Responsible Tourism
Responsible Tourism
For almost four decades, Mountain Kingdoms has been offering people the chance to visit amazing places on this extraordinary planet. We now have trips to all corners of the globe but are conscious that our holidays can have a detrimental impact on the world around us and want to do all we can to reduce that.
We have focused our main responsible tourism efforts on reducing the carbon emissions produced by our holidays, and counterbalancing this carbon by supporting carbon offset measures. Here are some of our current and future plans to minimise the impact of our business as a whole.
Carbon Offsetting
Since 2007, we have donated a percentage of our client and staff flight costs to the Ecoan tree planting project in Peru. Ecoan are a trusted local NGO who use the funds directly to purchase seedling trees with the long-term goal of restoring 2.5 million acres of Andean land.
Ecoan maintains over 100 tree nurseries across Peru where their tree saplings are grown and then transported to planting sites during the rainy season. They use native trees such as the Polylepis, as these can survive at high altitudes. As well as sequestering carbon, they help protect against soil erosion, landslides and the effects of extreme weather on local crops. As such, they are enormously beneficial to the economic well-being of the surrounding communities. This is very much a community-led conservation project, with the local Quechuan people coming together to plant tens of thousands of saplings in the Andean highlands where they live. During the annual Queuña Raymi (tree festival), over 150,000 native trees can be planted in a single day!
For every person booking a long-haul, flight inclusive holiday with us, Ecoan can purchase and plant 20 trees in Peru, and for short-haul flights, 7 trees. Typically, we send over $7,000 per year to Ecoan, which is over 7,000 trees.
Reducing Carbon Emissions
- We offer the majority of our clients a free, filtered Water-to-Go bottle to help reduce the need for single-use plastic bottles during their travels.
- We predominantly use locally-owned hotels and guesthouses rather than multinational chains. In some of our destinations, such as Bhutan, we use homestays. Not only does this type of small-sized, locally-owned accommodation have a much-reduced carbon footprint, but it also helps support communities.
- We evaluate our flights to make sure we are using the most fuel-efficient airlines with the youngest fleets and, where possible, choose direct flights for each trip.
- We have stopped offering unnecessary optional flights, such as Everest sightseeing. We try to minimise internal flights where possible.
- We recycle as much of our office waste as possible and have introduced a client portal to reduce paperwork and to make it easier for clients to manage their trips online.
Our wider commitment to responsible and sustainable tourism
We feel strongly that all our holidays should benefit the local communities, protect the environment by minimising pollution, and respect local traditions, religion and heritage. We tread lightly - low volume, low impact holidays are the best way of preserving the beautiful and fragile places we visit. Mountain Kingdoms is a previous winner of the prestigious annual Association of Independent Tour Operators' (AITO) Responsible Tourism Award. We acknowledge the importance of AITO's sustainable tourism ethos, which recognises the social, economic and environmental responsibilities of tour operating.
- We are signatories to the Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency initiative to stand alongside other like-minded travel companies to initiate best practices to make tourism as sustainable as possible.
- We will continue to support several charities with whom we have a long-standing relationship, such as Shiva Charity in Nepal.
- Over the years, we have given sizeable payments to emergency relief when a disaster has occurred in the countries we operate in. We always try to ensure that these funds go directly to those who need them most to help rebuild their lives.
Further information about all our Responsible Tourism initiatives can be found below.
Over the years, we have given sizeable payments to emergency relief when a natural disaster has occurred in the countries we operate in. We always try to ensure that these funds go directly to those who need them most to help rebuild their lives.
For example, in the aftermath of the earthquake that caused such devastation and loss of life in Morocco in September 2023, we were determined to help a country with which we had close connections. But rather than give money to a general fund, we decided to donate several thousand pounds to help a single family rebuild their home. Our local partners in Morocco identified the Ait le Maalem family (pictured here), in the remote village of Aghbalou in the Atlas Mountains, whose house had been destroyed in the quake. Just a few years on, and we’re delighted that the house is now well on its way to completion and the family is rebuilding their lives along with their home.
Through one of our trusted partners in South America, we donate directly to a tree planting project in Peru run by Ecoan. Their aim is to restore the endangered Queuna forests in the Andean mountains of Peru and it works with villagers to grown seedlings and plant the trees. As well as absorbing carbon, the trees help prevent flash flooding in the mountains.
Five hundred years ago, when Spanish conquistadors first set foot in Peru, the high Andes had abundant forests of a low-growing and durable tree called Queuna (kay You nyuh). The forests, home to to more than 150 native species, absorbed and later released water from rain and glaciers, produced oxygen, absorbed carbon dioxide, and provided firewood and construction material to native people. Five hundred years later, these ancient forests have almost disappeared, and with them many of the species have almost become extinct. Now the aim is to replant these forests and bring back the diversity and other benefits.
Ecoan, working together with the local Andean communities, have been planting trees since 2007 and are committed to planting thousands more - Mountain Kingdoms are very happy to support them financially with this quest. For every person booking a long haul flight inclusive holiday with us Ecoan will plant 20 native Andean Queuna trees on your behalf, and seven trees for every short haul booking.
Water-to-Go are a revolutionary company with an aim to firstly cut down on plastic waste created by the huge amount of discarded single use water bottles while also protecting customers’ health and well-being by offering safe, healthy water anywhere in the world. They have achieved this by developing a unique multi-use drinking bottle with a filtration system that eliminates over 99.9% of all microbiological contaminants including viruses, bacteria, chemicals and heavy metals from any non-salt water source. Water-to-go work together with organisations such as Mountain Kingdoms to provide clean healthy water from almost anywhere and reduce environmental damage created by plastic water bottles. By choosing a Water-to-Go bottle you reduce plastic pollution and save resources.
To find out more about the company visit:
https://watertogo.eu/about-us/
To find out more about Mountain Kingdoms involvement with Water-to-go click here
Together with other leading tour operators and travel professionals, we joined the Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency initiative (www.tourismdeclares.com) to declare a climate emergency and come together to find solutions. We acknowledge the science stating we have 10 years to address this crisis. We accept our responsibility to tell the truth, act now, and work together to help turn it around.
The welfare of animals in tourism is extremely important to us here at Mountain Kingdoms. In 2017, in conjunction with World Animal Protection and the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), we stopped offering elephant-back safaris in any of our destinations. This is because it is not possible to train an elephant to accept a human onto its back without inhumane treatment. Also, elephants' spines are not designed to carry heavy loads, and the houdah (chair) that they are fitted with is uncomfortable and leads to sores.
Since then, ABTA has carried out further research and there is now a strong weight of evidence to suggest that, sadly, harmful training methods of elephants are still widespread. For that reason, ABTA has revised its guidelines to advise against any form of direct interaction with elephants including, bathing or painting. Instead, we support organisations that promote elephant welfare and offer activities such as simply observing elephants or walking with them (keeping a respectful distance) in their natural habitat.
We will be keeping a close eye on any further recommendations from ABTA and will revise our policy accordingly.
On some of our treks, where there are no roads or tracks suitable for vehicles or animals, your luggage and camping equipment is carried by porters. In conjunction with Tourism Concern, we have drawn up comprehensive guidelines for porters' rights and working conditions which our agents are obliged to adhere to. The welfare of our local trekking staff is of great importance to us, and we try our best to ensure they have appropriate clothing, shelter and footwear.
The post-trip questionnaire we send to all clients asks for feedback on the welfare of our trekking staff, and any reported concerns are swiftly acted upon.
Ginette Harrison School, near Kathmandu, was named after one of the world's most famous 20th century female climbers. The original school building had to be vacated, and the school was moved to old temporary buildings, while a new school was constructed. Now the work is completed, the children have much more space and equipment, and a good place to learn, thanks to generous donations made by individuals and organisations to SHIVA Charity. The charity provides education for some of the poorest children in Nepal.
Ginette Harrison School Latest News:
To date Mountain Kingdoms has raised over £19,950 for SHIVA through a host of fundraising activities and client donations.
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