At Caribtours we are incredibly passionate about the Caribbean, Europe, Indian Ocean and Arabia: the beautiful beaches, the atmospheric souks and bazaars, the kind and hospitable people and the intoxicating blend of cultures and cuisines.
We want to share these wonderful destinations with you, but we also recognise that we all have a responsibility to help protect the environment and ensure that our holidays benefit local people.
A ‘greener’ holiday doesn’t have to mean making sacrifices, and in fact it can be a more authentic, rewarding and enriching experience for everyone. This website is full of inspiring ideas and tips designed to help you get the most out of your holiday by truly experiencing what each island has to offer.
Whether it’s eating chicken at a Jamaican jerk shack, hunting for bargains at a market in Muscat, or exploring the natural wonders of Saint Lucia, by helping the local economy and looking after the environment we can all do our bit to protect our beautiful world for future generations.
Greener Hotels
We are encouraging our hotels to adopt the Travelife Sustainability System, our preferred scheme for recognising those working to reduce their environmental and social impact, and several of the hotels in our collection have already received a Travelife award. A number of our hotels have also received awards from other well-respected schemes such as Green Globe and EarthCheck.
Pack For A Purpose
Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best. Pack For A Purpose is a website that provides easy-to-follow instructions on how travellers can use their luggage to bring school, medical and other supplies to the communities they visit. For a list of what to take and how to pack it, please visit their website.
Giving Something Back
For every person who travels with Caribtours, we donate £1 to each of our chosen charities:
The Rockhouse Foundation
Jamaica is where it all began for Caribtours back in 1979, and The Rockhouse Foundation, the charitable arm of the Rockhouse Hotel and its sister hotel, Skylark Negril Beach Resort, has a special place in our hearts. This charity helps vulnerable children in and around the Negril area and has invested over $US7 million in local education projects, most recently conceiving, constructing and opening Jamaica’s first and only public school serving typical learners and children with special needs in a full inclusion setting.
The Travel Foundation
The Travel Foundation is a leading international sustainable tourism charity dedicated to ensuring that tourism provides the greatest possible benefit to every destination around the world so that their communities and environments can thrive. The Travel Foundation team works to put local communities at the heart of tourism, ensuring that they get a fair deal, such as better livelihoods, as well as to reduce tourism’s impact on the environment, supporting destinations to adapt to the changing climate and reduce their reliance on polluting energy.
The Travel Foundation believes that if tourism is done right, destinations won’t just survive; they’ll thrive. The team uses their influence and independence to support tourism organisations to plan and manage tourism differently, balancing community needs and the environment.
They have worked in 36 tourism destinations and currently have projects in Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Mauritius, Cyprus, Turkey and more. For more information, please visit www.thetravelfoundation.org.uk
There are a number of things you can do when you are on holiday that will help benefit local people and protect their environment, such as:
• Buying locally...
By buying locally made souvenirs, or eating and drinking in locally owned bars and restaurants, you will both contribute to the local economy and have a more authentic experience of your holiday destination.
• Removing all packaging before you go on holiday...
By removing the packaging from items you take on holiday you will help to reduce the pressures on local sanitation services and landfill. Many developing countries are currently unable to cope with high levels of waste, and do not have recycling services like we do in the UK.
• Turning off lights and air conditioning...
Decreasing energy consumption wherever possible will reduce the pressures placed on local supply and help ensure you have power when you do need it.
Insider's Guides
For some useful background information on responsible tourism issues in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean, as well as practical tips on what you can do to make a positive difference, we recommend The Travel Foundation's 'Insider's Guides', which are available for the following destinations:
Barbados
Dominican Republic
Grenada
Jamaica
Mexico
Saint Lucia
Sri Lanka
Tobago
Climate Change
As greenhouse gas emissions cause the Earth to heat up, holiday destinations around the world are increasingly threatened by issues such as rising sea levels, damage to coral reefs and drought. The challenge we face as travellers is to balance the environmental impact of tourism with the immense benefits it can bring to these destinations and the people who live there. One way to reduce your footprint is by helping to fund emissions reduction projects through a credible carbon offsetting scheme.
