World Expeditions Urges Travellers to have a say in determining what makes a Thoughtful Traveller

World Expeditions is inviting travellers to attend its upcoming Thoughtful Traveller Q&A and urging them to complete a 2 minute survey in the leadup to the event, which will be held at the company’s Sydney headquarters on Wednesday 14th March.

World Expeditions collaborates with expert organizations to develop its industry-leading Responsible Travel policies and the Thoughtful Traveller Q&A will be the first time the company has brought these organizations together in an interactive public forum.  

If there’s an issue you’d like to know more about, you can ask the panel directly on the night – or you can submit a question via the 2 minute survey – and World Expeditions will put your question to the panel for you.  The event will be video recorded so, even if you can’t attend in person, you’ll get answers to your questions.

“If you want to be understand how to ensure animal encounters on holiday are not harmful to the animals, how you can avoid being an unwitting contributor to contaminating our agricultural industry and natural environment and why orphanage tourism can be damaging to children, please consider attending our Thoughtful Traveller event or submitting a question via the survey,” Ms Lawrence said.  

World Expeditions believes it has a responsibility to educate travellers about the principles of ethical travel and this event is designed to give travellers the opportunity to come along and ask questions that they want answered, such as

• Environmental sustainability:   Why it’s important that travel has an overall positive impact on the environment.  How an individual’s decision to travel carbon neutrally can help us from being fossil fuel dependent to a world reliant on renewable energy?

• Child- safe tourism:  Why orphanage tourism is a no-go, the best way to make a sustainable difference to child beggars in holiday destinations; what role can you play in the war against child trafficking?

• Animal friendly tourism:  How to ensure your animals encounters on holiday are not harmful to the animals; how to identify which “sanctuaries” are truly there for the benefit of the animals in their care?  What are the key tips to spot hidden animal cruelty? 

• Equity and rights for overseas tourism staff:  How to ensure local staff are being looked after and not exploited?

• Litter minimization and management:  What are the best tips to ensure you leave a place as you found it; how to minimise your environmental footprint? How can you join the global movement to keep wilderness trails free of litter?

• Travel as a catalyst for peace:  How can we spread peace on our travels?

• Bio Security: How to ensure you’re not an unwitting contributor to contaminating our agricultural  industry and natural environment?

Ms Lawrence says the major objectives of the event are to provide quality information and guidance on the best sustainable travel practices and to inspire people to become stewards for travelling sustainably and responsibly.

“Responsible Travel sits at the core of our ethos and we aim to incorporate its principles in all aspects of operations,” she said.   “As well as collaborating with leading organizations in the Responsible Travel space, we believe we have a responsibility to educate our travellers and the wider travelling community about the concepts of Responsible Travel.”  

Show you care about Responsible Travel by completing the 2 minute survey and/or by registering to attend the event. 

Whether or not you can get to the event, you can still submit a question to the panel via the 2 minute survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RTQandA

Visit www.worldexpeditions.com or call 1300 720 000 for further information.   The event will be video recorded, so agents unable to get along on the night can tune in down the track, to hear the discussion. 

More information at www.worldexpeditions.com or call 1300 720 000.   

- Ends –

Notes for editors:  Since its inception in 1975, World Expeditions has earned itself an outstanding reputation as a world leader in small group adventure holidays and cultural journeys.  The two factors that distinguish World Expeditions from its competitors are the number of inclusions and the exceptional value of its trips.  The company offers more than 500 stand-alone itineraries, escorted by expert leaders and meticulously designed for those travellers who want to take the ‘paths less travelled’.   Always innovative, it was the first company to offer cycling holidays in India (1977) and China (1978) and trekking trips in Mongolia (1980) and Tibet (1981). In 2013, it launched a dedicated ‘World Cycle Journeys’ programme and, as since 2011, has been the only company to offer the newly mapped Great Himalaya Trail.  World Expeditions is independently owned and a truly global company, with seven offices around the world, including Sydney, London and Ottowa. 

Media contact:  Michele Eckersley, at World Expeditions, on +61 2 8270 8400; mobile +61 422 726 344 or email michele@worldexpeditions.com.au