By Gofrowin
Posted at 2:54 AM
Beyond labels and certifications, what are the criteria for selecting the travel agency that leave? How do I know if it is sincerely committed or not? A Little to ask the right questions just before booking!
The right price
A fair price is a price not too high, not too low, much less a synonym for any comfort!
A fair price is a price that allows a better distribution of wealth among the various players in the room: guides, porters and other local mule, service on-site travel agency organizing, no one should be favored over the other.
A fair price is a price not too expensive, with a travel agency that would grant excessive margins, not too cheap, with another that would take the price down by exploiting three francs in six local . Do not look for the lowest price at any price! Think it is sometimes better to pay slightly more but receive a quality service at a human scale that energizes and enhances the local economy at its fair value.
And not to put in mind that responsible travel alongside an agency is committed necessarily more expensive, it is a priori that the hard skin and unfortunately that you have to hunt! Like the one that says that responsible travel is synonymous with less comfort. Again, this is false, and gear!
The right question to ask the agency to ensure a fair price, "Can you explain to me what my money will be used and what percentage will be provided for such service?"
The human foremost
Compare travel agencies according to their emphasis on the individual as opposed to benefits is a good way to decide between them all. For meetings, this is what living rhythm.
A good guide, friendly, passionate, and teacher should allow you to fall in love to any destination if the job is well done. Some agencies and devote an entire paragraph to their guides on each sheet of their circuit, others tabs on their website entirely dedicated to highlighting the men and women who make their strength ... Also make sure the guides receive fair pay and regular training to coaching, respect for the environment and all those things that make your expert responsible travel.
Another fundamental point, the meetings you make with the people during your trip. Are there many? Perhaps the circuit will he favor nights in rural rather than hotels? You do you informed on how to behave on site alongside local respect for the better? You do we talked about their customs? Attitudes that could be damaging to their habits? All these issues must be taken into account to ensure that the exchange and respect are at the heart of travel and discovery.
Last clue to the humanity of your travel: the link you have been able to forge with counselors travel first people the journey you are about to do. He had real knowledge about the destination? Particularly sensitive to this? Are they able to advise you on all the points a bit committed as you are going to raise? The relationship of trust and sharing with the men who are your travel agent certainly begins there.
The right question to ask the agency to ensure that it is about people first: "Can you tell me the guide with whom we will travel there?"
Local development in the spotlight
Tourism, to be positive, must participate in the local development of the country where it is going.
Thus, some travel support environmental, economic activities, social. More rarely, part of the price of your trip is even routinely donated to charity organizations that the implementation of concrete actions on-site construction of a school, cleaning, awareness on waste sorting, etc. This is particularly the case of the ATES grouped by associations journey in 2010 injected 4% of expenditure for development funds.
The donated to local services share is a good indicator of support for the development of the country where one goes and again, these are just prices that make the difference.
The right question to ask the agency to ensure that it contributes to local development: "It's great to enjoy all these beautiful places to take tourists on vacation but in exchange, you help with local development?"
Activity range
Learn about the type proposed by the agency during your trip activities helps to get an idea of the nature of the stay. If it is truly responsible living, you will find tours to nature activities, meeting the locals and cultural exploration of the country.
On land, choose hiking, biking, horseback riding. In water, we prefer snorkelling, scuba diving, kayaking or canoeing, surfing. Avoid maximum jet skiing, noisy, polluting and extremely flashy, quad, for the same reasons, or travel on a huge American 4X4. In Africa, completely banish agencies who hunt beautiful animals and you have your picture taken with as a trophy! Respect for people but also the fauna and flora, it is fundamental to travel!
Try your hand at a cooking class to share with local women, maybe even within their home, try your hand at meditation to touch another way of thinking, watch a show of music and dance to become familiar with traditional culture.
For each activity, you will ask what impact this will have on the environment around you or the people that greet you. A bad diver may damage the coral finning no matter how or putting his hands all over even though diving is a sport for those who love the sea and by acquiring a sound basis for the practice of this sport and you give underwater no trace of your passage if it may be a memory in the minds of the curious fish! Same for hiking if you throw your trash up along the way, do not believe that you are a responsible traveler just because you're hiking!
The right question to ask the agency to ensure that it has considered the impact of its activities, "Can you explain how you decide to set up such an activity in such a place?"
A minimal ecological footprint
Again, you have to stay vigilant about what you can offer travel agent, whether in terms of transportation (plane? Train? Boat? Air links galore during the stay?) In terms of transfers (type vehicle, travel time, etc.) and proposed activities (if you have a quad / jet ski combined during the stay, as you say that this is not the top!).
Of course, everything is relative. Some regions of the world are isolated and necessarily require a lot of travel and different means of locomotion. Why not consider carbon offsetting? Some find that this is a solution in place to feel good but what's on is that this compensation is to be positive and causes the development of very interesting projects. Action Carbone for example, the NGO founded by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, team families in anaerobic digesters and vermicompost, diffuse solar cookers in Bolivia or Peru, incites compost Togo etc. Sure, the greenhouse effect has taken a hit with this great trip but in return we will be committed to a compensatory gesture towards the planet. It's not bad.
The right question to ask the agency to ensure that it goes to great lengths for a minimal ecological footprint, "You have an idea of the annual carbon footprint of the agency?"
Thoughtful destinations
If there are suitable for ecotourism such as Costa Rica, Thailand, Morocco and Madagascar flagship locations, it is possible to travel undertaken anywhere in the world, close to home as to the other end of the earth, in a rich country or a less developed.
The choice of destinations where you take an agency is often indicative of its commitment to sustainable tourism: what about an agency that at the time of the crisis in the Arab countries decided to withdraw completely from the Maghreb abandoning overnight relationship of trust established with its various local guides and hosts? Certainly if conflict there makes travel impossible, do not tempt fate but some agencies are considering ways to assist these countries in crisis while others close their doors immediately after enjoying their work for years! Some agencies are mobilizing, organizing quests to try to help their local providers to live once stopped dead tourism, finance their training in a different branch for them to turn around and find another way to earn their bread daily ...
Another example, some destinations to suffer untoward priori deeply rooted in the collective unconscious when the reality on the ground is much less harsh than the rumors! A very telling case is that of Colombia, a country who are hopelessly glue drug problems, gang, and insecurity when these problems have been smoothed for a few years and that this beautiful country has today no more dangerous than other neighbors in Latin America!
The right question to ask the agency to ensure that the destinations it offers are well thought: "Always do you serve Tunisia and Egypt and Colombia, is a destination that you work?"
Trustmarks
Among the variety of labels and certifications that exist in the market and are awarded to structures travel, must be able to navigate and understand the commitment of each, whether or not a label. Yes, it is not because an agency is not certified it is not engaged! Conversely, an agency may use its content without a label behind any marketing argument. And this is where you need to know disentangle genuine and greenwashing, sincere commitment and commercial argument.
The ATES certification for example, has small associations and agencies (Croq'Nature, La Route des Sens, Ecotours, The Case of Alidou Tamadi, TDS Travel etc.) who practice for many solidarity tourism. It is a label that promotes the "home-made" so to speak. The label ATR (Action for Responsible Tourism) it brings together the largest specialized agencies in the French adventure travel: Voyageurs du Monde, Allibert Trekking, Adventure Land, The Balaguère, Nomad Adventure are the giants. Another dimension so the overlap does exist, however.
If ATES and ATR together account for performer in the French territory agencies, nothing prevents you to go to a small local structure if you are going abroad, even without certification, some will prove particularly committed. To find, play your nose, gradually sharpen your senses, feel the generosity that comes from the people to whom you will address, feel their knowledge of the region where they live, see their relationships with people the corner ... in talking with them properly, these things will seem obvious if you've knocked on the right door! Then reread the little guide that you just place it will give you some keys to get to flush out the best!
The right question to ask the agency to ensure that its label is deserved: "On a daily basis, what impact your label he has on your work?"
source : http://www.babel-voyages.com/criteres-tourisme-responsable/agences
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