Responsible Travel – The Noble Way
We take great pride in our efforts towards making sure our actions and activities around the world are responsible and can be a force for good in the regions we visit. To help us on this journey, and in recognition that collaboration across the industry is essential, we are members of a number of cross industry groups including:
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ABTA - provides guidance and recommendations to us in order to work towards building a more sustainable industry.
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Clean Seas - (a UNEP project) is the largest, most powerful global coalition devoted to ending marine plastic pollution. We have taken the pledge and are committed to help turn the tide on plastic waste.
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IAATO (International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators) - advocates and promotes the practice of safe and environmentally responsible private sector travel to the Antarctic. We are an active player in the Climate Change Committee and its associated climate pledge.
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AECO (Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators) - dedicated to managing responsible, environmentally friendly and safe tourism in the Arctic and strives to set the highest possible operating standards.
Head of Expedition Operations & Sustainability, Pam Le Noury, explains what responsible tourism means to us….
“With our fleet of small boutique vessels we have become experts in some of the most remote and excluded, charming and enchanting specs on the globe from the Antarctic to the middle of the Pacific Ocean. We know our journeys satisfy and enthral our guests, and we also try and ensure that we are received positively wherever we go.
In the field we like to see the smiles in the charming community brass band in the northern Shetland Islands, proud to show us their town year after year. The mayor of the small town in an off-the-radar Bahamian island addressing us over a loud hailer, after having borrowed the school bus that day to make our visit work. The baked and knitted goods in the Fair Isle community centre where they are excited about showing off their island and handicrafts with us. The rangers in Masoala, Madagascar, all smiles to see the return of our vessel each year in their off season – knowing our guests and staff are mindful, respectful and as delighted to see them as they are to see us. The hugs and handshakes between our field staff and the curator of the botanical gardens in the Isles of Scilly: both having met up this way annually for decades. The manager of West Point Island, in the Falklands, delighted to see us again and run people up and down the hill in his Land Rover Defender to see the albatross, before we have a massive British-style afternoon tea spread!
‘What do you guys need’ is an age-old seafaring tradition and conversation had between our field staff and rangers or managers at remote islands from Borneo to the Arctic, and if it’s a few bags of fresh produce or the use of our showers, or a presentation aboard about their fundraiser, or the new school roof they need – we find out and we try and assist. And the evidence we seek that we have left a place better than we found it is that we are welcome back. We retain our own field staff over many seasons, we respect the rules, and we always endeavour to treat each community and environment with the respect that it deserves.”