Responsible travel is about being socially, economically and environmentally aware when you travel. You understand how your actions can impact a destination and you strive to ensure that impact is positive.
In short, responsible travel is about taking responsibility for making tourism sustainable and how we achieve this challenge. Perhaps we could say that sustainability is our goal and traveling responsibly is our action
WHAT IDC TRAVEL DOES
The IDC Travel team is committed to preserving the environment, supporting local communities, protecting the vulnerable, and giving back to the places we travel.
We recognize that the tourism industry has an impact on local communities and the environment, therefore as a tour operator we must manage the impacts we create in the way we operate our business.
We ensure that our products/services and business operations are:
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- Respect the different cultures in all the destinations where we travel.
- Respect local religions, religious places and rituals.
- Support local populations and economies
- Mainly employing local staff, local driver
- Protect and care for people – especially the most vulnerable – by respecting the fundamental principles of human rights as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
HOW TRAVELERS CAN HELP
Here are some of the things you can do while traveling that we think can benefit you, your fellow travelers, and the environment and culture of the host communities you visit. (And thank you in advance for every time you do!)
- Wearing / Snapping: Be sensitive to the local culture by wearing accepted clothing. Be aware of people’s sensitivity to being photographed; always ask first;
- Respect different cultures: Remember that you are a visitor, and therefore be aware that your cultural values may be different from those of the locals. This can include different concepts of time, personal space, communication, etc. which are neither wrong nor inferior, but simply different;
- Caring for local life: Using local transport, guides, hostels, restaurants and markets to benefit the local economy;
- Conserve resources: Minimize your shower time so that water resources are used sparingly; Keep your use of towels and sheets to a minimum; Turn off the lights when you’re not in the room, turn off the TV when nobody’s watching… Air conditioning is a huge energy consumer, so – most importantly – don’t use the air conditioning unless you need it;
- Comply with responsible travel codes: follow environmental instructions to limit and improve the impact of tourism on the environment and local culture. General guidelines include staying on trails, maintaining set distances from wildlife, and not removing any objects, plants, or animal products from the wild…
