CONGRATULATIONS TO G ADVENTURES FOR ACHIEVING ECOTOURISM CERTIFICATION
When the world’s largest adventure travel company gets all of its Australian tours Ecotourism certified, there’s a sense of excitement in the air: ecotourism is big, and it’s changing the way tourism operates. Together, we are making a difference for our planet, and for the people who live on it - through adventure, exploration and travel that doesn’t cost the earth.
Social enterprise G Adventures, launched in 1990 by young backpacker Bruce Poon Tip, came about from a desire to give travellers an alternative to resorts, cruises and motorcoach tours – instead offering authentic adventures delivered in a sustainable and responsible way.
Since pioneering this approach to group travel 28 years ago, G Adventures has won a vast array of travel industry awards, including the World Travel Market World Travel Leaders Award, Conde Nast Traveller’s World Savers Award and the Globe Foundation’s Corporate Award for Environmental Excellence. It has also been recognised by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for its work with human trafficking survivors and its sustainability efforts.
[Photo: G Adventures]
For G Adventures, it’s just the normal way of doing business. As their website says:
“Our efforts in sustainability […] reflect our commitment to the idea that our children and grandchildren will have a wonderful natural environment to explore throughout their lives. Our role as a company is to ensure that we’re giving back more to the communities and the natural surroundings […] than what is being taken away in our travels.
“Preserving cultural heritage and conserving and replenishing the natural environment, while improving the lives of local people, is the essence of our way of travelling and is integrated into every decision and action we take at G Adventures.”
This commitment is lived out in G Adventures’ partnership with Planeterra; its support of local entrepreneurs and small businesses during its trips; its commitments to animal welfare; its focus on child welfare; its guidelines on responsible travel with indigenous people; its traveller conduct policy and its involvement in community-based tourism projects in rural communities.
[Photo: G Adventures]
On their Australian tours, G Adventures practices strong waste management practices including donating leftover food, encouraging reduce-reuse-recycle principles among their guests and using environmentally-friendly paper and inks as much as possible.
Tour leaders guiding in Kakadu and Uluru are required to undertake recognised training courses and achieve accreditation prior to working in these areas, and guests are given the opportunity to learn about traditional Aboriginal culture by interacting with local Jirrbal people at vocational training café, Café Chloe in Tully, QLD.
[Photo: G Adventures]
For more information about G-Adventures, please visit their website or Facebook page. For details of their sustainability initiatives, visit their Responsible Travel website.
Congratulations, G Adventures, on achieving Ecotourism Certification for your Australian tours and welcome to the Ecotourism Australia community!
[Cover photo: G Adventures]