Bangladesh small group tour, 15 days

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION
Our trips aim to positively impact the countries, communities and environments we visit. Our policy draws on the criteria set out by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and tries to recognise many of the principles within the United Nations World Tourism Organisation's (UNWTO) Global Code of Ethics for Tourism.

This tour through Bangladesh has been designed to specifically not require any internal flights, using train travel for longer journeys. For the international flights to Dhaka, we suggest that our customers calculate their estimated impact on the environment of their flights and choose to purchase sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to act on their emissions if possible or purchase carbon offsets from certified climate projects

Once we are in the region, we minimise our carbon footprint. Our food is locally sourced, and we use locally owned and managed hotels. Vegan and vegetarian food is available but must be requested in advance.

ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE
On this tour, we are committed to reducing the environmental impacts of our visit. Our guides are all locally based and experts in the region we travel to. Within the tour, there are many opportunities to meet with local communities, such as in Rangamati, where we visit the weekly tribal market and see how the local tribes trade. Travellers are encouraged to interact and purchase locally produced goods here. We meet the local tribal people and help protect the region through the use and promotion of environmentally sustainable tourism.

Our team doesn't use plastic bags in our office or on our tours—when purchasing items and food for trips, we use reusable fabric bags. Any plastic bottles we have to use are recycled or given to remote communities, who reuse them as storage containers.

Our clients are encouraged to deal with waste appropriately and limit their use of single-use plastic. On our tours, to reduce the usage of plastic bottles, we often use large containers to fill smaller reusable bottles for clients. We advise clients to bring their own reusable metal drinking bottles, which can be used long after their tour.

People

LOCAL ECONOMY
We strive to generate greater economic benefits for local people and enhance the well-being of the communities we visit whilst still providing a positive and rewarding experience for our customers. Our business aims to minimise tourism's negative social, economic and environmental impacts. An example is when we take a boat trip along the Sangu River to visit a Marma tribal village and learn about tribal culture. Here, travellers can interact with the villagers, meet the Karbari (head of the village) and see the people's daily lifestyle.

This tour aims to use 100% locally owned accommodation and 100% local guides and drivers.

EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY AND DIVERSITY
We understand that the responsibility and action needed in a particular location will depend upon the local environment and culture. Tourism is one of the most important and largest industries on the planet. It accounts for 11% of the world’s GDP and 12% of its exports. It employs more people worldwide than any other industry, with millions of families relying on tourism for their daily needs.

All of the teams we use for this tour are based locally, and there are also plenty of chances to meet local families and use local businesses, such as when we take a boat trip on the Kaptai lake and visit the tribal families that live on the islands and make handloom fabrics.

All employees have health and life insurance and the highest salary standard and working environment. The company culture is embedded in being socially responsible and environmentally conscious with minimal impact on the environment and local culture and heritage.