Sustainable Travel

Can travel be truly sustainable? One Australian company is attempting to prove that it can. Based locally in Alphington, Intrepid Travel run tours with the goal of achieving sustainable travel through small group tours.

With a stated purpose that seeks to ‘create positive change through the joy of travel,’ the company has been carbon neutral since 2010. Working with other organisations, they have a robust and ambitious plan to decarbonise travel and protect the environment through support for restoration and reforestation projects.

On the trips Intrepid organises, they thoroughly measure all their emissions, including their office operations and then take steps to offset this energy use. They encourage the use of public transport by tour groups and seek alternatives to non-essential flights. To reduce waste, groups are encouraged to have reusable water bottles and to avoid plastic bags, both of these a serious issue in many countries.

The company has expanded the meaning of sustainability to include protection for wildlife, the local environment and people and local communities. They manage this by running tours of no more than 12-16 participants, lead by a well-trained local guide.

Tour leaders explain the importance of respecting and understanding the communities groups travel through and are advocates for shopping and eating locally. Within the scheduled stops, tour leaders have the option to suggest other local experiences, such as eating at community-run restaurants, which directly supports those communities. 

The choice of accomodation also reflects Intrepid’s sustainable mission. On their premium tour of Sri Lanka, for example, the company chooses locally-run hotels for the group. These hotels are often quite luxurious, while also embodying substantial sustainable practices.

An excellent example of this in Sri Lanka is the choice of the Jetwing hotel group. Jetwing have made significant steps in supporting sustainable travel. A simple example of this is their bottled water. This is produced by the Jetwing and bottled in glass, avoiding the plastic water bottles we see in so many countries.

Jetwing also invests substantially in solar energy, including large solar PV systems mounted on the ground and on rooftops. Alongside this, they have used innovative methods to cool their hotels, reducing the need for electrically powered air conditioning. Use of sustainable biomass has eliminated the need for LPG for cooking in some of their hotels.

Founded in the 1970s by Herbert Cooray, the company covers an impressive range of sustainable goals, including energy, water, waste, biodiversity and community and culture. Herbert conceived of the hotel business as a values-driven enterprise, with fair pay and working conditions for staff central to his vision.

Alongside environmental and wildlife concerns, support for local communities and the cultural and natural environment is crucial to responsible, sustainable tourism. Intrepid’s choice of operators such as Jetwing is in marked contrast to other tour operators. Many tour operators do not work with responsible local providers, often choosing foreign-owned hotels and resorts which fail sustainability tests on many levels. 

As tourists espousing sustainable goals, it makes sense for us to choose the most sustainable travel options possible.

Photo: Local restaurant serving and promoting local, organically-grown produce 

Intrepid Travel

https://www.intrepidtravel.com/au/purpose

Jetwing Hotels 

https://www.jetwinghotels.com/about-jetwing-hotels/our-story/

Written by Paul Gale-Baker