India small group vacation, a food adventure

Planet

As a global operator, we take our role in the tourism industry very seriously. We recognise the impact that tourism has on local communities and the environment, and we plan and operate all our tours with this front of our minds. We believe that every tour operator must be responsible in the way they conduct their business, to ensure the welfare of all people and the conservation of the environment.

We are committed to operating in a responsible manner, incorporating the principles of sustainable development in the way we provide our travelers with real life experiences. These values are more than just words on a page; they are ingrained in our culture and the daily operations of every office and every trip. In addition, we expect our staff and travelers to demonstrate the principles of responsible travel - respecting people, cultures and local environments; in the distribution of wealth; in good will and cross-cultural sharing; and in contributing to sustainable development.

We take care to use local transport throughout, including sleeper trains and stay in small, locally owned hotels and guesthouses. This trip also includes two nights stay in heritage properties. You will get to experience the former grandeur of these places where dinner will be served in the dining halls of former Royal families. We source produce locally throughout the trip, eat at local restaurants and encourage our travelers to purchase souvenirs from local artisans and recruit our on the ground team from the local community. This not only gives a fantastic insight into the country and a snap shot of day to day life, but it also puts valuable financial resources back into the local economy, creating jobs and supporting local businesses. . We encourage our travelers to reduce their excess waste using a reduce, re-use and recycle policy. We also in avoidance of animal cruelty never visit places known to use cruel practices in rearing and/or slaughtering of livestock. We also make sure that foods from the endangered species list are not served on the trip.

People

We believe that responsible travel is about the attitude you take with you and the choices you make when traveling - to respect and benefit local people, their cultures, economy and the environment. On trips like this through Asia for example, dress standards are conservative, and we recommend loose, lightweight clothing so as not to offend, particularly outside of the major cities.

As company our responsibilities don’t stop when our tours end. Our own in house foundation has been in operation for over 10 years; a not-for-profit fund that has distributed over AU$3 million to more than 70 non-government organisations since 2002, from health care, education, human rights, child welfare, sustainable development and in environmental and wildlife protection. Donations come from our travelers and are then matched by us dollar for dollar.

Projects supported in India are the Asha Ka Jharna (AKJ) project which provides services to disabled children and adults. They run three special schools, currently assisting around 160 children, and an old-age home for the short-stay of elderly people. AJK also provides vocational training, participates in diagnostic camps and distributes aids and appliances to physically disabled persons. Secondly the Deepalaya project is focused on building a better future for India's street children. They have assisted more than 44,000 underprivileged children through the provision of food and board, health care, meaningful education and vocational training, counselling and career guidance, understanding, friendship, and warmth and solace. Finally the GOONJ project channels vital resources to rural India through the distribution of used items such as clothes and household goods. Their school-to-school program of channelling resources like uniforms, shoes, stationery, lunch boxes etc from urban schools to rural schools will benefit more than 35,000 children in its first phase.