Responsible Travel
World Expeditions is committed to responsible travel and true sustainability. It was a commitment formed when the company was established, and today, in the face of a multitude of threats to the environment, our commitment is stronger than ever.
We aim to ensure that our destinations retain their natural character and cultural diversity for future generations. This vision can only be achieved with the support of all of our travellers and business partners. Our ‘Responsible Travel Guidebook’ has been written in order to fulfill our vision. The booklet sets out our environmental objectives and practices and how you can play a part in reducing the impact on environments and cultures around the world. Every participant on a World Expeditions adventure receives their own copy of this guidebook.
 | View our award winning... |
 | Read about... Our committment to becoming carbon neutral |
Our responsible tourism policy commits us to the following principles:
Environmental Sustainability
True sustainability in all aspects of our business planning and operations. Specifically World Expeditions tour operations should be managed in a way where the natural and cultural values of the host region are undiminished in the long-term.
Where possible, World Expeditions engages in partnerships with local environmental groups and/or land managers to actively campaign for conservation or promote environmental protection and/or rehabilitation.
Responsible Travel
World Expeditions’ aims to maximise the positive benefits of tourism for host communities. This includes training and employment of local staff, using local suppliers and assisting in the development of sustainable local businesses.
We actively minimise the negative effects that tourism can have by ensuring that tourism does not divert resources away from local communities or drive up prices on local resources. World Expeditions provide opportunities for cultural exchange, where locals and visitors alike can share and learn from each other in an environment of mutual respect.
We contribute to the welfare of the host community. This is epitomised in our Community Project Travel program where we organise for our travellers to spend time in disadvantaged villages upgrading basic facilities such as health, education and water access. World Expeditions strives to educate our travellers about the destination and its local cultures as well as providing guidelines on appropriate behaviour to minimise impact.
Read about our responsible travel initiatives at work in:
| Africa | Peru & Bolivia | Australia |
Protecting our Porters
Porters are an integral part of the World Expeditions philosophy and style of travel. As we endeavour to take people off the beaten track, avoiding the congested trails, by using porters, trekkers are able to experience our remote tent-based adventures. Porters are as important to us as our travellers. Without them, we would not be able to run our quality programs. When we trek, the entire group - travellers, guides and porters alike - are a team who share the same needs for safety in the mountain environment. For this reason, all World Expeditions porters are provided with the following:
A good working wage
We provide all food for porters
We provide life insurance cover
We also provide emergency helicopter insurance
The most visible sign of this porter protection is the equipment we provide: wind and waterproof jacket and over-trousers, 2 pairs of woolen socks, 2 pair of shoes, woolen gloves, warm cap, crampons if required, sunglasses, mattress and sleeping bag and tent as well as cooking utensils, stove and kerosene fuel.
World Expeditions will stand by its commitments and abide by its porter protection policies because it is the responsible thing to do. We will continue to campaign to ensure that all trekking companies adopt similar policies because we strongly believe the welfare of the entire trek crew, from porters to the most senior guide, is the responsibility of the company that sends them out there.
World Expeditions supports the good work of two international organisations that operate to ensure the health and well being of porters, they are:
International Porter Protection Group
International Mountain Explorers Connection
Hear what the following organisations and foundations have to say about our committment to true environmental and cultural sustainability:
The Wilderness Society
The Himalayan Trust
The Fred Hollows Foundation
WWF Australia
International Porter Protection Group
The Rainforest Alliance
World Expeditions and the Rainforest Alliance have established an alliance to support Best Management Practices in Sustainable Tourism. The Rainforest 
Alliance works to conserve biodiversity and ensure livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behaviour.
World Expeditions currently work with partners in Ecuador and Costa Rica that follow the Rainforest Alliances Best Management Practices and are currently working on more.
For more information on the Rainforest Alliance visit their website.
Responsible Tourism AwardsWorld Expeditions received a Highly Commended Award for Best in a Mountain Environment category in the First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards 2006.
World Expeditions is a global adventure travel company with over 30 years experience around the planet. Their Nepal trekking operation, run by Nepalis, is notable for its pioneering Porter Protection program that has set the industry benchmark which many companies are starting to follow. All porters are provided with generous insurance, all the protective clothing and footwear needed, all camping and cooking facilities, as well as food” First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards, 2006
And in 2001 World Expeditions won the WWF Environmental Achievement Award for our publication of 'The Responsible Travel Guidebook' which highlights ways to minimise the impact of your travel.
