Responsible Tourism Policy

Our commitment to Responsible Tourism

YourSafePlanet, and later Tripbod, was launched based on principles of positive, meaningful and responsible tourism. The connection between visitor and host is one of key importance, and one that impacts everyone in the tourism value chain.
 

By accessing current local knowledge a traveller is both more aware of the impacts of their trip and can also spend more money locally. Host communities, through Tripbod, are able to communicate the innate intricacies of where they live, a side that for many places is often drowned out by negative news and press. This includes the opportunity to promote the good work being doing at the grass roots and inform a global community about the local issues that affect them.
 

Travelling responsibly is about balance, and you achieve balance by having access to the right kind of information. We hope that we will help our travellers to travel sensitively in a way that enables the local community to benefit from the social, cultural and economic benefits of tourism. We harness and promote authentic local culture, we promote wonderful local people and we support local businesses.

How to travel and benefit the community

Spend money locally - don't pay for a middleman to organise a trip for you - it's not as much fun and your money goes into big commissions, not to the people providing the services on the ground. Tripbod can link you straight to local people and make sure that you're getting the best offers. 
 

Find out about the culture - consider how your actions will be received and how you can fit in. Important considerations are; covering up with modest clothing, not causing offence or disrespecting cultural practices, and making an effort to speak just a few words of the language.
 

Look deeper - don't just scratch the surface of the places you visit, try and gain an awareness of the lives other people lead and the challenges they face. Become a local for a week!
 

Challenge yourself - don't take the easy route all the time. Try substituting a domestic flight for a slightly longer but inevitably more rewarding train journey.
 

Some tips on travelling with the environment in mind:

You could plan your itinerary in a way that you take the minimum number of flights possible. You can often travel between adjacent countries by train and bus just as easily as flying - and it's often cheaper. Check out The Man in Seat 61 and prepare to be inspired!

Think about your lifestyle at home and abroad. A balance across the whole of your life will have a much bigger impact than just trying to travel responsibly.

Try to use varied transport methods - so if you need to take a flight, get a train to the airport and then maybe a tram on the other side.

Get involved in the debate. There's no better way to whet your apetite for new and innovate ways to travel than by getting your teeth into a hearty debate about the best ways to travel. Tripbod and YourSafePlanet regularly help to organise online webinars on just these topics so sign up to TripLoop to keep in the loop with our news!