Myanmar 10 day small group tour

Planet

Environment and Wildlife:

Many of the sites on this tour are quite fragile in terms of the historic monuments that exist here - we brief our travellers not to climb on these and resist the temptation to clamber over buildings to get that iconic photo, so that these will still be here for generations to come.

When visiting these areas on foot we take care to stick to the trails (where they exist!) in order to preserve the unspoilt beauty of these places.

We visit a number of historical sites and monuments on this tour that do not necessarily receive much funding from other sources; the entrance fees that we include help to maintain the heritage of this country for future generations – not just western travellers but more importantly to local people to whom they have far more cultural and historical significance.

Carbon Reduction:

We operate a strict no litter policy on our tours, and work to educate our drivers and other service providers so as to avoid contributing to this problem. We always make sure to take all litter with us, disposing of it responsibly in big cities and towns and mustn’t leave cigarette butts either. If purchasing any snacks, we encourage our travellers to avoid excess packaging. Likewise, if we see any rubbish, we pick it up when possible.

Travelling by horse and cart or on foot for many of the excursions means that environmental impact has been kept to a minimum for this trip.

In our UK office we concentrate on providing information online via our website and by email rather than producing a brochure, hence reducing the use of paper and inks.

Where meals are provided, ingredients are locally sourced. Vegetarian options will always be available.

People

Local Economy:

Tourism in Myanmar has been decimated over the last couple of years and now that we are able to visit again, we would like to help put money back into the local economy. Using local guides also ensures money stays within local economies and means we will be treated to such valuable, in-depth and honest knowledge which you perhaps wouldn’t get from a western guide. It also means we are keeping carbon emissions down.

We use locally owned suppliers and our partners here are deeply involved with the preservation of the culture and heritage of the region. Where possible we encourage our travellers to spend their money with local businesses; for this reason we do not include meals where it is feasible to eat outside of the hotels, in order that local restaurants are able to benefit from the presence of tourism, rather than the income being channelled just to the hotels.

Employment, Inclusivity and Diversity:

On all of tours we strive to include a strong focus on local communities and we are firm believers that tourism should have a positive impact on the places visited. On this tour we try to allow our travellers to gain a real insight into the traditional customs of the country; a good example of this is when we stay overnight at Inle Lake and have lunch with a local Intha family. Not only is this a great experience for travellers but it means that small scale community based tourism projects, often ignored by mainstream tourism, are able to benefit from our visit.

Parts of Myanmar are very traditional with certain codes of behaviour, and the people here are not always that accustomed to outsiders. We ensure that our travellers are appropriately briefed in order so as not to offend local sensibilities. This also applies to the numerous monasteries and pagodas that we visit on this trip; religion is important here and it is important that we respect these traditions.