Our policy

Minimise local negative impact; promote positive local benefits.

Responsible travel is about getting the basic rights: respect the people, land and culture you’re travelling in. It’s also about enriching travel experiences – getting a fuller appreciation of place and people, a more complete adventure in a new country. The more you put in, the more you get out, and the more you give back.

Supporting local communities:

• We hire local people whenever possible.
• We support local businesses and use local services whenever possible.
• We encourage our clients to spend their money in such a way that it benefits the communities they visit.
• We ensure direct economic benefits from our work to the host community.
• We actively work with the host community in all projects that we instigate.

We help protect and preserve local cultures and heritage by minimising visitor contribution to acculturation and the decline of local values.

Environmental sensitivity:

• We are efficient in our use of natural resources.
• We minimise environmental damage for items that can carry a negative impact - for example toilets, rubbish, the use of soaps, firewood, water, fuel.
• Whenever possible, we use site-sensitive accommodations that are not wasteful of resources or environmentally destructive.
• We use established, locally-owned and run campsites wherever possible and aim to leave sites in better condition than we find them.
• Our vehicle fleet is managed to minimise environmental impact.
• Our group sizes are small, helping minimise cultural and environmental impact.
• We monitor our impact, and where necessary alter our programmes accordingly.
• We always abide by site-specific guidelines pertaining to flora and fauna.

'Responsible travel' isn’t just about minimising negative impact. It’s also about having richer travelling experiences. It brings you closer to local cultures and environments.

It’s important to us that everyone who chooses a Gecko's adventure has the help they need to travel as responsibly as they can. Each of the country pages on this website has relevant tips and specific details. 

Here are some examples of how we help you travel responsibly:

• Provide trip-specific information before and during your travels in order to help minimise cultural and environmental impact.
• Aim to give a greater understanding and appreciation of local cultures and environment.
• Enrich your experience by our local site guides providing cultural and environmental interpretation.
• When you book, your money will actively support cultural, social and environmental initiatives.
  Read more about the projects we support.
   

Wherever you go, whoever you meet, the Geclo's adventure you’re on will comply with international environmental conventions and abide by the laws and guidelines of the countries you visit. More than that however, you’ll be travelling with a company committed to going beyond best practice and setting the industry benchmark for responsible travel.

Nobody’s perfect however. Our goal is always to improve, to narrow the gap between principle and practice. If you’ve been on a trip, or are thinking of going on one, feel free to contact us with any comments, questions or suggestions about responsible travel.

Responsible travel begins at home. For us that means our offices and staff need to work responsibly:

• We ensure staff know about and receive training in all aspects of our responsible travel policy.
• Our offices maintain waste, energy and recycling management programmes.
• We work with our partners in host destinations on all aspects of our responsible travel policy to ensure compliance.

All of our operations abide by our responsible travel policy and all new trips are developed in accordance with it.