Jordan family vacation, The Lost City of Petra

Planet

As a company we aim to encourage interaction with local communities whilst showing respect for local culture, beliefs and traditions. This is particularly relevant on a family tour as travel is a huge opportunity to educate children about the world around them in a fun way.

We've created plenty of opportunities to meet the people on this tour, whether it is our local guides, cameleers or Bedouin during our stay in Wadi Rum and our leaders ensure the interactions are respectful and fun for both sides. As well as respecting local people, we also like to be an economic benefit to them. We do this by using locally owned hotels, spreading our business to a variety of local restaurants (which is a great way to sample delicious Jordanian food!) and employing local leaders, meaning that you'll get that in-depth information only a local can give.

In addition to the above, we are continually looking for ways to improve and are proud to be ‘Responsible in everything we do’. Education is key and so all staff, Tour Leaders and partnering suppliers are trained in responsible and sustainable tourism. At our Head Office, we continually strive towards a sustainable and planet-friendly working environment, including having solar panels installed and a company commitment to reducing our plastic usage. As well as this, we have valuable and longstanding partnerships with UK charities Toilet Twinning and Send a Cow, plus many smaller initiatives and projects around the world. We’re members of UK travel industry bodies Tourism Concern and AITO because we believe it’s important to share our knowledge and experience, as well as learn from other operators.

As a company we support Cool Earth. Protecting rainforest is one of the most effective actions to tackle climate breakdown. CoolEarth work with indigenous communities empowering them to conserve their forest; keeping CO2 locked in.

People

We like to support local development though business but there are always some who are out of reach of the tourist pound and where we can, we like to extend some support to them. Our agent in Jordan supports the Petra School for the Deaf and our groups have raised funds for equipment for the school in the past.