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| Responsible travel |
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Responsible Travel Policy
Economical Awareness
Employment : All tour leaders and employees are native to the area . 100% of guides used in the destinations we visit are local guides with proper national accreditation where demanded by law, for all of our guiding activities. As well as contributing to the local economy, this practice ensures that our passengers learn about the region that they are visiting first hand from someone who knows the area(s) intimately and provides local employment.
Accommodation: We accommodate our clients at hotels or motels that employ local workers, or in the case of larger hotels, non-chain locally owned establishments.
We include desert camp-stays in some of our itineraries. These provide income directly to the owners of the camps in which we stay as well as indirectly for other members of the oasis. Passengers are encouraged to make purchases, such as from the oasis shops and from individual crafts-people .
Food: An integral part of real understanding and enjoyment of a region or country is eating the local food. The majority of our tours are inclusive of 2 meals per day - the idea being that our guides and tour-leaders aim to provide a guided tour to the regional cuisines as well as the sites and landscapes. This ensures that as wide a range people in the local food industry as possible benefit from our custom during his stay in this region .
Transportation : Transport used is local bus, train or national air carriers. When it is more practical to charter vehicles we employ minibus and boat drivers from either the origin or destination of a transfer, working directly with the driver or through a local travel agent.
Environmental Awareness
Our initial problems and concerns in this respect were far more to do with the local employees than the tourists. The majority of the latter are fortunately aware of most of the issues, whilst a poorly educated employees is not. Whilst environmental awareness is certainly growing in Egypt, it is unfortunately still some way behind most 'Western' countries. Furthermore whilst it is relatively easy to prevent a driver or boatman from throwing his drink can out of the window or into the Nile or the sea by threatening not to use his services again, it is more difficult to explain why he shouldn't want to throw it out of the window.
Drinking water: refillable plastic water bottles are used whilst on tours and either refilled from jerry cans kept in the transport vehicle, boiled water or stream water provided local guides can testify to its potability.
Water: In areas where water is a scarce commodity such as on some of the oasis, both the hotel management and tour leaders ensure that passengers are aware of the need to be frugal with their use of it. In such places as freshwater supplies are problematic written notices to that effect are generally placed in each room of the hotel.
Damage to the Environment: During camping and snorkelling trips passengers are informed of the fragility of the ecosystem and required not to touch any thing at all - coral, shellfish or indeed any kind of flora and fauna unless under close supervision from a guide. Boatmen are strictly prohibited from anchoring on coral - a formerly common practice that is now thankfully rare.
When camping passengers are told to bring plastic zip-lock bags in which to keep used toilet paper. They are advised to keep cigarette butts in their pockets or other container until an appropriate disposal facility is available.
All regular transportation used is regularly tested including checking exhaust pollution levels.
Social Awareness
Political Situation: Passengers are advised to visit the Foreign Office's to learn about political and other related concerns in the country they are to visit. A good understanding of the political system and recent history of any country visited is an essential requirement for all tour-leaders.
Cultural Sensitivity: Passengers are advised prior to the start of any trip to learn about aspects of culture and our required respect towards it while in Egypt. For example: dress, general behavior, local ways of eating and so on. You should learn about the fundamentals of the local language so that you can at least say thank-you, hello and please. Many actually manage to learn substantially more, which is obviously much appreciated by local people. Indeed it gives us great pleasure that many resort staff, local operators, guides etc have remarked on our groups' levels of politeness and respect
When visiting more remote areas, and for example desert oasis and villages, advice is given to clients on the suitability of gifts that they wish to take to these areas. Cash gifts directly to individuals are particularly avoided and any such donations directed towards the school, Orphanage or village headman for appropriate use.
Cultural Norms : passengers are informed by their tour leader of social conventions to which they should be sensitive, for example touching people on the head and pointing feet at people, giving alcoholic drinks to the normal people are public signs of affection etc.
Supporting the community: In addition to our regular trips, in consort with Mahmoud Society , we visit many social projects , for example Orphanage , Food Bank and Handmade Carpet School, in order to see how all the team work in this society are doing their best to look after this community of over 4000 children , disabled young adults and poor people in Giza.
Various schemes are also supported by regular visits of their sites, such as the handicraft school in Giza , Upper Egypt , visits and donations to the Society, community weaving projects in Giza and/or Luxor are often whilst tours. Furthermore clients are encouraged to shop in local markets rather than the 'souvenir' shops often belonging to large hotels etc and many guide market tours are included in our tours.
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