Commitment to social and cultural integrity
Practicing tourism in rural areas means being aware of the local customs but more importantly it requires sensitivity and respect for different ways of life, since we are the visitors.
Ecotourism moreover requires a strong involvement of local communities and needs to be implemented in a way that constitutes both a practical option of sustainable development for the communities - including revitalization of their culture - and a viable conservation strategy to protect natural resources.
Witnessing the visitors’ appreciation of an intact ecological system and their respect for a different way of life and finding out that ecotourism does create a substantial economic income for their community may also lead to a reassessment / revaluation of their natural resources and their own culture. The primary obstacle of many ecotourism and rural tourism projects, though, is the lack of appropriate ways to commercialize them. Therefore we have decided to act as a bridge between them and the markets sending tourists; supporting those community projects by including them into our tour packages and commercializing them on an international level.
Commitment to the environment
Ecotourism, if done in a careful and conscious manner, is a non-extractive and sustainable way of taking advantage of natural resources without degrading or destroying them. While we’re aware that tourism always creates an impact we do all we can to reduce it to a minimum. Our Mercedes buses are powered by four cylinder diesel engines of low fuel consumption rate that conform to the strict EURO-4 emission standards. Biodegradable sunscreen is offered to our clients especially during ocean - based activities. On boat cruises we prefer four stroke outboard engines that consume less fuel and do not, unlike the old two stroke engines, leak oil into the environment.
On our camping tours we avoid buying packaged goods that will produce a lot of garbage; we also repack our provisions into reusable containers and do not use disposable tableware. All trash of course is taken out of natural spaces to be recycled or disposed of appropriately.
Small campfires are only made when it is environmentally sound with either charcoal or dead wood from the dry washes and using a technique that does not leave a trace.
The human waste disposal is managed according to the guidelines “Leave No Trace” of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).
Even though we emphasize on our trips immersion in natural settings we would not define our kind of tourism as that kind of adventure tourism that tries to conquer nature by technical means such as driving a 4x4 completely off road. Also our partners and service providers are strictly chosen according to their environmental engagement. The conservation of the environment and its natural resources has to be the goal of the whole tourism industry because it is those same resources that attract visitors in the first place.
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