Image Travel & Events Sustainability Policy

Mission Statement:

Image Travel & Events is committed to promoting sustainability and this in all its aspects. Our main goal is to protect our destination, its environment, its culture, and its traditions. We are engaged in promoting good sustainability throughout our suppliers, the products we choose and throughout the measures taken at our offices. We want this policy to be reflected by the behavior of our customers.

Practical Steps:

Environment:

• All short and medium range business trips to be taken by public bus
• Take part in business trips only when necessary
• Using vehicles adapted to the group size for our tours for least ecological impact
• Using alternative transportation for our tours when available
• Minimizing our use of paper at the office and encourage re-use
• Reduce the energy consumption at the office by managing the use of air conditioning and the lightning
• Strict minimum use of water during our tours and in our office
• Use of refillable water bottles at the office
• Trashcans in our tour buses to avoid littering in the street/touristic sites
• No unnecessary paper handouts given out to customers
• Making sure the Five Animal Freedoms are respecting among our suppliers
•         All purchasing has been carefully though to avoid any unnecessary waste
• The sustainability of a product is taken in consideration while purchasing in all sectors

• Society:

• Carefully selecting our suppliers to be environmental and local community friendly
• Clear written contracts with all local services such as homestays
• Give clear information to our customer to make sure that they behave in accordance to the local customs and in respect of the environment
• Make healthcare available for all our staff
• Make sure that our sustainability policy is clear for each member of our staff and make training available when necessary
• Creating a good working environment for our staff throughout incentives and special celebrations
• Prohibit the exploitation of workers and children in anyway, including human trafficking and sex tourism
• Key sustainability results are published on our website every two years

Economy:

• Creation of homestays, developing a long-term source of income for locals
• Using locally owned services for a better development of our local economy
• Paying fair wages for all services in accordance with the standard of living
• Training of local guides to build their knowledge and give them more opportunities
• Strong position against corruption, a plague in most our countries
• Community projects in schools and orphanages
• Transparency policy with the repartition of benefits
• We prefer local products over imported goods

Make activities more sustainable:

Here is a non-exhaustive list of simple actions that can be implemented to reduce carbon emissions during a tour.

Transportation

• Promote local transport because they are more authentic, they reduce carbon emissions, and the cost of travel, the money goes to the local population, it can also be considered as an attraction and an experience
• Limit domestic flights and favor bus and night train journeys (example: Hanoi-Hué)

Accommodation

• Turn off lights, TV, air conditioning … when there is no one in the room
• Be aware of the amount of water used
• Consider the hotel as your home and live the same way
• Reuse your towel and bed sheets
• Ask the hotel what it does for responsible tourism
• Promote homestays
• Use hotels which are more involved in responsible tourism

Activities

• Avoid activities related to animals (ex: with elephants) or choose trusted providers that protect animals
• Promote activities without impact on the environment: hiking, biking, kayaking …
• Encourage exchanges between local populations and travelers during excursions
• Seeking alternative locations where there are less crowds to minimise environmental impact
• Choose suppliers and partners according to their involvement in a responsible approach

Tour guide

• When explaining, always highlight the history and culture of local people.
• Do not promote the purchase of industrial souvenirs
• Highlight local purchases, such as crafts, explaining that the money is going back to the population
• Explain that buying “local” is for a more authentic travel experience, and it economically supports local communities

Practical

• Use the same bottle of water several times
• Reusable bags instead of plastic bags
• Put different types of trash to recycle in the bus
• Use pocket ashtrays for smokers
• Order drinks saying “without straw”