Working with eco-friendly tour companies is one of the easiest ways to stay sustainable without having to overload you with planning. These eco-friendly tour companies will find you the best eco-friendly activities, lodgings and destinations without you having to do too much of the work.
How do you pick and evaluate an
eco-tour company?
==> What Kind of Lodging Do
They Book?
Where will you be staying? What
are the sustainability practices of the hotel you'll be at?
Do they have energy conserving
light bulbs, and/or light switches that turn themselves off when the light has
been on without anyone in the room?
Do they take steps to conserve
toilet paper, soap and other disposables?
Ask the tour company about the
place(s) they chose for the tour and why. Try to get a sense for how much
homework the tour companies do and how committed they really are to being
sustainable.
==> Do They Buy from Local
Communities?
Does the tour company buy in bulk
from Tesco or Wal-Mart? Or do they work with local merchants to bring you the
best deal while supporting the local economy?
Try to work with a tour company
that works with the locals, and benefits the community by being there.
The best eco-tour companies are
willing to sacrifice a little bit of profit if it allows them to have a better
impact on the country.
==> What's Their Reputation in
the Eco-Travel World?
If a tour company has been around
for a while, they'll probably have written some articles for eco magazines or
have a well-known spokesperson for the company.
Google the name of the tour
company and see what comes up. Are you able to find any articles written by
them? What about reviews?
If you find articles, read
through them and see what you think of their philosophy and general outlook.
==> Where to Find Eco-Travel
Tour Companies
The best way to find eco-friendly
tour companies is to use Google. Make sure you try googleing both your
departure location and your destination location.
For example, if you're leaving
from London to Laos, try Googling both "London Eco-Friendly Tour
Company" and "Laos Eco-Friendly Tour Company."
Each will get you different
results. Some companies work from your destination to find the best places,
while other companies are based in where you're leaving from and organize
eco-tours remotely.
Another great place to find
eco-friendly tour companies is internet forums like Travelfish or Lonely
Planet. These sites are where travelers go to compare notes on tour companies.
You can get a great sense of what's really going on without any marketing talk.
If you want to travel and don't want to have to do all the research and bookings yourself, the
fastest and easiest way to do it is to book through an eco-travel tour company.
Article by: Clem C. Benton, Jr.
http://www.12path.com/40/C/