Canadian Rockies and Northern Lights tour

Environment

The very ethos of our style of travel is responsible. Small groups on fully escorted tours, experiencing the best of a region, culture and landscape, with a friendly local hand guiding the way. Our itineraries are designed to give our travelers real life experiences without compromising the part of the world they’re exploring. To travel responsibly is at the heart of our commitment as a global tour operator.

At the beginning of each trip, we advise our travelers to try to avoid plastic and single use plastic in particular. We recommend using reusable water bottles and our tour leaders encourage their passengers to reuse or purchase reusable shopping bags. Your group leader will be on hand to assist with the appropriate disposal of rubbish en route, recycling wherever possible. Groups travel with a large recycling bin, so that they can store recyclable items no matter where they are. We also conduct our business using strict leave no trace policies, which help to preserve valuable habitat for Canada’s wildlife and follow Canada Parks guidelines surrounding wildlife.

We actively discourage the participation of travelers in any activities that exploit wild or domestic/working animals and only partner with ethical suppliers when engaging in activities that involve animals.

On this tour we participate in dogsledding and choose an operator that not only puts the welfare of sled dogs first but actively encourages travelers to do the same. Our supplier ethically and responsibly cares for their animals and caters to their needs and wellbeing including correct housing, feeding, strict rest time, play time and safety of the dogs. They’re also proud supporters of the Canadian Coalition for Sled Dogs – a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving sled dog welfare across Canada.

During this tour we’ll also visit several sites of natural beauty, including Jasper and Banff National Parks. Each time our travelers will be advised to stick to the signposted trails to minimise their impact on these fragile environments.

As a company we are strongly committed to carbon offsetting. The main sources of carbon emissions from our trips (transport, accommodation and waste) are assessed and offset into renewable energy projects. We’ve offset over 250,000 tonnes of carbon emissions from our trips and offices worldwide, including over 40,000 tonnes of carbon in 2016. Part of the cost of your trip is also dedicated to carbon offsetting.

Community

Due to our small group sizes, a maximum of 12 people on this tour, it’s possible for us to keep our impact on the local environment and community to a minimum. The size of the group also means we’re able to stay in smaller locally-run hotels, which enables us to support the local economy and have a more authentic Canadian experience.

We eat in local restaurants and encourage travelers to purchase traditional souvenirs from local artisans too. Through doing so they’re able to gain a real insight into the lives of local people and support their businesses directly. We avoid large chain restaurants, fast food establishments and stores.

We also employ Canadian guides, who live and breathe our responsible travel philosophy. All travelers will be briefed about what it means to be a responsible traveler in their initial welcome meeting, which takes place on the first day of the tour.

Our biggest secret and success is that all our guides are local and have unrivalled knowledge of the region, its geography and terrain.