CONSCIOUS TRAVEL

Sustainable travel is essential for preserving the world's natural and cultural resources for future generations. By requiring conscious travel practices from our tour operators, staff, and participants for all our trips, we encourage responsible and respectful engagement with local communities and environments.

Quite simply, embarking on an adventure in nature with us to engage with our projects is the best way to fulfill our mission of fostering positive global connections, gaining perspectives, and raising funds to co-create.

“Conscious travel is making sure that when traveling, you do so mindfully, taking into consideration the impact of your trip on the environment and the people around you.”

Photo credit: Greg Chu

Trek Relief Healthy Travel Practices

Our COVID travel policy

To run our programs in a safe and responsible manner, we require our travelers to adhere to the following safety protocols when attending a Trek Relief trip:

  • Respect and follow the host country’s most recent COVID and health-related guidelines and requirements for entry

  • Respect and follow Trek Relief’s additional safety precautions:

    • Purchase travel insurance that covers emergency medical care and trip cancellations, while also assuring compliance with any requirements as mandated by the host country

    • If a participant fails to be cooperative for the benefit of the group, we reserve the right to immediately remove them from the program without a refund.

Our Contingency Plan

Photo credit: Christine Phams

If any of our travelers were to test positive for COVID during the course of our trip together, we will support them to:

  1. Immediately quarantine themselves from the group and locals as much as possible;

  2. Hire the transportation needed (e.g. vehicle, helicopter, etc.) to be near medical services and in a comfortable place to recover; and

  3. Follow any protocols as mandated by the host country.

If any of our travelers were to be exposed to someone who tests positive for COVID during the course of our trip, we ask them to:

  1. Take extra precautions, as well as mask up and maintain social distance until they receive a negative COVID test result at an appropriate time interval; and

  2. Depending on the conditions and amount of exposure to the person who tested positive, also follow the same contingency plan as someone who tests positive for COVID.

The individual who tests positive or is exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID is responsible for all incurred medical and travel expenses and must be prepared to cover emergency costs upfront. Such individuals should obtain the necessary documents to file any claims that they might make through their travel insurance. Trek Relief and its partners will not be lending money or offering reimbursements or refunds.

Trek Relief Sustainable Travel Practices

THE 3 guiding principles OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM:

  1. Implement environmentally-friendly practices, such as minimizing gas usage and trash production.

  2. Protect natural and cultural heritage areas, such as natural parks and historic sites.

  3. Support local communities, such as employing local staff, buying local products, and engaging in charity work.

Why do we believe This is Important?

Photo credit: Christine Phams

Earth’s resources are limited.

There is growing research that at our current rate of consumption of Earth's resources, there will not be enough for our future children just less than seven generations from now.

Due to the overuse of resources and excess carbon emissions, the current change in environmental climate is already making for difficult living situations with more frequent natural disasters and less ability to grow much-needed food and provide clean water.

We believe in sustainable tourism - bringing global awareness to travel and putting it into action. It was a top priority for the United Nations in 2017, and is upheld as one of Trek Relief’s core values.

What does this look like on our trips?

We encourage the following practices on our trips, and as a conscious lifestyle choice.


Transportation

Photo credit: Weston Boyles

We curate our trips to promote human-powered methods of transportation.

We understand that in most cases air travel is required to attend our trips, and would like our travelers to be aware of the different levels of carbon emissions associated with various modes of transport. We have listed them in order of least to greatest carbon footprint, as well as some suggestions for greener choices.

  • By foot (walking, running, hiking, etc.)

  • By bicycle

  • By animal (horse, mule, etc; take into consideration animal welfare)

  • Trains

  • Buses

  • Vehicles (choose those that are fuel-efficient or run on electric power/alternative fuels; carpool when possible)

  • Boats (especially natural or human-powered)

  • Airplanes (minimize the number of flights, including layovers)

Accommodations & Hygiene

Photo credit: Ellen Ho

  • Reuse bed linens & towels (and clothes) multiple times before laundering to reduce water and energy needs

  • Bring your own toiletries in reusable travel containers to minimize the generation of waste. Choose biodegradable/reusable products whenever possible

  • Avoid putting anything besides human byproducts in toilets, including toilet paper - our hosts will thank us for not clogging their pipes!


Food & Drink

Photo credit: Bryan Yuan

  • Bring a reusable bottle for water instead of using disposable water bottles

  • Use reusable/regular tableware (spoons, forks, bowls) instead of disposable ones. Or bring your own!

  • Use a handkerchief or bandana instead of napkins

  • Avoid food waste and overproduction by not ordering more food than you can personally eat. Encourage composting

Trash & Recycling

Photo credit: Candice Young

  • Practice the simple principle of Leave No Trace.” Take out what you bring in, and bring a zippered/sealable bag to carry your own trash

  • Minimize trash and waste as much as possible. Avoiding purchasing heavily packaged items. Reuse packaging if possible

  • We encourage proper recycling when disposable materials cannot be avoided, even if it means holding onto them a bit longer to get to a proper receptacle

  • Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!

Preserving natural and cultural heritage

  • Follow all government-imposed rules for treating natural areas, such as staying on the trails to respect the environment

  • Do not contaminate water sources (lakes, beaches, rivers, etc.) with chemical products such as sunscreen, non-biodegradable soap, etc

  • Avoid defecating in natural areas unless permitted. If permitted (i.e. in the backcountry), then do so in a 6-inch (15 cm) deep hole that is at least 100 ft (300 m) away from water sources

  • Avoid visiting places that are endangered to allow for natural restoration

Supporting local economies

Photo credit: Greg Chu

  • Utilize local services (especially small independent businesses) as much as possible for everything: lodging, food, services, etc. Buy groceries and gifts from local farms or farmers’ markets. This decreases carbon footprints and improves the local economy.

  • Bring a reusable shopping bag or backpack to carry your purchases



Make These Conscious Choices in Daily Life

Photo credit: Candice Young

If every person adopts these practices as personal habits, then collectively we could make a big enough impact and influence over our lifetimes that our future generations can also enjoy the beauties of this planet.

Practice these actions and share the importance of them with others in your own community as well as abroad.