serving home-grown locally-sourced food, decorating rooms with murals, sculptures and paintings by local artisans and through using solar-heating and alternatives to air-conditioning. www.visitcostarica.com

sponsored by: G.A.P. Adventures G.A.P Adventures is a world leader in adventure travel. We offer unique small group adventures, safaris and expeditions on all seven continents with a focus on culture, nature and active travel. Our unique and varied styles of award-winning trips are ideal for people with a sense of adventure – who want to travel off the beaten path, immerse themselves in the local culture and environment, and experience the

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real world in a sustainable manner. We are also the proud owner of the polar expedition ship the M/S Explorer. Through our commitment to responsible tourism, we have developed Planeterra The G.A.P Adventures Foundation as a way for us and our travellers to give back to the communities we visit on our trips.

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winner Anthony Climpson, New Forest Tourism

‘My job is the best in the world’

ony Climpson is not like a local government officer. He’s more like the man from Del Monte who breezes in and says yes. To put it simply, Climpson makes things happen. For the past 21 years he has been tourism destination manager for New Forest District Council and has been the person responsible for turning around the story of a community at loggerheads with itself and united only in its loathing of the tourist. In that time he has transformed the thinking of the key groups – the visitor, the tourism industry and the community – getting them to work together for the benefit of each other and the forest environment, on which they all depend. But while he’s a crusader for his own brand of responsible tourism, he’s not a green evangelist and wouldn’t be seen

dead sporting an eco-halo. His VICE model for sustainability was created not from an environmental textbook, but as a way of finding practical solutions to the problems. Sitting in his low-ceilinged office under the eaves of the council offices in Lyndhurst, Climpson is ebulliently enthusiastic about his job and the forest. But he doesn’t mince his words when it comes to explaining his philosophy. ‘I don’t like the word ‘green’. It doesn’t express the depth and breadth of what’s required for a really sustainable solution. Responsible is better, but it’s a rather boring word, a bit worthy, and we’re in the fun business, the leisure business. Green has been hijacked as well – it’s become a wolf in sheep’s clothing. ‘We’ve done what we’ve done from a self-interested perspective, but for all the right reasons. We say to the visitor: “Be respectful to the community and the environment, take advantage of the industry which is there to serve you, but you need to engage with them.” ‘In a nutshell, that’s where we’ve come from. Not from reading in a book somewhere that it was really good to be green or responsible. It was out of the real

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situation we found ourselves in that we came up with this idea of creating a big team. Ultimately, I believe that responsible tourism is about people and working together. You can have the greenest ideas in the world, but unless you have people working with you it won’t happen.’ The Visitor Stewardship Scheme, for example, is about getting everyone to tell the same story, because if someone understands the story about a place, then two things will happen – first, they’ll have a greater respect for that place and second they’ll get more enjoyment out of it. ‘They’ll understand why there are no fences; why there are bloody ponies wandering all over the place,’ says Climpson. ‘Bad tourism is about visitors getting ripped off, too much self-interest, business taking and not giving, global branding permeating everything and screwing things up. But tourism can be a force for good if you do it properly.’ Climpson says he is less motivated by the green goal than by his enjoyment of the teamwork involved in getting there. ‘I like being in a team, a group, a club, and having lots of us doing it together. The fact that saving the planet is a team

Best Personal Contribution |

What the judges said...

ssion sponsored by:

‘For 20 years, long before ‘green’ became fashionable, Anthony Climpson was developing an integrated approach to managing tourism in the landscape, engaging local communities, local government and tourism businesses in conserving the New Forest’

game is the motivating feature,’ he says, adding, with a touch of the David Brents, ‘Obviously it would be a good idea to keep the planet – that’s the sensible bit. But the doing part has to be the interesting bit. If we get people doing it, the rest will follow. I find worthiness dangerous. I come across worthy people all the time, but no-one is going to listen to them. I try to make sure I avoid that, because this is about real people, real teamwork.’ In his council role, Climpson has played the honest broker in bringing the VICE squad together, and is certainly well-respected. He won the OBE for his dogged pursuit of his goal, and Christina Simons, owner of the Cottage Lodge B&B in Brockenhurst, says of him: ‘He opens doors for everyone. It’s fabulous to have someone as part of the Forest who so loves it, is so enthusiastic, keen and supportive.’ Climpson, now 55, has taken an unconventional route to the top of his particular tree. Born in the Cotswolds and brought up on a farm, he went to a boarding school on the edge of Salisbury where he excelled at sports – especially cricket, which he still plays for a Forest team – and loved geography and history.

•

Canadian Tourism Commission If we all believe in ‘some day’, we know we have to protect our earth today. Canada is about it’s people, but Canada is also about magnificent mountains, the Arctic tundra, alpine rivers and lakes, ocean shoreline and pristine rainforest, and all wildlife within.  We at the Canadian Tourism Commission are proud to promote a country with a long history of preservation. For years our tourism industry has been leading the charge toward a Green World – with eco-lodges, leave-no-footprint tours, sustainably grown food, low-emissions travel options and low-impact wildlife encounters.  We are honoured to sponsor the Best Personal Contribution award. This award recognises those who highlight environmental awareness and sustainable practices across the world, and we applaud all  these pioneers of Green Travel. Thank you for your important work! A keen musician, he kicked around in the Sixties as a drummer in various local bands before getting ‘a proper job’ as a bus conductor – ‘helping little old ladies on and off the bus – it was great. I loved it’. He dabbled with recycling polythene, way before it was fashionable or, more to the point, financially viable. It was while working on a South Coast listings magazine that he saw an ad for a project manager for Dorset Tourism and found his niche. ‘If you had told me 30 years ago that I’d have been a local government officer, I’d have laughed. Actually, I don’t even think I’m one now.’ Although Climpson lives in Bournemouth with his wife Bridgette and 14-year-old daughter Kessiah, he is passionate about the forest. ‘This is a wonderful place, and over the past 21 years we’ve got to the point where we’re making reasonable headway in rewriting the story of tourism here. But we don’t kid ourselves – we’re only at the beginning. ‘Tourism is perfect for me. I love people, I love history and heritage. I love the past, I love the future. My job is the best in the world. I get to put these things together for a purpose. Pig in shit doesn’t come close.’

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‘We are more than sticky maple syrup and clean snow, We do more than grow wheat and brew beer, We are vineyards of good year after good year, We reforest what we clear, Because we believe in generations beyond our own, Knowing now that so many of us, Have grown past what used to be, We can stand here today, Filled with all the hope people have, When they say things like some days’ Quote from Shane Koyczan’s love poem to Canada entitled We are More

highly Charlotte Shigwedha, Mondesa Township Tours

commended

Building bridges Visitors to Swakopmund, Namibia’s traditional summer capital, are invariably charmed by the surreal nature of this misty Skeleton Coast town. Bavarian spires and elaborate German-style architecture host an eclectic coffee-shop culture; it’s a melting-pot of a town caught between the devil (the harsh wilderness of the Namib desert) and the deep blue sea (the Atlantic coastline). Just beyond the town, though, is the African township of Mondesa, founded in the 1950s to provide housing for Swakopmund’s black workers. Here Namibia’s social and financial divide is graphically displayed. Here there is poverty, overcrowding and AIDS. But here there is also resourcefulness, generosity and cultural diversity – epitomised by Charlotte Shigwedha’s Mondesa Township Tours. Charlotte, 30, grew up and still lives in Mondesa, so her tour is personal and respectful. Visitors really meet the people, go into their homes, hear their stories. They meet Angelika, in her traditional Victorian-style Herero dress. A Nama couple teach the basic click sounds in their language. Visitors can sample traditional Oshiwambo

food and meet AIDS counsellor Naftalene who has opened her home to AIDS orphans. Charlotte was working as a nanny when she entered her Township Tours concept in the 2002 Namibia Young Entrepreneurs Competition and from 300 entries emerged as one of the three winners. Since then she or one of her guides have hosted 1,300 guests on her unique tourist experience. Charlotte’s tour makes a real difference to people’s lives: 60 per cent of the income goes back into Mondesa, as wages or to support community projects such as kindergartens. Her long-term aim is to build a community centre for young people. But her impact is more than financial. Charlotte is building bridges between people. She says: ‘I saw the potential of bringing tourists into the township and using tourism to build bridges between cultures as well to effect economic uplift. I encourage visitors to stroll around and chat to locals. Often, I find that those visitors whom we have taken to the townships are the ones who, long after they have returned to their home countries, remain in contact with me and remember these visits over and above much else.’ www.mondesatownship tours.com

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Best Personal Contribution |

•

highly Dr Cheryl Mvula, Tribal Voice

commended

Communications Ltd

From short-changing to life-changing The remote Maasai villages around Kenya’s Maasai Mara Game Reserve are fascinating places for tourists to visit but, until recently, much of the money they paid to get there was not reaching the villagers. Unbeknown to the tourists, many Kenyan driver guides who accompanied them on their safaris were taking up to 96 per cent of these visitor tour fees for themselves. Now, thanks to the investigative efforts of Dr Cheryl Mvula, owner of the wildlife conservation and responsible tourism consultancy Tribal Voice Communications, an exploitation stretching back more than 30 years has ended. Eleven-year- old Nataana Nkoloili from Enkereri Village told Cheryl that her parents were having difficulty sending her to school. ‘There was a time last year when I did not go to school for a long time. They had to sell a sheep so I could return.’ ‘Nataana lives in a village which hosts up to 100 tourists a month,’ says Cheryl. ‘There

should be no need for such hardships.’ Armed with a grant from The Travel Foundation, Cheryl set up a pilot project mid-2006 in the Mara Triangle to help both tourists and Maasai villagers get more from these cultural visits and importantly to improve local lives. Locals set up the Mara Triangle Maasai Villages Association to help run the project, getting communication going between villages and setting up supply agreements, transparent payment systems and a Responsible Code of Visitor Conduct to help tourists make more positive impacts on villages. Working together with the five cultural manyattas in the area, local safari lodges, ground handlers, the Kenya Association of Tour Operators and outbound UK tour operators, a watertight template has been created allowing the Maasai to earn their fair share of the revenue. Making sure that this has a lasting impact, Cheryl has spent the last nine

image: Georgina Cranston - www.georginacranston.com

Maasai women in village

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months capacity building in the villages. The Maasai are now trained in marketing, business record-keeping, health and hygiene, and crafts development, ensuring they are equipped with the skills and confidence needed for this project to be sustainable. The project has led to amazing things for villagers in the Mara Triangle. With money they’ve earned they’ve expanded their local school, hired more teachers, developed adult education, installed a rainwater harvesting system for drinking water and built long drop toilets to reduce risk of disease in the villages. Cheryl says, ‘The Maasai have been exploited for a very long time, but we have started something together, which will continue for many years to come – until all cultural manyattas in Maasailand are receiving equitable returns from their tourism enterprises. I’m happy that we have taken the first steps along that road.’ www.tribal-voice.co.uk

winner Azafady

The Magic of Madagascar Giving up your time to help poor communities in the developing world – whether as part of a holiday, a gap year or career break, sounds like the purest form of responsible tourism. But every year organisations such as VSO and Earthwatch issue warnings to would-be voluntourists to beware of the badly-planned scheme where the only winner is the travel company that pockets the volunteer’s cash. Thank heavens, then, for organisations such as those featured over the next few pages…

‘If

you go into a room and start talking about Madagascar, most people will think you’re talking about that awful Disney film.’ Mark Jacobs is under no illusion that he has his work cut out raising the profile of his organisation’s work. Azafady, launched ten years ago with the primary aim of tree conservation, is a UK-registered charity and NGO working to ease poverty and suffering and stop environmental damage in southeast Madagascar. Madagascar, located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa, is the fourth largest island in the world. With more than 70 per cent of its 19 million inhabitants living on less than US$1 a day, it’s one of the world’s poorest countries. In terms of biological diversity though, Madagascar remains among the richest places on the planet. However, this natural wealth is threatened by the extreme poverty of the human population. Only about a quarter of the population has access to safe drinking water – as few as a tenth in rural areas – and the infant mortality rate is a horrendous one in ten. With about 90 per cent of its forest now gone, and most of its species found nowhere else on earth, Madagascar is recognised as one of the planet’s top conservation priorities. Yet still, more

people know it as the island home of a bunch of talking cartoon animals. Azafady runs a quarterly volunteering programme called the Pioneer scheme which takes out groups of around 20 volunteers of all ages and backgrounds, from around the world on a ten-week placement. There, they’ll work alongside local Malagasy staff, building schools, helping to improve access to clean drinking water and basic healthcare, by digging wells and installing pharmacies, and supporting reforestation work and sustainable livelihood schemes. In the past two years, Azafady pioneers have built and furnished six schools and planted 10,000 seedlings of two endangered species of palm. ‘Volunteering for Azafady is not a holiday,’ says Mark. ‘The good time for the individual is a by-product. Our aim is not to entertain. Our aim is to help some of the poorest communities on earth to get by and pull themselves out of poverty ‘We’re giving people a snapshot into the work of a conservation charity. The difference between us and other volunteering organisations is that we are first and foremost a charity. We have long-established links with the community and are one of the largest employers in the area, with 80 staff.

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‘Sustainable livelihoods are about building the capacity for people to help themselves out of poverty, to be able to earn an income by way of alternatives to slash and burn agriculture which has decimated the forest.’ A typical Pioneer placement will cost £2,000 – which Azafady encourages its volunteers to raise through sponsorship schemes which also help to raise awareness – plus flights (around £750), and visa, insurance and general living expenses of another £350, all of which volunteers pay out of their own pocket. Azafady is proud that 90 per cent of the money it raises goes to support its work, with the vast majority of that sent directly to Madagascar. All volunteers are given a copy of Azafady’s Responsible Tourism policy, which includes advice about interacting with local people, environmental impacts, water usage, camping and waste management. ‘I speak to people all the time who come back from other volunteering programmes disillusioned that the large sums of money they paid did not get to the right people and places,’ says Mark. ‘We find a lot of people have a lifechanging experience, that will stay with them forever. Some do go on to do

Best Volunteering Organisation |

•

What the judges said... ‘Azafady has demonstrated real achievements in meeting the locally defined needs of communities in Madagascar. It produces detailed reports on the impacts and is completely transparent about where the volunteers’ money goes’

development work, most stay in touch with Azafady and its work. ‘Madagascar has a real magic to it,’ he adds. ‘The people compel you to stay involved. There is such a warmth and humility about them in the face of some pretty horrendous poverty. People will greet you and give you a bunch of bananas to say thank you. It’s quite a humbling experience for people who come there from the West.’ Gaby Smith, from Cheshire, was 24 when she decided to become a Pioneer. She was halfway through a masters degree in environment, international development and policy at Sussex University. After spending some time volunteering in Azafady’s London office to get a feel for the work, she went out to Madagascar on a ten-week placement. ‘Our group did a lot of work on creating home vegetable gardens as a means of helping local women improve their food

security. Those gardens are still flourishing,’ says Gaby, now 27, who has gone on to co-ordinate further projects for Azafady. ‘We learnt basic Malagasy which meant we could talk to local people in their own language. That makes such a difference. And you get a very warm welcome. It’s clear that people really want you to be there. And I particularly like that you can see where the money goes. There are no 4x4s; you travel round in a huge cattle truck and all the staff are local Malagasy.’ Azafady’s next priority is to build up a new volunteer programme called Lemur Venture in a bid to halt the decline of this endangered animal. Four eight-week schemes are planned for 2008, in January, April, July and October. Anyone wishing to volunteer will still have to raise funds before they go, but, says Mark Jacobs , lemur suits are available… www.madagascar.co.uk

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highly

commended

Camps International

A foot in both camps Camps International is enduring proof that you can combine a traditional holiday with a proper volunteering experience and not fall short on either. Despite only being five years old, CI has been shortlisted in the Responsible Tourism Awards every one of the four years they have been running. â&#x20AC;ŻMost itineraries will involve visitors staying in several camp locations as each place has a purpose which is to either support community or wildlife projects, give you a place to chill on the beach, or act as home for your safari. Accommodation ranges from luxury tents with en-suite to a simple dome tent in the bush or on the side of a mountain.

Volunteers of all ages, including family groups and gap students, get the chance to work on projects that have been developed in partnership with local communities. The flagship schemes have been in Kenya. CI has recently completed a three-year development programme aimed at improving the facilities at Makongemni Primary School, in an area where more than 60 per cent of people live below the poverty line and few children have access to education. By improving learning facilities, providing better sanitation and clean drinking water, as well as offering 17 scholarships to enable children to progress on to

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secondary education, attendance has risen by 75 per cent, from 330 to 576 pupils. CI has also provided clean water for more than 500 families in the surrounding community, significantly reducing the incidence of water-borne diseases. Most inspiringly, CI is now donating the entire camp here to the community to enable them to run their own eco-tourism initiative. The success of its Kenya model has enabled CI to expand into Tanzania where it is now rebuilding a large local school. Other achievements include planting 70,000 trees; promoting the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;good woodsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; initiative that encourages tourists to buy sustainable wood souvenirs; and a

Best Volunteering Organisation | highly

commended

•

Quest

The million pound quest

regular collection of waste paper from eight major coastal hotels which is used to manufacture elephant dung paper, the proceeds of which (around £2,500) go back into the Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary, a locally-owned eco-tourism initiative. Volunteers have vaccinated chickens and de-wormed goats, and taught a rural community to grow aloe vera as an economically viable source of income. Amy Bentley, wildlife programme manager, says: ‘Our commitment to local people and the environment is not a by-product of our programmes but core to everything we do.’ www.campsinternational.com

‘We didn’t just come home with the odd souvenir and scenic photograph, we came back having built four dams from scratch, planted hundreds of trees and helped the most deserving people have a better standard of living. An indescribable feeling!  If that isn’t an example of ‘responsible tourism’ then what is?’ With testimonials such as the one above, it’s not surprising Quest has been awarded a ‘Highly Commended’ prize in this year’s Responsible Tourism Awards. In the past 11 years the volunteering organisation has raised more than £1 million for its projects in Africa and Latin America, by sending eager volunteers – many of them gap-year students and people on a career break – on life-changing expeditions for up to six weeks. And whereas a lot of other groups offer short-term aid, all Quest’s projects are set up as long-term partnerships with local communities. Recent projects have included improving educational facilities in Malawi, Swaziland and Tanzania; improving healthcare and housing in Malawi, Brazil and Peru; providing a decent water supply for villagers in Kenya; conserving forest in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Kenya; protecting whale sharks in Mozambique. Quest’s guiding principle is to put the needs of its partners before the demands

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of its volunteers. So it only supports development projects and conservation efforts that are driven by community need. Volunteers receive comprehensive pre-departure training, including cultural awareness and language courses. Once on a project they’ll stay in basic local accommodation and eat similar food to the locals. There are strict guidelines on drinking alcohol, dress-codes and displays of Western wealth. If that sounds a bit severe, it’s clear from feedback on all sides, that it’s the right approach. Redson Chamveka, Malawi project manager of the Joshua Orphan Care Trust commented: ‘Cultural differences are a barrier to development but the way the Quest volunteers are interacting with the people of Malawi breaks down those barriers and makes working among people of different cultures easier.’ As for the volunteers themselves, the response of gap-year volunteer Rachel O’Neill, who spent time at a project in Malawi, is typical: ‘My relationship with the local community gave me a much clearer understanding of the lives they lead. I learned much about my own life and reassessed my choices and methods of dealing with the things that life invariably throws up.’ www.experiencequest.com

•| Best Volunteering Organisation highly

commended

people and places

Matching people & places

Volunteering responsibly does not replace the traditional holiday. It will be emotionally exhausting and mentally challenging – but it can also be a profound and life-enhancing experience if you are well-prepared, well-matched with your host community and well-supported in your endeavours. Like its fellow highly commended volunteering organisations, People and Places prides itself on offering fully transparent programmes, and works with local partners – from respected responsible tour operators to international NGOs – to match volunteers’ specific skills and experience to local need. Since its inception in March 2006, People and Places has matched and placed more than 200 volunteers in the Gambia, South Africa, Nepal, India, Bali and Madagascar – and expects to place a further 300 in 2008. At least 80 per cent of volunteers’ payments reach their host country, with volunteers paying the local partner directly, not People and Places. One example of local economic benefit is the programme at Mapoch, a rural Ndebele community in Gauteng, South Africa. Volunteers have worked with the community to build extra space at the Kagiso pre-school, funded play equipment and

sponsored by: Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is delighted to be sponsoring this year’s Best Volunteering Organisation category at the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards 2007. This year marks the publication of Volunteer: A Traveller’s Guide to Making a Difference Around the World, Lonely Planet’s guide to the world

of volunteering. Lonely Planet remains committed to travel as a positive force, and volunteering is a welcome and growing trend towards giving something back to the communities impacted by tourism. www.lonelyplanet.com

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trained local women to use it, thus improving facilities from basic to an environment in which mothers are keen to place their children. Volunteers have worked with the same community, providing training in hospitality and IT, and building the capacity of the community guesthouse. All People and Places volunteers stay in the guesthouse while working with the village. Programme director Sallie Grayson stresses that volunteers are not replacing local jobs. ‘Our volunteers work alongside local employees, not instead of them,’ she says. ‘Placements do not reduce or jeopardise local employment. The most effective volunteers work with and learn from the community, showing them respect, helping them carry out their own objectives, offering advice and encouragement, and increasing their capacity to develop their own futures. ‘Volunteers should be a positive presence, a source of inspiration and empowerment. Outsiders who impose their own cultural norms or their own agenda, and fail to include local people in decisions, can leave behind disruption and even destruction, and more problems than they solve, making life even tougher for economically poor people.’ www.travel-peopleandplaces.co.uk

responsible volunteering is no holiday – not even a responsible one

you will work with, not instead of, local people your skills will be matched to their needs you will know where and how your money is used

your work will be part of a sustainable programme

www.travel-peopleandplaces.co.uk +44 (0) 8700 460 479

people and places: responsible volunteering

Responsible Travel Experts East Africa Most adverts we run in magazines result in absolutely nothing. On the other hand, when you book with us, we use a significant proportion of your money to fund our projects. The results of this mean a great deal to those who benefit. When we commit to a community partnership or wildlife conservation programme, we deliver on our promises, no excuses. For us it’s not just a case of trying to make parts of our business responsible……..our business is responsible travel.

Call 0844 800 1127 or visit: www.campsinternational.com

winner Blue o Two, UK

Deep and meaningful

What the judges said... â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Blue O Two have developed a new business approach to diving in the Red Sea, in a highly competitive price-driven market, demonstrating that responsible diving is possible in a mainstream business and establishing a way of doing business which is causing their competitors to become more responsibleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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Best in a Marine Environment |

•

Top, MY Blue Horizon, the second of the Blue O Two fleet; above the vibrant reefs of the Red Sea

ason Strickland and Nathan Tyler loved the Egyptian Red Sea. They loved diving. And they loved taking groups of British servicemen and women out to enjoy some of the best coral reefs in the world. What they didn’t like was the standard of service they often received. They didn’t like how the crews were treated and sometimes they particularly didn’t like how the reefs were being treated by the ‘liveaboards’ that take eager divers to some of the most remote dive spots. And five years ago they did something about it. To the bemused amazement of the existing dive tourism industry, they decided to turn the sector on its head. Rather than rent existing boats, they decided to design and build their own. Rather than let local agents handle their customers in Egypt they opened their own offices and employed locals as equals.

Considering that a top-of-the-range liveaboard costs about £1 million to build and kit out and considering that both men were in their mid twenties, it is remarkable not only that the duo survived but, in fact, they flourished and now own three boats, employ nearly 50 people and are deeply involved in improving standards across the board in dive travel in the Red Sea. ‘We wanted to build our own boats to our standards,’ says 29-year-old Jason. ‘Run them the way we think they should be and treat our customers the way they deserve to be treated. It’s all about quality and detail.’ Nathan and his fiancée Natalie run the boats from Hurghada, and Jason handles the marketing and sales from the UK. They have cherry-picked a young, highly motivated team. Key is Mohammed Gamea, the 32-year-old skipper on their flagship Blue Horizon, who is also general manager of the operation in

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•| Best in a Marine Environment Egypt. The highly experienced captain (it’s in his blood – his father is one of the Red Sea’s most experienced dive boat skippers) personally oversaw the construction and fitting out of the first two boats in Alexandria. They pay their crews a bit more, give them a share of profits, make sure their living quarters are clean and air-conditioned and even teach all their crew to dive – from kitchen boy to chief engineer. Not surprisingly, it works. ‘It was a terrific struggle to start with,’ said Nathan. ‘People thought we were stark staring mad. It was very hard to be taken seriously and there was a lot of suspicion. It is also quite a ruthless and political business world. ‘But we stuck at it, treated people fairly and honestly and delivered what we promised. It has been the most amazing adventure and the most rewarding thing to do. I think one of the most important things we have done is to listen to our staff and to involve them in the business.’ The diving in the Red Sea is world-class and the only way to access the best sites is aboard the liveaboard boats which take 15 to 25 guests to the more remote areas of Egypt’s deep south. Healthy, wild coral reefs are bursting with life. Sharks patrol the open ocean, mantas and dolphins delight lucky divers. But it is far too easy to destroy the golden egg. Too many divers, too many boats, and bad management can quickly put too much stress on such a complex environment. ‘We all have a duty, a responsibility to get this right,’ said Jason. ‘We see every day the damage that can be done. There is no excuse for us to make it worse.’ The company is now working with the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA) to draw up new standards for all dive boats operating in the Red Sea. All Blue O Two guests are briefed in detail about how to sustain the oceans and the company has now employed a marine biologist to carry out a research project into oceanic whitetip sharks, and to involve divers in the study. ‘We’ve got a long way to go,’ said Jason. ‘We might not win every battle and we’ve made our fair share of mistakes, but it is amazing what you can do when you try.’ www.blueotwo.com

Above, a hawksbill turtle Red Sea; left, divers aboard a RIB before a dive charles hood

sponsored by: Tasmania Tourist Board Since the historic day 25 years ago when Australians joined Tasmanians in an overwhelmingly victorious voice to prevent the damming of the world’s last wild river, the Franklin, and the subsequent setting up of the Tasmanian World Heritage Wilderness Area, our temperate island of mountains, lakes, rainforest and pristine beaches has been an icon of wilderness and wildlife. With more than 40 per cent of the state now protected by law, Tasmania remains focused on the need to stay true to its cause. Yet while tens of thousands come every year to learn about and savour our glorious temperate paradise, few realise that what lies below the surface

of our unpolluted waters is possibly even more magnificent. National Geographic described Tasmania’s marine environment as the ‘greatest accessible underwater wilderness in the world.’ Slowly, we are all learning to respect what lies beneath, and understand that while it may not be so obvious to many, the health of the world’s extraordinary marine environment has a huge bearing on life as we know it today. No matter how small the voice, the message can still be loud and clear. Every effort to preserve our marine environment for people to enjoy, today and in the future, deserves recognition. That is why we chose to sponsor this award.

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www.discovertasmania.co.uk

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•| Best in a Marine Environment highly

commended

Blue Ventures, UK

Goodwill venture Tourism in areas of widespread poverty can present a moral maze. On one hand, the traveller is keen to contribute to the local economy, yet so many tourism businesses seem to be detached from their surrounding communities, taking advantage of cheap labour, but keeping themselves very much apart. With Blue Ventures’ eco-camp in the remote fishing village of Andavadoaka in Madagascar, local people are key to the project. Launched in 2004 to create a pilot marine reserve that would preserve the environment in the interest of both locals and visitors, the scheme now encompasses 21 neighbouring villages, whose members are fully involved in the planning and development of the network. Blue Ventures clients are put into volunteer positions focused on marine conservation. Alongside the fun of scuba diving and marine surveys of one of the world’s most important coral reefs – the Grand Recife de Tulear – they are collating hard data that is used to monitor the health of the reef, an ancient resource on which local communities have depended for decades.

Blue Ventures is not simply a travel business with a conscience, it brings large communities of people together, empowering them to mould a brand of tourism that truly is ecological in its approach and execution. And the goodwill has been reciprocated – in March 2007 the village of Andavadoaka donated a prime beach site of 10 hectares for Blue Ventures to develop a travel lodge that will be managed by the village itself. ‘One of our greatest achievements so far has been studies on octopus,’ said Blue Ventures MD Richard Nimmo. ‘The villages rely on octopus as commercial catch, but our study confirmed what they suspected, that catches were getting smaller. The villages agreed not to fish some of their key octopus collecting sites for six months, and there was subsequently a major recovery in the octopus population.’ The success of this particular project has led to a nationwide seasonal ban on octopus collection, proving that data collected by volunteers can affect policy-making at a national government level. www.blueventures.org

•

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winner La Ruta Moskitia, Honduras

Gateway to nature

All the cliches about unspoilt locations and getting off the beaten track apply in Honduras. In La Moskitia, a community-owned tour operator has established responsible tourism in a place where it never existed before

here are no roads in La Moskitia, a vast, isolated, coastal region of Honduras, dominated by the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve, a two million-acre UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest remaining tract of rainforest in Central America. To get there, you either have to fly in on one of the limited flights, or trek overland by truck, taxi and bus, to Batalla, on the western edge of the reserve, where you’ll switch to a boat. And that’s how you’ll get around from then on, exploring the reserve’s maze of lagoons and rivers in a small motorised dugout canoe called a pipante. There are also no banks, no cashpoints, no credit cards and few phones. And, until a couple of years ago, there were few tourists. Those who did find their way here arrived with foreign-owned tour companies which brought in their own food and supplies and paid local guides and boat drivers horribly low wages. Accommodation consisted

of Spartan guest rooms and unsanitary pit toilets, and no tourism revenues were contributed to the conservation and management of the reserve. Then along came La Ruta Moskitia, and changed all that. Four different ethnic communities – the Miskito, Pech, Garifuna, and Tawahka – came together to form a community-owned and operated company that is the very essence of responsible, sustainable tourism. It built beautiful new eco-lodges – complete with showers and flush toilets – and palm-thatched cabanas and trained local people to develop and grow the new business, resulting in 150 new well-paid jobs which support over 750 family members. And finally, La Ruta Moskitia recently began dedicating a large percentage of its revenues to support conservation projects in the reserve. The local communities have bought in to the idea that preserving the biodiversity of the reserve will help shift the local economy from one based on taking out resources – over-fishing, over-hunting, logging and

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1) The wild and isolated coast at sunset 2)A Larumo guide shows how to local fruit 3) Guests join a Garifuna dance 4) Exploring the mangrove in a local canoe – a pipante 5) Newly built cabanas

Best in a Park or Protected Area |

Mac Stone

Matt humke

Mac Stone

Matt humke

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â&#x20AC;˘

sponsored by:

Starwood Hotels & Resorts For the past 11 years Starwood has worked with UNICEF, raising money for child immunisation projects through the unique Check Out For Children programme, contributing to poverty reduction among communities. Since 1995, Starwood’s guests and associates have raised over US$16 million, through the voluntary addition of $1 or its equivalent in local currency to the guest’s bill as they check out of their hotel.  This has enabled UNICEF to immunise more than 882,000 children around the world against the six major, potentially fatal childhood diseases: polio, measles, tetanus, tuberculosis, whooping cough and diphtheria.    In addition, the partnership, which now operates in hotels in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, has played a considerable role in raising the awareness of UNICEF’s work and the needs of vulnerable children to thousands of hotel guests from all over the world.  Check Out For Children was pioneered by Robert Scott, SVP General Counsel for Starwood EAME, who was motivated by the belief that his company should find a way to put something back into the communities in which it operates and approached UNICEF with the idea of helping some of the world’s most vulnerable children through the Check Out for Children programme, which was launched in 1995.  Starwood Hotels & Resorts is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 850 properties in more than 95 countries, with the following brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, Sheraton®, Westin®, Four Points® by Sheraton, W®, Le Méridien® and the recently announced aloftSM and ELEMENTSM Hotels.  www.starwoodhotels.com www.unicef.org/corporate_partners/ index_25074.html

highly

commended

communitychallenge

Meeting the

challenge of poverty

communitychallenge

Anyone thinking of embarking on one of Simon Albert’s community challenges is given a warning: this experience could change your life forever. Over the past seven years, expedition management company Charity Challenge, which he co-founded, has helped thousands of people to achieve personal goals such as trekking in the Andes or climbing Kilimanjaro, and, in the process, raise more than £15 million pounds for their chosen charities. But since 2004 the company has had a new goal of its own. Following the Asian tsunami, the firm developed its communitychallenge programme, aimed at the corporate market, in partnership with the charity Habitat for Humanity (HFH), to help families in Sri Lanka build new homes to replace those swept away in the disaster. Within 16 weeks, the first teams of volunteers, many from a single company, were on site helping families to dig foundations, collect water, mix cement, plaster walls, lay roof tiles and help communities start to rebuild their lives. In the following two years, around 1,500 communitychallenge participants have

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worked on hundreds of houses, in four countries, across three continents, and raised more than £1 million to help HFH fight poverty housing. ‘On one project in South Africa,’ says Simon Albert, ‘we have worked with 18 families, where more than 100 children have lost their parents to AIDS. More than 25 per cent of the houses in the village of KwaXimba were built with the help of communitychallenge volunteers.’ As well as working alongside local teams, each project ensures there’s a responsible side to its tourism aspects, staying in locally-owned hotels, visiting local restaurants, sharing local traditions of music and dance, employing local guides and buying souvenirs from local producers. The number of projects is set to expand next year, as their impact snowballs. Meanwhile, volunteers who’ve taken part have been inspired to continue their involvement long after their initial trips, raising further funds for HFH and recruiting more teams. Saatchi and Saatchi are now on its third visit in three years. And after one worker from Lloyds TSB went on an open trip, she told her story to her in-house magazine and inspired many more staff to follow in her footsteps. ‘These trips do change people’s lives,’ says Simon Albert. ‘As well as helping communities build for their own futures, the scheme is fuelling the move towards greater corporate social responsibility. The enthusiasm of the returning volunteers wanting to share their incredible experiences is infectious. They can become powerful advocates both for their company and the cause.’ www.charitychallenge.com

Best for Poverty Reduction |

•

highly Guludo Beach Lodge, Mozambique

commended

Finding

Nema…

The arrogance of youth and an unquenchable belief that no hurdle was big enough to stop them have fuelled a young couple’s dream to use tourism to alleviate poverty in one of the world’s poorest areas. Five years ago Amy Carter, now 27 and her partner Neal Allcock, 29, founded Bespoke Experience, and built the luxury Guludo Beach Lodge, overlooking the Indian Ocean in the Quirimbas National Park in northern Mozambique. The lodge offers its 18 guests an intimate insight into African village life, combined with total relaxation and friendly luxury. The snorkelling and scuba diving is spectacular. Guludo was built almost exclusively from local bio-degradable materials, by a 100-per-cent local workforce. Furniture was made on site by local carpenters, the uniforms tailored in the local village.

More than 80 per cent of all the lodge’s expenditure, from construction to operation, is within a five-kilometre radius. All 56 staff are trained on site, on the job. Two years ago the couple launched a charitable arm, the Nema Foundation to fund health and education projects in the area, with five per cent of all Bespoke revenue going directly to Nema. Among its achievements are providing access to clean water for 10,000 people by the end of this year and training more than 60 community health workers to run a malaria prevention scheme. For Amy, this is the fulfillment of a dream that began on a gap year in rural Kenya, teaching in a primary school. ‘I remember sitting in the classroom thinking how many incredible opportunities were in front of me compared to those children who would have to struggle to find the funds just to go to secondary school. It occurred to me that tourism could be the key to helping communities work their way out of poverty. I met Neal at university; we would spend endless evenings dreaming of ways we could make the idea work, and when I graduated we decided to see if it could be made a reality. ‘Although neither of us had been to Mozambique, we decided it was the perfect location – incredible tourism

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potential next to extreme poverty. When we stepped onto Guludo’s breath-taking beach we knew the search was over and that night, under a full moon and sitting on coconut logs, we had a meeting with the Guludo community to talk about our idea of a lodge. From that first day our partnership with the locals was sealed. ‘Training the first front-of-house staff took an immense amount of time and hard work. However, it paid off and today you can have a long chat with the barman who will tell tales of when the “lions of the village” (people who turned into lions) met the “lions of the bush” (real ones).’  www.guludo.com

winner Gecko’s Adventures

Are we having fun yet?

The winner and three highly commended tour operators in this category all had impeccable responsible travel credentials – so much so that the judges found it hard to separate them. But a good holiday is not just about being responsible – we know these guys are good, but are they fun to hang out with?

Q&A with… Name: Pete Rawley Job : Gecko’s Brand Manager - Global

ecko’s Grassroots Adventures runs 181 trips to 150 countries, aimed especially at younger travellers, between 20-40 years old, in small groups of nine to 15. The company’s core philosophy is to use only local leaders, and to support the local economy by staying in locally-owned lodgings and travel by local transport. All clients get a copy of Gecko’s top ten tips for travelling responsibly. The company has recently launched the Gecko’s Community Trust which funds local community projects and initiatives that advance education and employment within the tourism and hospitality industry.

Age: 39 Location: Melbourne, Australia hat’s the most inspiring trip you’ve been on W with Gecko’s? My first visit to Africa. I went with a lot of preconceived ideas and a strong focus on wildlife. I walked away with an amazing understanding of the various tribal groups, a volatile history, and sense of hope for many. I‘ve been back eight times since and will return again and again.

bet for the ‘adventurously cautious’. It’s a great destination, with good infrastructure and the adventure travel options there are a great introduction to experiencing new cultures.

What’s the weirdest request you’ve ever had from a customer? A client travelling to Antarctica asked if she could take her cat!

What’s the most extreme trip you offer? Any taxi ride around Cairo? One of our more adventurous trips would be Cairo to Casablanca. It’s a 34-day trip and includes Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco. We’ve recently started the trip to Everest Base Camp too – that one’s a ripper!

And the soft option for a wussy traveller? Many of the trips into Thailand are a safe

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What’s the most ridiculous or dangerous thing you’ve had to do in the line of duty? Played football against our tour leaders in Cambodia. After a quick run down of the rules, as I had never played, I was sent out in 37 degree heat while nursing a ‘slight headache’ from the previous night’s awards presentation. Several of the leaders

Best Tour Operator | saw it as a great opportunity to teach me all about pain. They ran me up and down the pitch until I was near-exhausted, then popped me in goal to be humiliated in a five-goal avalanche.

What’s the worst example of irresponsible tourism you’ve come across – and were you able to do anything about it? Operators that have an ‘it’s not my problem’ attitude to the increasing issue of child sex and tourism within South East Asia (or any country for that matter). Gecko’s has worked very hard with our local operators, the communities we visit and our local leaders to make sure that the education process against this abhorrent practice continues.

What’s the hardest ‘house rule’ (principle of responsible tourism) to keep? The company philosophy of ‘local leaders only’. While the ethos of this stand is without question, it does at times throw up various challenges. Things such as higher wage payments, cultural differences with clients, extensive training, English language development and long-term career opportunities for staff are issues that companies who choose western leaders do not face, or at best to a far lesser degree.

What’s the single most important piece of advice you give to customers? You are a guest of the countries you are lucky enough to visit. Do your research to find out about local customs and cultures and endeavour to be respectful of these. PS, Long drop toilets are a skill that takes practice.

What Gecko achievement are you most proud of over the past couple of years? The employment and development of our local leaders. To be involved in helping develop people through our system – from first time leader to small business owner – is a great thing to be a part of.

Who’s the most famous client you’ve had – and what was he/she/they like? Don’t think Gecko’s has had anyone of ‘celebrity’ status. If we did they must have been the type of client that would say, ‘it’s about enjoying and interacting with the group and destination and not me, me, me!’

If you could take anyone on one of your trips, who would it be, what would you show them, and why? I would love to take my parents on one of our trips actually, most likely an African safari. They have never been outside Australia and I would love to share that experience with them at least once in my life.

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said about your company? Melissa Bennett, travel agent, Australia: ‘I’m glad I booked a lot of Gecko’s trips and got to meet you’ (We got married in February this year).

And what’s the worst – and was it justified!? Melissa Rawley, travel agent, Australia: ‘You bastard – I should have booked Intrepid!!’ (After getting home late from a night out at the pub with mates).

What do your staff moan about most? The speed of change and implementation of new ideas. We have an extremely

•

energetic and passionate team and they always have fantastic ideas on how to improve the business. But the process to implement in a correct, ethical, safe and professional manner can, at times, take longer than many of us would prefer.

If you ruled the world of tourism what would be your first act? Continue to raise the bar on standards and guidelines for companies within our sector to do more for the long term sustainability of our business and planet.

Finally, where would you rather be right now? Africa. I have an obsession with the continent. Which reminds me – around the time people are reading this I will have just completed a gorilla trek in Rwanda, game park viewing in the Maasai Mara and Serengeti, met my sponsor children in Kenya and will have my feet up in Zanzibar! www.geckosadventures.com

What the judges said: ‘The tour operator category was especially difficult to judge as so many tour companies now publish comprehensive responsible travel policies. Gecko’s stood out because it has a core policy of employing only local tour leaders, ensuring that the local community benefits financially from its holidays, and for its commitment to channelling revenue directly into conserving wilderness and heritage.’

sponsored by: The Adventure Company Our Commitment & Style of Travel At The Adventure Company we have always recognised that we are accountable for the way we affect the local community and environment in the areas in which we operate. Over recent years we have taken fundamental steps to ensure that Responsible Travel is at the heart of all aspects of our business. Just by travelling with us, you will take a step in the right direction. Our style of travel takes specific account of the environment through which you’re travelling and all our trips feature key elements that contribute

directly to the host country’s local infrastructure, skills base and economy.

Our Responsible Travel Code By following a simple Responsible Travellers Code, you can make a positive difference and limit the negative impacts on the places you’re journeying through. Everyone who travels with us will automatically receive a copy of our Responsible Travel leaflet.

The Adventure Company Foundation We have set up our own foundation to administer funds donated by our

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passengers. A small donation of £1 per booking will be put to good use on one of our carefully selected projects. These are small grass-roots initiatives that really make a difference such as building houses in Sri Lanka, a community centre in Nepal and equipping schools in Morocco and Ecuador.

•| Best Tour Operator highly

commended

Imaginative Traveller

Fair’s fair: here’s how the three highly commended tour operators got on with the same set of questions

stablished in 1991, Q&A with... Imaginative Traveller is one of the world’s leading Name: Jim O’Brien operators of small group adventure tours. Besides Age: 32 a commitment to responsible travel, in each major destination Position: Head of Operations, Imaginative Traveller they aim to support a project with donations from travellers. These include expanding Location: Suffolk, UK accommodation at Chiang Mai Orphanage in Thailand, providing sunset. As I couldn’t leave him to climb him to grow up knowing about different food, stationery and medicines down on his own, we had to scramble cultures and places. to children in the Bolu and Barhal down rock faces in the dark a couple of Valleys, in Turkey, and solar hundred metres from the valley floor. We What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said cookers to a village in Rajasthan about your company? got down eventually – but with plenty to encourage people not to cut of cuts and bruises, ripped clothes, and Too many to mention! Cheesy, but true. down precious trees to use as relieved grins on our faces. firewood. They also run volunteer And what’s the worst – and was it justified!? placements including building What’s the worst example of irresponsible When a client wasn’t met at Cairo airport toilets for the families of porters in tourism you’ve come across – and were you – she accused us of putting her life in Peru, assisting with conservation able to do anything about it? danger as she was vulnerable to kidnap work at the Alto Choco cloud Boats on the Yangtse throwing all their from Al Qaeda operatives from Iraq. forest reserve in Ecuador and rubbish bags directly into the river; we caring for elephants at the were able to stop this on our own boats by What do your staff moan about most? Elephant Nature Park, Thailand.

What’s the most inspiring trip you’ve been on with Imaginative Traveller? Our ‘Mysterious Madagascar’ tour. Madagascar’s renowned for its wildlife - but I found the people to be just as much of a highlight, and the lack of mass tourism makes this a real gem to explore.

What’s the most extreme trip you offer? Our ‘Into the Heart of Papua’ tour which involves eight days trekking through the Baliem Valley in the Indonesian part of New Guinea.

And the soft option for a wussy traveller?

threatening to withhold tips but other boats continue to follow this practice

Me probably! Or clients turning up on tour who aren’t suitable for the trip.

What’s the hardest ‘house rule’ (principle of responsible tourism) to keep?

If you ruled the world of tourism what would be your first act?

Reducing the amount of flights I take.

Make people take cultural sensitivity tests before being allowed a passport.

What’s the single most important piece of advice you give to customers? Don’t expect things to work as they do at home.

What company achievement are you most proud of over the past couple of years? Providing so much support to Balika Sadan (a girls’ home in India) that they no longer require our help.

‘Egypt in Style’.

What’s the weirdest request you’ve ever had from a customer? ‘Can you ask my roommate to stop masturbating at night?’ Or ‘will there be somewhere to hang my colostomy bag?’

What’s the most ridiculous or dangerous thing you’ve had to do in the line of duty? Climbed a (small) mountain with a client – when we got to the top he was adamant that he wanted to stay and watch the

Who’s the most famous client you’ve had – and what was he/she/they like? Our sales girls got very excited when they saw the name ‘Jonathan Depp’ on a booking. When we saw he was born in 1945 they soon worked out he wasn’t quite the person they had hoped for.

If you could take anyone on one of your trips, who would it be, what would you show them, and why? My son, when he’s a bit older – I want

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And where would you rather be right now? Watching the sun go down from a beachside restaurant in Stone Town, Zanzibar, with a cold Kilimanjaro beer in hand. www.imaginative-traveller.com

laikipia, kenya www.borana.com

Borana is a working cattle ranch on the edge of Kenyaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s northern frontier. Ride, walk and drive amongst free-ranging wildlife and stunning landscapes. Come and experience the exclusive nature of Borana Lodge and Laragai House or ride with Riding Wild. Through our tourism we support our neighbouring communities with a mobile clinic, the education programme and in developing their own enterprises.

highly

commended

KE Adventure Travel

ounded in 1984, under the name Karakoram Experience, this adventure tour operator began by organising trips to the Karakoram Mountain range in Pakistan. As it expanded worldwide, the name changed to KE Adventure, which now runs trekking, climbing and biking expeditions, including family adventures and school trips. In 1993 they joined forces with the Juniper Trust charity to support sustainable community projects. Over the past couple of years these have included installing fresh water tanks for villages in Morocco and Pakistan, building schools in India and Nepal, and solar-powered lighting in three villages in Peru and one in India.

Q&A with...

What’s the most extreme trip you offer? We run trips to extreme altitude such as up to the north Col on Everest, which involve non-technical climbing. And any extended mountain journey in the Karakoram mountains will take you through uninhabited valleys filled with the world’s biggest glaciers outside the polar regions.

Age: 48 Location: Keswick, Lake District, UK What’s the most inspiring trip you’ve been on with KE Adventure Travel? Leading KE’s first trek into the Lunana region of Bhutan, one of the world’s most isolated communities. When we arrived, we found that the village had been almost wiped out the night before by a glacial lake bursting its dam. The courage of the villagers and the harsh conditions in which they had to re-build their lives played a big part in inspiring me to involve KE with the Juniper Trust. There is still no other trek in the world to compare with the trip across northern Bhutan.

What company achievement are you most proud of over the past couple of years? At the start of the year, we were awarded the AITO Achievement in Responsible Tourism Award in recognition of work we have carried out over the past 20 years.

And the softest option for a wussy traveller? A ‘soft’ adventure trip with relatively easy trekking or even just touring, in destinations like India, Tibet, and Peru.

What’s the weirdest request you’ve ever had from a customer? A man wanted to throw a surprise engagement party for his climber girlfriend  in a very remote Himalayan valley.

What’s the most ridiculous or dangerous thing you’ve had to do in the line of duty? Rescuing a dog from the summit ridge of Island Peak in Everest’s Khumbu Valley. The puppy had followed the climbing party up a steep 200-metre snow slope. Its claws were effective crampons on the way up but useless going down, and the dog was left whimpering at the top. One of the party climbed back up to rescue the pup, which he stuffed in his rucksack with its head poking out of the top and restrained from jumping out by the draw cord.

Name: Glenn Rowley Title: title Company director and co-founder (with Tim Greening)

the country, the customs and religious beliefs of the people.

What’s the worst example of irresponsible tourism you’ve come across – and were you able to do anything about it? At the Paro religious festival in Bhutan, a group of westerners walked into the area where masked dancers were performing a sacred dance and pointed their cameras within a few feet of the dancers’ faces. It was appalling to watch but the Bhutanese themselves are far too polite to object. On that occasion our group told these people to stop their hooligan-like behaviour.

What’s the hardest ‘house rule’ (principle of responsible tourism) to keep? To take time with people and not see them as just part of the scenery to be photographed.

Who’s the most famous client you’ve had – and what was he/she/they like? When KE ran the first ever (combined) circumnavigation and climb of Mount Elbrus (5,642m) on the borders of Russia and Georgia, Chris Bonnington contacted us to see if he could tag along with our group for the attempt on the summit. It was an honour to stand on the summit with a climber I had read so much about as a child and during my earlier climbing days.

If you could take anyone on one of your trips, who would it be, what would you show them, and why? My two sons (left). They have already been trekking in Nepal when they were six and eight, and last year we took Canadian canoes down the Athabasca River, camping on islands and seeing bears, elks and ospreys. Through children, you can see the world through different eyes.

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said about your company? Sometimes, it’s just nice to hear ‘thank you’.

And what’s the worst – and was it justified!? When we have genuinely failed in what we set out to do. We all make mistakes but we pull it off 98 per cent of the time!

What do your staff moan about most? Only being able to leave the office for one or two trips a year.

If you ruled the world of tourism what would be your first act?  Prevent tourists from wearing, displaying, or doing things inappropriate for the cultures they are visiting.

Finally, where would you rather be right now? What’s the single most important piece of advice you give to customers? Take time before your trip to learn about

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In the village of Tanza in Lunana, Bhutan or on Snow Lake in the Karakoram mountains. www.keadventure.com

Best Tour Operator | highly

commended

•

Tribes Travel

aunched ten years ago, Tribes, is an award-winning, independent Fair Trade Travel™ company, and globally-recognised pioneers of responsible travel. From a luxury African safari and a Galapagos Islands cruise to a short weekend break in Marrakech – Tribes offers a personal tailor-made travel service. The company also runs a charity, the Tribes Foundation which has so far donated around £16,000 in grants. Just one of these, for two schoolrooms in a Maasai community, benefited 480 children in an area where kids have to walk 4km to school. Late last year Tribes also lobbied successfully against a huge development in Mosi-oa-Tunya national park, Zambia.

What’s the most inspiring trip you’ve been on with Tribes? Visiting the ‘singing wells’ in a community wildlife conservancy in northern Kenya was magical and a privilege. I continually find it inspiring that some of the harshest situations we humans find ourselves in, bring out some of the most incredible sides to our humanity – beauty, bravery, generosity ... The singing wells capture this perfectly.

What’s the most extreme trip you offer? The most extreme trip in terms of hardship would probably be climbing Kilimanjaro. However we are also very good at arranging extreme luxury, extreme relaxation, extreme wildlife, and extreme fun!

And the softest option for a wussy traveller? I find that when you’re in ‘wussy’ mode there is not much better than a gorgeous treehouse on a tiny Indian Ocean island, overlooking the white sand beach and blue sea. Lots of superb food and drink, a bit of swimming and snorkelling, and, when you feel like company, walk into the nearby village to have a chat to the local people.

around at the small, thin trees around me, I felt confident. Then I saw the black rhino!

If you could take anyone on one of your trips, who would it be, what would you show them, and why?

What’s the worst example of irresponsible tourism you’ve come across – and were you able to do anything about it?

The right kind of travel is a real eye-opener for children, so I’d take my young sons to South Africa for a mix of cultural and wildlife experiences.

A rainforest lodge in a pristine area of Ecuador felt that it was fine to throw all their rubbish into the river. Yes, they were told, and thankfully cleaned up their act.

What’s the hardest ‘house rule’ (principle of responsible tourism) to keep?

Name: Amanda Marks Job : managing director Age: 43 Location: Suffolk, UK

Over 96 per cent of our clients rate their holidays with us as excellent. Here is just one comment: ‘The friendly, expert, personal and socially aware manner you arranged my holiday was truly great.’

Altruism.

What’s the single most important piece of advice you give to customers? To travel with a sense of humour and humility.

What company achievement are What’s the weirdest request you’ve you most proud of over the past couple of years? ever had from a customer?

Q&A with...

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said about your company?

‘I’d like to go to the Sahara desert in Morocco and find a camel skeleton to take home. I like camels’. (Yes, she did find one, and yes, she did take it back to the US!).

To have achieved Investors in People certification. We’re delighted that while sticking to our ethical principles, we’ve also built a successful, well-run company.

What’s the most ridiculous or dangerous thing you’ve had to do in the line of duty?

Who’s the most famous client you’ve had –and what was he/she/ they like?

While testing a walking safari, the Maasai guide suddenly whispered to me ‘You can climb trees can’t you?’ Looking

We were privileged to successfully arrange Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ Kilimanjaro climb a few years ago.

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And what’s the worst – and was it justified!? It happens rarely, but we all have our bad days!

What do your staff moan about most? Our sales manager’s shorts.

If you ruled the world of tourism what would be your first act? I would like to see realistic prices charged.

Finally, where would you rather be right now? With my family and our Maasai guide on a hill in a remote corner of west Kilimanjaro looking out onto the plains of Tanzania and Kenya, with Mount Kilimanjaro behind us, and a sundowner in hand. www.tribes.co.uk

•

•| Meet the Judges

DEBBIE HINDLE is managing director and a founder of bgb, the specialist travel and leisure communications company, and has worked on sustainable travel issues for organisations ranging from tourist boards to NGOs. She is also a member of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s Crisis Action Team, and Global Business Leaders Forum.

Meet the Judges HAROLD GOODWIN, Chair of Judges, is professor of responsible tourism management at Leeds Metropolitan University and director of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism – where he runs an MSc in responsible tourism management – the first of its kind. He drafted the Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism in Destinations in 2002, which defined the agenda for change.

CATH URQUHART was travel editor of The Times from 1997 until June 2007. She continues to write for The Times as a freelance journalist, and is also the author of The Times Holiday Handbook, a consumer guide to planning the perfect holiday, and the newly-published The Times Travel Journal, a diary for travellers that contains essential tips and advice.

SUE HURDLE is chief executive of The Travel Foundation, the government- and industry-backed sustainable tourism charity – founded in 1998 – which helps the UK travel industry to take effective action on sustainable tourism, by focussing on protecting and enhancing the environment and improving the wellbeing of destination communities.

JUSTIN FRANCIS is MD of online travel directory responsibletravel.com which he co-founded in 2001, and which founded and organises The Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards in association with The Times, World Travel Market, Geographical magazine and headline sponsors Virgin Holidays. Justin is a trustee of The Travel Foundation, and writes regularly on responsible tourism for magazines and newspapers.

TRICIA BARNETT is the director of Tourism Concern, the UK-based charity that campaigns for ethical and fairly-traded tourism. Tricia has spoken in places as diverse as the UN, the European Union and schools and churches. Her passion about the issues is undiminished after 15 years!

NEEL INAMDAR is ecotourism business advisor for the organisation Conservation International. He has more than 15 years’ experience in hospitality management and operations in Africa, the UK and the United States. He has built, owned and operated 300-bed beach resorts, safari camps and a tour company specialising in safaris in East Africa.

GRAEME GOURLAY is publisher of Geographical magazine, the monthly magazine of the Royal Geographical Society, and runs Circle Publishing which also produces DIVE, Snow, Active, Business Franchise and Christian Aid News. He launched Circle ten years ago after a successful career as a national newspaper journalist.

ANDREW COOPER is director general of the Federation of Tour Operators, the association representing the interests of the larger tour operating groups in relation to political issues, as well as working jointly in the areas of Health & Safety, Crisis Management and Responsible Tourism. He is also the director general of the International Federation of Tour Operators.

IAN REYNOLDS was chief executive of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) from 1994 until September 2005. He is currently non-executive chairman of Citybond Holdings PLC, a director of General Industries PLC and NTP Limited, which provides training throughout the travel industry. He is also a trustee of the Travel Foundation, the Family Holiday Association and St Mary’s Paddington Charitable Trust.

FIONA JEFFERY is chairman of World Travel Market – the business-to-business exhibition for the global travel trade which plays host to the awards. In 1998 she founded and is now chairman of the international travel and tourism industry charity, Just a Drop. Its aims are to deliver clean water to more than 1.1 billion children worldwide who have no access near their homes.

RICHARD HAMMOND writes a regular column on eco-friendly holidays in The Guardian and is the editor of a worldwide book called Green Places to Stay (Alastair Sawday Publishing). He has also written widely on responsible travel for magazines and has recently launched greentraveller.co.uk, a website that gives tips on how to have a greener holiday and where to find green places to stay.

KEITH RICHARDS is a barrister and ABTA’s head of business development and consumer affairs. He also heads up ABTA complaints handling, access to justice, education and events departments. He is a member of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, the body which advises the UK Government on disabilities and accessible transport.

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escape to the real world...

responsible travel

...comes naturally to us “World Expeditions is a global adventure travel company with over 30 years experience around the planet. Their Nepal trekking operation run by Nepalis for Nepalis, is notable for its pioneering Porter Protection Programme that has set the industry benchmark which many companies are starting to follow.” Highly Commended ‘Best in a Mountain Environment’ Responsible Tourism Awards, 2006

FREE BROCHURES 0800 074 4135 worldexpeditions.com

Independent adventure travel specialists since 1975

There’s more to life than the world you live in. Experience the real world with Intrepid. Overall winners of The Responsible Tourism Awards 2006

For info, bookings and NEW 2008 brochures, www.intrepidtravel.com/rtmag call 0203 147 7777 or visit our London store at 76 Upper St, Islington N1 0NU

“

relationship to theice or snow. Extreme cold isnot an obstacle in

to life here,it’s a

requirement.” Dr. Peter Kershaw, Earthwatch Scientist, Climate Change at the Arctic’s Edge

wildlife conservation

research

adventure

environment

120 expeditions globally.

Work with scientists investigating environmental impacts including climate change across the globe, from rainforests in the Americas and Australia, to Asia’s coral reefs and Africa’s wildlife. For an expedition guide call +44 (0)1865 318831 or see

www.earthwatch.org/europe/rta.html

• real value • real experiences • small groups

EverythingintheArctic exists

The Trip That

Changed My Life Whether it’s trekking to Everest base camp or Macchu Pichu, gorilla-watching in Rwanda, cycling across the Sinai desert or diving in the Galápagos, plenty of tour operators these days promise you ‘a life-changing experience’. For most people that means little more than a camera-full of pictures and some pretty fantastic memories. But for some, that once-in-a-lifetime adventure really does do what it says on the tin, prompting a complete reappraisal of their life and values. Here, four travellers talk about how their lives have spun off in a totally unexpected direction

Vicky Smith

33, from London

stood in the middle of the busy street, surrounded by thronging masses. There were no cars or buses, just thousands of people on a mission. I felt rooted to the spot. Like a film scene, the world around me was in fast forward but I was in slow motion. I felt detached, even though I was aware of being constantly jostled. I felt my throat constrict and inhaled deeply to calm myself, totally and unexpectedly overwhelmed by culture shock. I’ve always had a passion for travel and have done as much as finances and time allowed, But I’d never experienced anything like this. And what was ridiculous, this wasn’t Africa, where I had spent the last few months backpacking and volunteering in remote villages and wilderness reserves in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia. This was my hometown, London. Oxford Street to be precise, just before Christmas last year. I suddenly felt out of place, a complete stranger. I usually love Christmas shopping, but the spree I’d planned seemed so overwhelmingly trite, pointless and superficial. It hadn’t changed of course, I had. I used to like shopping, gossip mags and rubbish TV and all the rest. But they now held no interest for me whatsoever. I just longed to be back in Africa. I’d come to London after working in the ski industry in Europe, moved into being an international conference manager in the internet technologies, taking my skills from that back to the travel industry, where I applied them developing and marketing mainstream travel websites. Then I took

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a career break and left the corporate world to go to Africa. And Africa blew me away. To be at one with nature under African skies at night; to see the beautiful faces of the kids in the rural communities. To witness the effects of AIDS, both physical and economic, as those of working age are obliterated, leaving elderly and frail grandparents to look after their orphans. To see the long-term consequences of policies such as apartheid, arms sales and genocide which have ravaged African nations. To know that, at 33, I was beyond the life expectancy of most of the people in the countries I visited. And so I returned and decided I wanted a web development and marketing role in responsible volunteer travel – not so different from my last job but with a different, infinitely more satisfying, intention – to facilitate tourism to be a force for good. After some hard graft, that’s exactly what I’m now doing, with different-travel. com. Nearly a year on and the intensity of that Oxford Street feeling has subsided a little, but it’s certainly not gone away. Life is more precious to me, to be treated more respectfully, and my sense of self is stronger. I’m probably less tolerant of senseless, egotistical behaviour but kinder to myself. I make more time in my life for health and vitality, physical and spiritual, and I’ve taken up things I’ve been meaning to do for years but never seemed to have the time, like finishing the DIY jobs, practising yoga and reading more. That Africa trip certainly changed my life. It changed my job, my working day, my focus, my drive and above all, it changed my perspective. I can’t wait to go back.

•

Travel experiences |

Jill Goulder

54, from London

anuary 2002 was cold and wet. A holiday (white-water rafting in South America) had fallen through at a few days’ notice, and I was left, with a two-week gap, money earmarked and a longing for sunshine and action. I wanted to be physically stretched, not just a spectator, and I specifically wanted to learn something and/or contribute to the country that I was visiting. A rapid search on the Internet threw up an intriguing possibility – and the following week I reported for work at Earthwatch’s Origins of Angkor archaeological project in eastern Thailand. What appealed here was that it wasn’t some pseudoscientific holiday dreamed up to entertain us. We were treated as bona fide archaeology students, given responsibilities and training in

special skills and encouraged to learn about the project, which was to provide evidence that the magnificent temples of Angkor Wat, just over the modern border in Cambodia, were not built by an incoming ‘master race’ but by the indigenous people of the region. I was especially struck by the close relationship of the archaeologists with the local villagers, who were excited and interested that their own heritage was being uncovered. Back then I was 49 and a selfemployed business marketing research consultant. My work was sluggish and I was drifting, feeling unfulfilled. I thought I was worrying about not earning enough money: in fact it was the shortage of challenging work that was getting me down. My new life didn’t start immediately on my return from Thailand, but a seed had been sown, and it germinated a year

later when I saw a brochure for a Certificate in Archaeology at Reading University – a universitylevel evening course requiring no previous experience and aimed at mature students. Two astonishing years later, my brain bursting with new concepts, I applied to University College London to do an MA in Archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. They have a good system of enrolling mature students from outside the archaeology discipline into a year’s preparatory course before embarking on the MA proper. I’m now happy and busy in my second year of the MA itself, and have several seasons of digging in Jordan, Syria and Turkey under my belt. I am starting to fulfil a long-held dream of being able to offer skilled help to a region in a period of change, perhaps one day helping to reconstruct

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Iraq and Lebanon’s shattered heritage and encourage the development of local archaeological expertise. My life has completely turned around from five years ago: I have stimulation, purpose, motivation and a new world of friends and colleagues. My brain is being massively stretched, and my summer work in the Near East – which allows me to see a country and its people as someone working there – has happily and permanently replaced my days as a tourist. I’ve realised that after a certain age, life doesn’t carry on coming to you: you have to go out and grab it for yourself. The Earthwatch project opened my consciousness not only to what a great world of different activities was out there, but also to what I was capable of doing myself, and how many doors open if you just dare to push on them.

Anthony Waugh

50, from Rugby, Warwickshire

was working as a project manager for a commercial design company. There were the usual pressures of deadlines, client liaison, sales targets, contractor and site management and so on. I would end working days wondering what it was all for, knowing that there was more to life. I was simply earning money to pay the mortgage and making money for the firm to pay other peoples’ larger mortgages. I had become conscious of a growing desire to help others; it began with voluntary work at weekends and evenings but then I took a sabbatical year to travel and do voluntary work; it was a wonderfully fulfilling experience and it showed me where my heart lay. When the Asian tsunami happened I donated money, like so many people, but I also needed to do more, to do something practical. I found a volunteer scheme run by Charity Challenge and Habitat

for Humanity, helping to build houses for affected families in Sri Lanka. It was only for a week but meant I could make some practical contribution. It was a week of many emotions disbelief at the damage and suffering,  an  emotional rollercoaster of helping the families build their new homes  while  hearing, first-hand, their stories of personal loss. The houses were relatively simple but gave people back their pride and independence. The tears and smiles from everyone involved when the houses were handed over said everything. I returned home determined to do more. It was like a drug – once you had experienced ‘the high’ of direct involvement with aid work, it hooked and inspired you to do more. I was determined to make the change – to get out of my safety zone and into full-time aid work. I got back in touch with Habitat for

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Humanity, and within two months I had quit my job and was on my way back to Sri Lanka where I worked on tsunami projects for four months and then moved on to disaster mitigation projects in India for the next three months. I am still working with Habitat for Humanity, but on a longer-term project in London. However, on the back of contacts made in Sri Lanka last year I am now also helping ActionAid develop a local programme in Cambodia and will go out there this month to help supervise the work. I can happily say that since being inspired to make the change to aid work not a single day has felt like ‘work’. There are still good days and bad days, like any job, but bad days don’t matter any more because I know I’m where I’m meant to be. It’s a great feeling knowing you are doing work your heart tells you is right – what could be a better way of living your life?’

•

Travel experiences |

‘I

explored the world and found myself’ About four years ago, after working in travel PR for eight years I decided it was high time to leave my desk and explore the world for myself, rather than sending cynical journalists off to do it. After spending nine weeks travelling across Central America, I set off on a tenweek volunteering stint on the tropical island of Madagascar, with Azafady, a Malagasy NGO. Madagascar was a country I knew nothing about; I knew nobody who had been there and it sounded like a great opportunity to really get off the beaten track.

Our group of ten volunteers lived in tents and worked on a variety of humanitarian and conservation projects, including an HIV study among local young people, and building desks and benches for a remote school. We took part in a turtle-monitoring project and did lots of tree-planting with local communities. It was a great experience and I met some wonderful people, but sometimes it was quite depressing to see just how little people actually do survive on. Despite, or maybe because of this, the trip really inspired me to become more involved in charity work. After the stint ended I came back to the UK

for two months to save up some money and then returned to Madagascar for six months to follow up on the HIV education work I had started. When I finally returned to the UK three years ago, Azafady invited me to become a trustee.  But my desire for change went deeper. The experiences I’d had in Madagascar had really affected my outlook on life, and I decided to completely change the course of my career and move full-time into the charity sector. I got a job with one of the UK’s biggest overseas development agencies, Christian Aid, where I am now PR manager. Over the past few years I have organised

Karen Hedges

35, (top left) from Aldershot, Hampshire

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a number of art exhibitions on the Millennium Development Goals and Children in Conflict, managed a show garden at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show on HIV, worked on two major disaster appeals – for the tsunami and Pakistan earthquake – and travelled to Angola, Senegal, Brazil and Jamaica to see Christian Aid projects at work.  Whenever I visit a Christian Aid partner organisation, it reinforces just why I do this job. I get a wonderful feeling of satisfaction that I now have the opportunity to give people in the developing world a voice; a chance to tell their story to people across the UK.

CALL OUR HOTLINE ON 01795 414 881 QUOTING REF RT07 or subscribe online at www.geographical.co.uk

Explore the mysteries and wonders of planet Earth with a subscription to Geographical magazine • Save over 34% on the cover price • Pay only £29 for 12 issues (saving you £15.40) • Free delivery direct to your door – no need to hunt in the shops • Never miss an issue Geographical is one of that rare breed of magazines that you cannot bear to throw away – it is timeless Jonathan Scott, BBC Big Cat Diary presenter and award-winning wildlife photographer

Must every fflight be a

guilt trip? Can you be a truly responsible traveller and still hop aboard a plane for your trip trekking in the Andes, staying in an eco-lodge in Costa Rica or a homestay in Thailand? Huw Williams tries to find the answer

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Responsible Flying |

Jennny vallis

o fly or not to fly? That’s become the question that defines the debate over climate change and how we prevent it. Carbon emissions from a steadily growing international aviation industry are almost a metaphor for modern society’s inherent dilemma: pleasure now and pain later, or prudence now for preservation’s sake? It’s arguable that aviation has become a whipping boy and that much of the criticism of its carbon footprint is disproportionate: it’s not the only dirty industry that could be cleaner. However, whether it’s fair to single it out or not, there is a case to answer and, simplistically put, the battle lines look like this. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, aviation accounts for 1.6 per cent of global carbon emissions and as an international industry it is growing by around five per cent per year. At the same time there is consensus that carbon must be curbed; the EU, for example, recently pledged to cut all greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2020. The airline industry will tell you that

•

aviation is essential for global economic health. Temper or curtail that growth and pay the price with an economic downturn. Paul Charles, director of communications for Virgin Atlantic, is assured that significant carbon reductions will come from technological innovation. ’You can have as much growth as you want if you have clean growth. We are about to demonstrate bio-fuels on one of our planes. It’s those sort of solutions that are needed and then we can grow responsibly so you can have the economic growth without the environmental damage caused.’ In the opposite corner, even moderate environmentalists like Nic Ferriday of Airport Watch and the Aviation Environment Federation say growth must stop. We must curb our increasing fascination with flight, they say, asserting that the aviation industry can’t be trusted to put its own house in order. ‘Aviation is basically a luxury and there is no reason why it shouldn’t be taxed as other luxury goods are,’ he says. ‘We don’t want people to overdo flying because of the environmental impact, so a tax would be fair and just.’ Listen to the airlines and they will say to passengers that taking less luggage might help. They say we should leave it to the industry and governments to sort emissions out. Technological advancement combined with operational changes like sloughing off unnecessary weight from planes, taxiing on two engines instead of four, landing with engines in idle – innovations like these will all add up. Add in political changes such as signing up to a European-wide emissions trading agreement and introducing a Single European Sky to rationalise air traffic control so planes can fly point to point – that alone could save around 12 million tonnes of carbon a year. There’s no need to fly less. The environmentalists urge you not to fly if you can take the train, to reduce the number of times you do fly and if you must fly, fly further and stay for longer. One long-haul flight will be less harmful than several short-stay, short-haul trips. It’s a polarised and complex debate and it is the responsible travel industry that

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•| Responsible Flying provides the most acute perspective, as it is firmly skewered on the horns of this dilemma. It has to be supportive of aviation because it relies on it to transport a large number of its clients, especially to longhaul destinations. Yet environmental culpability is a key element of its rationale, so they must support anything that could help combat global warming. Responsible tourism also puts a value on the conservation of parks and forests – and protecting these forests is very important for slowing global warming. Reforestation offset schemes are all very well but preserving exisiting mature trees is better! Responsible tourism is committed, too, to helping people in impoverished communities share in the economic benefits of tourism. Not just because tourism can provide up to 70 per cent of GDP to some underdeveloped countries but through responsible tourism, much of this is channelled into the pockets of local people, through direct employment and the purchase of goods and services. Take away the opportunity for travellers to fly affordably and easily to these destinations and there could be a significant if not colossal collapse of fragile economies. This would be most sharply felt in underdeveloped countries which rely on long-haul flights to bring in foreign visitors. According to Harold Goodwin, Professor of Responsible Tourism Management at Leeds Metropolitan University, 46 of the world’s 49 least- developed countries rely on tourism to keep their economies afloat. Jo Pope of Robin Pope Safaris was the winner of the Best Personal Contribution to Responsible Tourism Award in 2005. She says that a reduction in the numbers of people flying could have a catastrophic impact on the communities near her operation in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park. ‘Other than minimal cash crop production, the entire economy of South Luangwa is based on tourism. If the tourism stops there is no other economy to turn to and that’s 25,000 people with no food on the table.’ It would not just be people who would suffer. A downturn in visitor numbers could also threaten the integrity of hard-won conservation gains. Environmental benefits in reduced carbon emissions by aircraft at the cost of African ecosystems. ‘Without international tourism, none of

these African national parks would survive. If we suddenly stopped flying in tourists I think in Zambia it would take as little as five years for all the conservation work to be undone, for all those animal populations to be depleted.’ For responsible travel it seems flying is a case of damned if you do, damned if you don’t, but is there a solution? Harold Goodwin says maybe there is. ‘The whole objective of responsible travel is to help people travel responsibly. That should include flying. We need to be able to educate consumers to make sensible decisions about flying, and we need to do it fast.’ At the moment the messages are myriad

“

We need to educate consumers to make sensible decisions about flying, and we need to do it fast

Goodwin has little time for most offset schemes. ‘There are a few which operate to the Gold standard, but most offset schemes don’t actually offset your carbon. They are good in that they encourage people to give charitably, but people shouldn’t kid themselves that that’s offsetting the carbon that would be pumped out as a result of their flight. ‘If you plant forest, the assumption is that over the lifetime of the trees you planted, it would absorb the CO2 which you have spewed into the atmosphere. The difficulty is the timescale: the CO2 is going out immediately but it takes time for the trees to absorb the carbon.’ The challenge for the responsible travel industry is to sift all the information and present it in a concise and digestible manner. The problem is, at the moment the necessary facts just aren’t readily available. Hugo Kimber is the CEO of the Carbon Consultancy, a company that provides data and analysis of carbon emissions to facilitate reduction and mitigation strategies and has been looking closely at the aviation industry. ’Basic labelling is essential to allow consumers to understand the impact of their choice to fly. The airlines need to provide fuel consumption data about individual aircraft and routes. This would reduce a lot of the uncertainty of the data and would allow the airlines to show exactly what their impact is.’ This is just the sort of detailed information that Professor Goodwin is looking to disseminate. ’We need something as simple as a website where you can book your holiday and it actually tells you how much carbon you are going to use if you fly that route on that plane, as opposed to another route. Until that sort of information is out in the public domain, consumers can’t make informed responsible choices.’ And there’s a final twist. Rather than suffering from the current debate about aviation, with detailed information available to consumers, the responsible travel industry could well benefit from unease over the carbon cost of flying. If more travellers start to consider the impacts of their flight, then more will also consider the carbon impact of what they do when they get there, something that can only play into the hands of responsible travel operators.

”

and mixed. Low-cost airlines are driving demand for flying and therefore growth, but on a per-passenger basis they can be more carbon-efficient compared to scheduled carriers, as their aircraft often fly full. Taking a flight might be carbon costly but what of the overall savings in emissions that come from leaving behind a cold northern winter, turning down the heating, leaving the car in the garage and heading south for a low-carbon holiday? Taking a single long-haul flight may well be a better option than several short-haul trips, but how do you know which airline is the most carbon efficient and which route do you choose? ‘The point is,’ says Goodwin, ‘that there are things which could be done, and just wringing our hands in horror and saying “Don’t fly” is unrealistic.’ And what of carbon offsetting, whereby you pay a premium based on your carbon emissions from a flight, with that cash then being invested in a reforestation or renewable energy project?

100 80 ||r:travel r:travel

•

Dive Red Sea

- the Ultimate Guide £20 by Simon Rogerson and John McIntyre

‘DIVE Red Sea is surely the ‘must have’ book to pack into the dive bag of anyone wanting to get the best out of diving the Red Sea’ Michael Pitts, Emmy award-winning BBC Blue Planet underwater cameraman

Available from Amazon through DIVE at

www.divemagazine.co.uk/diveredsea

Beware gifts bearing geeks

veryone who comes to Washington does it. You strike a noble pose in front of the black railings that keep the rest of the world at arm’s length from its most famous residence – The White House. Thousands of snaps are taken every day, but mine will be a bit different – I’m wearing a bright yellow cycle helmet and a bright blue bum-bag, balancing on a tiny platform suspended between two fat wheels, and holding (with the closest I can get to nonchalance) a set of waist-high handlebars. I look ridiculous. But I don’t care. No one knows me here. And anyway, my inhibitions vanished somewhere between 12th and 13th Streets as I experienced the Segway tour – the urban sightseeing gimmick that’s sweeping the capital of the free world, at the rate of, ooh, about 18 people a day. You may remember the Segway Human Transporter. It looks like a cross between a chariot and your granny’s shopping basket. Launched in December 2001 by American inventor Dean Kamen, it was supposed to revolutionise personal transport and commuting. It didn’t,

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although a US users’ group, SEG America, now has more than 3,400 members spread across two dozen branches rather self-deludingly called ‘chapters’. It has, though, become a hit with tourists in some of America and Europe’s more pedestrian-friendly cities. Here in Washington, at the $70 it costs for a two-hour ‘safari’ with Segs in the City, they remain a novelty, but a novelty that works. And, against all odds, I can see why. The Segway is a lot of fun for a couple of hours, even if you do look like a prat. My tour group being mostly Brits, we cover up our embarrassment by humming the theme from The Dambusters as we switch to a V-formation and bear down on a pair of slouchy skateboarders. After a few minutes we’re already experts, unlike the city’s most famous resident, George Bush, who fell off when he tried one, putting himself among the three per cent who just can’t get it. But they’re absurdly simple to get the hang of. You flick off the kick-stand, pop the first of three colour-coded spoon-like keys into the ignition, press a button, wait for the ‘happy face’ to appear in a small screen, and step onto the platform. Five gyroscopic devices immediately kick in to help you maintain your balance, sensing your weight distribution, which it checks a100 times a second, while each wheel is driven by a separate motor. To go forward you lean forward, from the ankles. To reverse, you lean backwards. To slow and stop you lean in the opposite direction from the one in which you’re heading. A twist grip also allows you to turn left or right, slowing one motor and speeding up the other. At top speed it helps to lean into the corners, but apart

illustration: shutterstock.co.uk

Is the Segway human transporter a gift to responsible sightseeing? Or does it just make you feel like a prat? Roger Fulton finds out (but hides the visual evidence)

•

Sightseeing |

from that you pretty much stand there like you’re delivering a sermon from a pulpit. Expat Brit Bill Main and his partner Tonia Edwards brought them to DC a few years ago and now run franchises in Annapolis, Baltimore and Gettysburg. As we set off to see the sights of Washington, we suspect we look ludicrous but Bill tells us to just wait and see how people react. And he’s right. The smiles we get are not of pity but of fascination. Everyone wants to know what we’re on. Kids think they’re ‘well cool!’ At one intersection while we’re waiting for the lights to change, a gawping youngster in baggy shorts and baseball cap looks me up and down and asks: ‘Can you do stunts?’ As I turn 360 degrees on the spot, his mouth gapes even wider. ‘Wow, that’s so cool!’ Suited DC politicos and execs smile and crack jokes. Old ladies mistake us for their shopping trolleys. One thing the Segway is not, however, is a babe magnet. A couple of times I invited pretty girls to hop aboard; I got a funny look each time, though that may have been the sunny yellow helmet and

the dorky ‘fanny pack’ Bill gave us. Pretty soon, he tells us to stop and restart using a different ‘spoon’. We’d begun with yellow, which allows you to go up to 6 mph. This time we’re going for black, which adds a couple more mph. Later, Bill lets us go for the red – and a cheek-wobbling adrenalin-rush top speed of 12.5mph, warning us that if we hit anything or come off now, bits of man and machine could get broken. And if we lock wheels with another Segway we will very quickly become intimate with its rider, as the machines will spin round to face each other. Washington is well-suited to a Segway tour. One of the most European of America’s big cities, it has expansive boulevards and wide pavements. Many of its sights and monuments are spread out around the city, and who wants to sit on a crowded tour bus when you can zip along in the open air, like an open-top Dalek, the supreme sightseer of the universe? We pose for snaps at the bottom of the steps leading up to the Capitol building (like an old-time Dalek, the Segway

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doesn’t do stairs), then speed off again, up to The White House, for more pictures, before heading back to base on the corner of 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. There, Bill admits the Segway is a niche market. ‘They never really caught on outside geek world.’ But it’s a gift to low-carbon tourism. Segs in the City’s two-hour Washington tours come in at six miles, comfortably achieved with one battery charge which gives the Segway a range of 12 miles. ‘And anyone can ride one,’ Bill points out. ‘The average age of the riders we get is 30-50, but the youngest we’ve had is 14 and the oldest has been 94.’ There is a weight limit, however. Anyone above about 250-270lb, will break the thing, which rules out the morbidly obese. You can buy Segways in the UK (they cost around £2,800) but there have not been many takers so far. Tony Blair was given one as a gift, but he can’t ride it on the pavement. His government banned them from our streets. Don’t expect to see them on the school run just yet… www.segsinthecity.com

•

•| Green kit

Nike Considered Humara

3 Trail shoe

Vaude Lite Shirt

2 Base layer

Osprey Circuit

ten

1 Rucksack

It’s entirely feasible to kit yourself out from head to toe in top-of-the-range outdoor gear that is eco-friendly as well as wallet-friendly. Check out these items and do your bit for the environment

£50/1.08 kilograms With 70 per cent recycled content, this 32-litre rucksack is built for everyday use. An integral laptop sleeve folds fflat when not required. Build quality is superb; it’s impossible to tell the difference between this and others made from regular materials

£22/117 grams Made to Bluesign’s stringent standards, the Lite Shirt is one of a range of base layers made from Ecolog recycled polyester, so that it can be reincarnated into a new wicking layer at the end of its useful life. A women’s version is also available

£75/230 grams The Humara is made without adhesives of any kind, which reduces toxic effects on factory workers and the environment. A lightweight trail-running shoe, it features a Phylon midsole and a carbon-rubber-web outsole. Available in the UK from January

4 Socks

5 Helmet

6 Waterproof jacket

7 Sleeping bag

Patagonia Women’s Eco Rain Shell

Big Agnes Battle Mountain

£140/581 grams The outer fabric and mesh lining of this two-ply jacket are made entirely from wrinkle-resistant, recycled polyester. A two-way front zip is protected by a storm flap; three pockets can hold a supply of organic snack bars. The hood is removable

From US$289 (£143)/from 2.18 kilograms The base of this award-winning sleeping bag is fılled with bamboo charcoal insulation. The bamboo is burned at 800°C, producing a charcoal that can be spun into a synthetic fıbre. The top of the bag is fılled with goose down

8 Sleeping mat

9 Cooking

10 Lighting

Don’t forget…

Cyba-Lite Eco Wind-Up Torch

Salewa Helium £50/260 grams Its construction may not be eco-friendly, but as the Helium has received CE approval for climbing, biking and paddling, you can now own one helmet instead of three. This reduces the number of products that need to be made, and saves you a small fortune

Greenheat fuel cells

US$14 (£7)/85 grams More than three quarters of this sock is made from corn; if you want something more eco-friendly, then go barefoot. It has all the features that you would expect, including a reinforced toe, a Y-heel and a Lycra arch. Available in the UK from January

Pacific Outdoor Women’s Eco Thermo 6 Sleeping Pad

Teko Ingeo Ultra-Light Crew

of the best

US$145 (£72)/610 grams A winner of green gear awards in North America, this sleeping mattress uses a similar carbonised bamboo filling as the Battle Mountain sleeping bag. The dye-free outer is puncture-resistant, and the infflation valve is made from recycled aluminium

£4/518 grams (per twin pack) Ideal for use inside a Trangia stove, this fuel cell emits a non-toxic flame produced from sugar cane. Recommended by the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. A variant of the cell, with a rudimentary windshield/pot support, is also available

£13/270 grams A viable alternative to conventional torches, this offering from Cyba-Lite combines the latest LED technology with the age-old hand-crank, so you can leave batteries behind. A wind-up lantern (£30) for in-tent use is also available

Stockists and information

… to keep your unwanted outdoor gear out of landfills. One potential recipient is Porters’ Progress, which needs specialist outdoor clothing and kit for Nepalese porters. Send your clean gear to Gaby Dean, World Expeditions, 81 Craven Gardens, Wimbledon, London SW19 8LU, or visit www.worldexpeditions.com Courtesy of Geographical Magazine

Action Outdoors: 01473 211647; www.actionoutdoors.co.uk

Nike: 0800 056 1640; www.nike.com

Teko: +1 303 449 7681; www.tekosocks.com

Big Agnes: +1 970 871 1480; www.bigagnes.com

Osprey: 01202 572775; www.osprey.com

The Mountain Factor: 015394 32752; www.themountainfactor.com

Cotswold Outdoor: 0870 442 7755; www.cotswoldoutdoor.com

Pacific Outdoor: +1 406 586 5258; www.pacoutdoor.com

Tiso: 0131 554 9101; www.tiso.com

Countryside Ski & Climb: 0800 298 9975; www.countryside.co.uk

Patagonia: 0800 0260 0055; www.patagonia.com/europe

Vaude: 01665 510660; www.vaude.com

Cyba-Lite: 0113 213 7389; www.ringautomotive.co.uk

Patagonia Dublin: +353 1 670 5748

Ellis Brigham: 0870 444 5555; www.ellis-brigham.com

REI: +1 253 891 2500; www.rei.com

Greenheat: 0116 234 4644; www.greenheat.co.za

Salewa: +39 0471 242 650; www.salewa.com

Mountain Equipment Co-Op: +1 604 709 6241; www.mec.ca

Snow & Rock: 0845 100 1000; www.snowandrock.com

Needlesports: 017687 72227; www.needlesports.co.uk

Taunton Leisure: 01392 424515; www.tauntonleisure.com

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All prices quoted are recommended/suggested retail prices. Alternatively, you can use the search facility on the Outdoor Industries Association website at www.go-outdoors.org.uk to find you nearest approved retailer

Nestled in 65 acres of organic subtropical gardens and parkland on the banks of the tranquil Helford River. Leisure facilities include a spectacular indoor pool with log fire, sauna, outdoor hot tub, Natural Heath Spa, tennis courts, 9-hole Golf Course, private foreshore and award winning restaurant with local seafood specilities. •W inners of the 2006 Cornwall Sustainability Awards – medium sized business • Listed as one of the UK’s Top 30 Greenest hotels by the Green Tourism Business Scheme Nr Helford Passage, Mawnan Smith, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 5LG

Tel: 01326 252100 email: Relax@budockvean.co.uk

www.budockvean.co.uk

when they surface…

…around the UK and across the world on an adventure with WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

We offer responsible whale and dolphin watching holidays all over the globe, from Alaska to the Azores, Scotland to Spain. And when you travel with us, you’ll be helping to save these amazing animals because a share of the proceeds goes to WDCS.

Don’t miss out! To order your copy of our brochure, call 01249 449533/547 or email outoftheblue@wdcs.org now! WDCS is the global voice for the protection of whales, dolphins and their environment. out of the blue is a trading name of WDCS (Trading) Limited (Registered in England No. 2593116) which is a wholly owned subsidiary of WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (Charity No. 1014705) and covenants all post tax profits to the charity. www.wdcs.org/outoftheblue Pics: dolphins © Charlie Phillips/WDCS, others © Ingrid N Visser/www.orcaresearch.org

ANTARCTICA out of the blue is a trading name of WDCS (Trading) Limited (Registered in England No. 2593116) which is a wholly owned subsidiary of WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (Charity No. 1014705) and covenants all post tax profits to the charity. www.wdcs.org/outoftheblue Pics: All pics © Rob Lott/WDCS.

Be there

Join out of the blue and WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, on a journey to one of the most awe inspiring places on earth…

be there when they surface... WDCS is the global voice for the protection of whales, dolphins and their environment.

Sailing aboard our chartered expedition vessel, we will see Antarctic nature in all its glory as we search for orca, humpback and minke whales accompanied by Erich Hoyt, a world renowned researcher. Prices from £3990, flights not included.

4th March – 17th March 08 Tel: 01249 449 533 www.wdcs.org/outoftheblue Erich Hoyt is a cetacean researcher and the author of over 400 publications including 15 books. He is the co-director of the Far East Russia Orca Project and Senior Research Fellow with WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

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Burma Boycott |

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There are many countries and governments throughout the world that have been identified as having poor human rights records. Is it ‘ethical’ to visit any of these places or should we steer clear? Krissy Pentland of responsibletravel.com puts forward the particular case for staying out of Burma

esponsible travel is about seeking out authentic experiences, exploring new places and meeting local people. But it’s also about benefitting local people and knowing that your holiday is doing some good. It can sometimes be very difficult to decide whether it is ‘ethical’ to visit a particular destination. At responsibletravel.com we market holidays to many countries with poor human rights records including Zimbabwe, China, Libya, Colombia and Indonesia. We genuinely believe that in most cases, if you choose a tour operator with a strong responsible tourism policy, it is possible for your holiday to benefit local communities. If you take steps to ensure your money reaches local hands rather than governments then your trip will ultimately be doing more good than harm. Using local craftspeople, hoteliers, guides, farmers and traders, for example, will bring benefits to the people that need it most. However, there is one country that we have a policy of not marketing as a tourism destination and that is Burma. So why do we feel there is a special case for Burma? Burma has been under the military rule of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), an abominable military junta that has, despite facing international condemnation and sanctions, ruled since 1988. In 1990, the National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory in Burma’s first multi-party elections for 30 years. The party has however, never been allowed to govern and the democratically elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi has had several restrictions placed upon her, including many years of house arrest. More recently, in October, the world has watched from a distance as thousands of monks in Burma have protested against the military regime. Aung San Suu Kyi has repeatedly asked tourists not to visit Burma; ‘I still think

111 | r:travel

•| Burma boycott that people should not come to Burma because the bulk of the money from tourism goes straight into the pockets of the generals. And not only that, it’s a form of moral support for them because it makes the military authorities think that the international community is not opposed to the human rights violations which they are committing all the time. They seem to look on the influx of tourists as proof that their actions are accepted by the world.’ (Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, January 1999) It is extremely unusual for tourism to be singled out in this way. Even in Zimbabwe – another desperate case – opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has not said that tourists should boycott the country. The UK government, the EU, and more recently the US government, are advising against businesses investing in Burma and a number of trade restrictions are in place by the international community. We also believe that in Burma’s case, there is evidence to show that slave labour was used to create tourist facilities and that local people were removed from these places without adequate consultation or compensation to

make room for hotels and hostels. It is difficult for local people in Burma to even talk freely to tourists and there can be severe repercussions if they do. Meeting local people on holiday is often the most enjoyable part of any trip. In Burma, you run the risk of putting those that you talk to in real danger. In light of the recent uprising, we do believe that there are more effective ways to demonstrate your support for the people of Burma than visiting the country on holiday. Writing to your MP, taking part in marches or events and joining campaigning groups are just some of the ways you can help keep the issues in the headlines. Ultimately, we hope that sooner rather than later, the situation in Burma will change for the better and we can all enjoy this beautiful country and its culture. There are some people however, that believe that boycotts and embargoes don’t work. When we recently opened up this debate on www. responsibletravelnews.com, an antiboycott forum member from Thailand spoke out. He believes tourism in Burma ‘can educate the travellers that go and

•

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Visit the forum at www. responsible travelnews. com/forum to share your views on the Burma debate and take part in our poll on whether or not tourists should travel to the country.

the local people they meet – by being responsible tourists, they exchange ideas and that causes change and fosters hope.’ Those who oppose the boycott also argue that the military does not need funds from the West, and would rather avoid Western onlookers who might witness the brutalities of their regime. Different views and opinions will exist on whether, as tourists, we should be visiting countries with poor human rights records. The arguments are complex and there is certainly no right or wrong answer to these tough decisions. You should consider whether you’re likely to enjoy the trip and have a clear conscience afterwards. Ask yourself whether your holiday will benefit local people. You might also want to consider the wider message you are sending out if you do decide to visit a particular destination. For some people, this is not a factor in choosing a holiday. For others, however, the political implications of being seen to offer approval to a certain destination, are a real issue. Ultimately, it is down to each of us as individuals to decide how we feel – a freedom we are lucky enough to enjoy.

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•| A tribute to Anita Roddick

A force for good

Justin Francis, founder and managing director of responsibletravel.com pays tribute to his friend and inspiration: Dame Anita Roddick (above)

nita Roddick was a truly remarkable person, and, other than my family and girlfriend, the single biggest influence on my life. She had an enormous passion for life, which she lived with boundless energy. She was very funny and had the knack of looking at life and business from a different angle to the rest of us. I first met Anita in 1997 when I joined The Body Shop to help market the ‘values’ of the company. She believed passionately in business being a force for good. For her it was profits and principles and the company’s financial goals and social and environmental ones were the same. Anita will be remembered as an entrepreneur, an innovator and an activist. And while the world was focussed on aid, Anita believed in trade as a way to help people out of poverty. She invented and tirelessly promoted her community trade programme, which involved ingredients being sourced from communities in need under fair trade conditions. Decades later we are finally seeing mainstream businesses stocking fair trade goods. She fought hard for her beliefs, starting with animal rights and a ten-year campaign to stop the animal testing of cosmetics. However it seemed to me that her greatest passion became human rights and women’s issues. The murder of Ogoni activist Ken Saro-Wiwa by the Nigerian

junta came as a great blow to her, and she fought side by side with the Ogoni people in their campaign against Shell’s social and environmental record on their land. The idea that businesses should campaign was simple to Anita – if you believed in something you fought for it. She always said you shouldn’t leave your values at the door when you come to work. Looking back now, it’s hard to remember just how radical her views on business were when she started out in 1976. She was a visionary, and every person who met her was infected with her personality, beliefs and sheer enthusiasm. She deserves to be remembered as somebody who truly transformed the way in which business sees itself. But she was also an exceptionally warm and supportive friend. When I told her I was leaving The Body Shop to set up my own company her first question was, ‘How can I help?’ Anita and Gordon invested in responsibletravel.com but really she gave me far more than just the cash – it was her vision and spirit that we’ve been following these past six years and will continue to follow. I last saw Anita about six weeks before she died when she invited my girlfriend Heidi and I, together with three other like-minded couples, over to her house for the weekend. Anita cooked and served the tea, and as always was the centre of every conversation. When I asked her about any travelling she might be doing she explained that she was meeting L’Oreal, whom she sold The Body Shop to last year, to persuade them to use more community trade ingredients in their products – something that due to their scale would have transformed the lives of many communities. Anita remained an activist and L’Oreal bought into that and her ideas – a Trojan horse is how she described herself. When my father died suddenly while I was working at The Body Shop, Anita wrote me a card, which I still have. She said life was like an onion, layer upon layer of memories, impressions and new ideas left with the people we’ve met. I’d like to think of Anita as the biggest onion in the world. She leaves an enormous hole and will be greatly missed by so many people.

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