Responsible Travel Policy
 
Skyros provides holistic holidays which emphasize being rather than having, doing rather than consuming and cooperating rather than competing. All staff and course participants are made fully aware of our ethos and principles. Regular meetings give the whole community a chance to talk to each other and to give participants a say in the structure of their daily life. Participants are provided with pre-trip information on the host community and are given a Responsible Travel briefing including practical advice on social interaction with the local people. During the holiday there are opportunities to learn some local language and eat locally-sourced organic national cuisine.

Some examples of our positive commitment at each of our travel sites appear below - we are committed to an eco-friendly future and welcome creative ideas submitted by staff, suppliers and course participants.

Greece:

Skyros’ objective is integration and involvement with the islands and their people through ongoing development projects. To this effect:

•    It is working with the local authority to bring recycling to Skyros island – glass, plastic and aluminium cans. Its policy is to reduce waste in all areas.
•    It avoids motorised water sports and plants trees with the help of volunteers alongside the main road connecting Linaria, the harbour, to Skyros village.
•    Atsitsa is continuing to improve its own solar electricity and heating systems and ways to re-use waste water.
•    Both Atsitsa and the Village Centre will continue to use locally owned and maintained accommodation and have policies in place to use local produce, manufacturers and services whenever possible.
•    In addition to their usual courses, the Life Choices, Writers’ Lab and Music and Arts programmes will run a variety of additional events to give both visitors a taste of Greece and the locals access to broader influences.
•    Other projects in the past included the refurbishment of the local school’s theatre and the partial re-equipment of the local hospital.
 

Cuba:

On our Salsa trips every participant is  paired with their own local dance partner who works with them for all lessons. This arrangement through a government licensed provider of cultural services enables us to provide much needed economic support directly to the local community and the dancers are given a unique opportunity to interact with our guests. The Havana Libre Hotel employs all local staff and is a collaboration between Spain’s Sol Melia and the Cuban government. All Cuba sessions also:

•    Feature sessions on Cuban History and culture from Cuban national Clem Axel – participants have said that this gives a valuable insight into what life in Cuba is really like.
•    Visit historical sites and places of cultural interest to further help raise awareness of Cuban history/culture and encourage integration with the host community.
•    Offer excursions to local small scale industries – almost the entire fee for these directly benefits the Cuban economy with its unique combination of welfare and social projects.
 

Thailand:

The elephant trekking is supported by the Asian Elephant Foundation and is also part of the Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project. We use a locally-owned operator for the coach and ferry transfer from Bangkok. Our participants are encouraged to give local nationals English lessons as an alternative to the work contribution expected at our Greek sites – this is a way of contributing to the host community by improving employment prospects. We have a policy of employing and training local admin assistants and previous Thai employees have gone on to achieve good positions in the local travel industry. The Resort itself also: 

•    Grows all the vegetables for the kitchen in its own organic garden
•    Has won a Greenleaf award for being an Environmentally Friendly hotel.
•    Recycles plastic waste.
•    Turns all its kitchen waste into fertilizer.
•    Encourages customers not to change their sheets and towels on a daily basis.
•    Sponsors its own orchid garden to encourage rare breeds.
•    Has planted a special flower garden for the benefit of butterflies.

 

Cambodia:

This is an overland tour using road travel as an alternative to internal flights, passing through and staying in some areas with few western tourists. The tour uses local buses and guides, supports local restaurants, nature guides and a national park and the Jungle House stay gives an opportunity to view an enormous variety of wildlife in a responsible and eco-friendly manner. The Jungle House Hotel:

•    Is locally owned and maintained.
•    Is raised on stilts to dramatically reduce its footprint on the jungle floor.
 

UK Office:

Our commitment to positive action is not restricted to our holiday destinations. At our administrative offices various environmental policies are in place, including:

•    All single sided printed material is stapled into booklets and re-used for notepaper.
•    All staff living within a 3 mile radius have elected to walk to work.
•    We have made available downloadable versions of literature from our site to reduce reliance on printed brochures and encourage online booking as an alternative to paper-based methods.
•    Waste materials are sorted for recycling wherever possible.