Sustainable Tourism Policy 2017-2018

Management of Pleasure is an innovative DMC and Travel Agent with a broad focus on sustainable travel.
Our vision is to develop and promote authentic and unique travel experiences which will bring the greatest possible benefit to all the participants – travellers, the host population and the tourist business, whilst minimising our environmental impact and respecting the culture and people in our destinations.

Responsible Tourism requires that operators, hoteliers, governments, local people and tourists take
responsibility, take action to make tourism more sustainable.

The Cape Town Declaration recognises that Responsible Tourism takes a variety of forms, it is characterised by
travel and tourism which:

  • minimises negative environmental, social and cultural impacts;
  • generates greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the wellbeing of host communities, by improving working conditions and access to the industry;
  • involves local people in decisions that affect their lives and life chances;
  • makes positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage and to the maintenance
    of the world’s diversity;
  • provides more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people,
    and a greater understanding of local cultural and environmental issues;

Behaviour can be more or less responsible and what is responsible in a particular place depends upon environment and culture.

Tourism is one of the most important and largest industries on the planet, it accounts for 11% of the world’s GDP and 12% of its exports. It employs more people worldwide than any other, with millions of families relying on tourism for their daily needs. We believe that our type of small group, off-the-beaten track tourism can bring benefits to many communities, help preserve the environments we travel to see, and provide real and positive social exchanges.

Our focus on sustainable development is a serious business issue, key to our on-going and future success. Management of Pleasure recognizes that climate change is one of the most urgent problems facing our world today and the tourism sector is a growing contributor to the problem.
Travel and tourism are responsible for around 5% of global CO2 emissions. Our challenge is to prepare for a low-carbon society by further reducing our environmental impacts, while ensuring we preserve tourism’s social and economic benefits – both for the host community and our customers.

The opportunity for Management of Pleasure is to refine our understanding of the strategic risks and value that sustainable development can create and to demonstrate Responsible Leadership in the way we address them.

We cannot improve the sustainability alone, but need to cooperate with all different stakeholders varying from hotels, local suppliers to tour leaders and local guides. Engaging our customers, clients and partners in sustainability is a continuous process. We expect each and everyone of us to integrate sustainable thinking into our behaviour.

We are working on sustainability on different levels;

Internal operations

We run our office in a responsible manner by using recycled products, reducing our energy usage, as well as recycling. By developing our website and electronic literature, we limit the amount of paper materials we produce.

Waste Management

Sustainable waste management works with three objectives: reduce, reuse and recycle. We try to produce as little waste as possible, and separate glass, paper, toner/ink and batteries so it can be recycled.

Energy reduction

100% of lightning is energy efficient. All equipment is switched off after office hours (not on ‘standby’). Our air conditioners are set on 24°C as a fixed temperature to save energy, and is only used during working hours.

Staff mobility

The mobility of the employees consists of the travel between home and work and for business purposes. We stimulate our employees to use public transport to get to work. All employees work 2 days from home to limit the amount of travel.

Use of Transport

Management of Pleasure tries to ensure that vehicles used on tours should not cause more than average pollution. If measures exist to reduce the existing level of pollution (e.g. by using alternative means of transport or public transport), we will always consider this option.

Ground transportation operators can promote greater fuel efficiency by ensuring that their fleets are well maintained, and by requiring drivers to switch off engines when vehicles are stationary. Management of Pleasure will not actively offer any activities that are focused on use of quad bikes, super speed boats and snowmobiles.

Destinations

We know that the leisure travel industry can have both positive and negative impacts on communities and the natural environment, depending on how these impacts are managed. We are committed to learning more about how our holidays can benefit local livelihoods and protect the environment – putting these insights into practice.
This is fundamental to preserving the quality of our product in years to come. Management of Pleasure has an extensive supply chain operating across Argentina and Chile, made up of many different kinds of tour operator and owners of accommodations, both large and small. These businesses are the gatekeepers to Management of Pleasure’s sustainability performance in our destinations, as each of them plays a significant role in managing our impacts on the local community, economy and environment.

Sustainable accommodation

We prefer small scale family hotels which work in a sustainable way and have an independent accreditation of -for example- Travelife, Green Key or is part of the RTR network (a local Argentinean certification).

Sustainable projects we visit during our trips

In every trip we aim to include at least one visit to a project which directly supports the local economy or nature.
We encourage our local suppliers to inform us of new initiatives.

Waste management/reducing plastic water bottles.

We advice our clients to limit the amount of waste and dispose of it in a responsible way.

Whale watching and dolphin watching

Management of Pleasure has chosen to offer whale watching and dolphin watching tours only under strict conditions:

1. the company offering whale/dolphin watching tours meets the requirements of the regional law for
responsible whale/dolphin tourism
2. the company has a licence for offering whale/dolphin tours
3. the company will not offer swimming with whales and dolphins in the wild, because it disturbs the natural
habitat of the animals
4. the company works with educated guides; on the boat there is a trained guide on board
5. on board information is provided about responsible whale/dolphin tourism
6. the boat can approach the whales till 100 meters and dolphins till 50 meters
7. the boat must be alert in the precare zone (100-300 meters for whales and 50-150 meters for dolphins)
8. there may not be more than three boats in the precare zone
9. when the animals are having babies, you can not approach them closer than 300 meters
10. the boat is not allowed to spend more than 15 minutes at the same group of whales/dolphins
11. to prevent collisions you are not allowed to approach them from front or back. The boat approaches
them from them from the side-back.
12. if the animals show any signs of disturbance, the excursion will be stopped
13. it is forbidden to chase the animals
14. it is not allowed to copy the sounds of the animals when being on tour
15. the material on the boat may never injure the animals
16. the company will reduce the use of water, energy, noise and waste as much as possible.

Working conditions in tourism sector

Local crew should not be given an unreasonable workload. Working hours should be reasonable and safe within local regulations and not involve dangerous practices in carrying out the job.

Our colleagues and local partners

Our aim is to make sustainable development tangible to each and every colleague/local partner within our business.

Tourism is part of the service sector and highly customer focused. This implies that its human capital is of the
highest importance to a tour operator. Proper labour conditions can assure a high level of satisfaction and motivation among staff members. Moreover, it has a positive effect on the organisation’s continuity and its competitive strength in the long run.
Management of Pleasure respects elementary human rights such as non-discrimination, freedom of assembly, no forced labour and no child labour.

Payment and labour conditions of employees in tourism sector

  • We expect from our suppliers or hoteliers to pay their workers a fair salary that is at least the minimum wage, preferable more than this.
  • We find it important that the employees in tourism will get paid in time according to the contract which is made between the employee and employer. Delay in payment cannot be accepted.

It is also important that the crew on a tour will get a sufficient amount of money to run the tours (for example to pay for fuel, accommodation etc.), so they will not have trouble of using their own pocket money for these payments that are the responsibility of the agent.

Our Customers

We have been proactive in raising awareness of sustainability issues with our customers. To achieve our goals we need customers’ support both through the purchases they make and the personal actions they take. Sustainability is still not the major deciding factor for most people when they choose a holiday, but it is in the interests of our destinations and the environment that it becomes a strong influencing factor. We will therefore continue to engage with customers and aim to become their travel company of choice because of our sustainability approach as well as our quality of product and value for money. We aim to raise awareness, influence choice, change behaviour, and develop and promote new products to encourage responsible holiday choices.

Use of water

Water should ALWAYS be used sparingly. We motivate our employees and customers to:

  • Consider taking a shower rather than a bath
  • Consider whether you really need two showers a day or if one would sufficient
  • Do not leave water to run (e.g. when brushing your teeth)

Be conscient of how hot water is generated; by burning more fuel or is it solar generated?

Use of energy

  • Advise clients to turn off air-conditioning, lights, TVs and fans when not in room and consider not using air-conditioning, or only when it is very warm.
  • Look out for any hotels that use more sustainable resources – e.g. hotels with solar panels.

Check if hotels recycle any goods and encourage others to adopt the system if it works.

Litter and waste disposal and reduction of waste

The following policy should be adhered to when disposing of rubbish from camps at nature areas:

  • Items that should be burned: paper & card*
  • Items that should be buried: vegetable & food waste*

Items that should be carried out: plastics, glass & cans. Rubbish should always be disposed of where it
is sure to be collected*

*NB in national parks we will have to follow the guidelines of the national parks.

Litter is a huge problem in many countries where there is limited or no infrastructure for waste disposal, let alone recycling facilities. The first step is to ensure that we minimise our use of resources in the first place -in order to generate less waste. Then we try to ensure that waste is disposed of in the most effective way possible.

  • Litter should always be disposed of responsibly. It is absolutely forbidden to throw trash out of the window when we are travelling.
  • Cigarette buts should not be dropped on streets / behind bushes / overboard boats etc. but put in a rubbish bin or in pocket until a rubbish bin is available. We recommend smokers carry a receptacle to collect their butts. Plastic film cases are excellent for this and reduce the smell!
  • On boats, rubbish must be carried back to facilities on shore and never dumped over the side of the boat or hidden behind rocks.
  • Check if any recycling facility exists locally and use it where possible.

Respecting animal welfare

  • Never feed animals/fish. Giving them food other than or additional to what they usually eat is likely to make them ill or makes them dependent, so they cannot survive on their own in the wild
  • Do not pursue animals, thus distressing them, for the sake of a photo / better look
  • Do not try to touch animals/fish; apart from being dangerous, it can distress them
  • Never pick flowers / leaves.
  • Where animals are used for transport on tours we try to ensure that animals are well cared for and have no signs of mistreatment, illness or malnourishment

Cultural differences: hierarchy, gender etc.

  • Crew should be treated as equals socially. Where the crew work with or accompany the group, the tour leaders encourage interaction, whilst respecting the individual’s wishes for privacy. Respect for social
    and cultural diversity is important.
  • When visiting local people, we will always behave according to norms and values in the particular community. Sensitivity to the host culture is important.

Foods and Crafts

We promote local sourcing of food and other local products. We encourage our clients to visit local bars and restaurants and experience local products and cuisine. Our tour guides educate our customers about local food and crafts and encourage their appreciation, this can help to make a real difference to the preservation of local skills and jobs.

Tipping

Clients are advised to give a fair, reasonable tip to the local guides, cleaners, cook, drivers etc. Tipping is very important but we can never force clients to tip, as it is voluntary. Our advises for local crew depends on the work, the country, the currency etc. We will brief our clients that what tipping means to us (our culture) is much different from what it means for the crew (their culture), so they are aware of local tipping habits.

ANNEX

Sustainable Development Annex to our contracts with Suppliers
Management of Pleasure acknowledges its responsibility towards society to be a good corporate citizen. In order to reach its goals within Corporate Responsibility, Management of Pleasure cooperates closely with its own employees, customers, partners such as NGOs, locals at destinations and its suppliers.

Compliance with applicable law in general Management of Pleasure expects its Suppliers to comply with all applicable international, national and local laws and regulations, industry minimum standards and any other relevant statutory requirements whichever requirements are more stringent.

Transport

Means of transport should comply with the legal local standard. The Supplier should consider minimum quality
and safety arguments when selecting coach transport. The Supplier will take care of environmentally friendly transport, if available. The Supplier will make efforts to use the latest models of transport, which exhale the least amount of CO2 and will try to renew these models on a regular basis.

Accommodation

Management of Pleasure will stimulate the use of accommodations that do not damage the environment and will prefer the use of sustainable accommodation, in case of equal possibilities. In case of clear evidence that contracted
accommodations jeopardize the provision or integrity of basic services such as food, water, energy, healthcare
or soil to the neighboring communities it can be reason to terminate the co-operation with the accommodation. Preference is given to accommodations that work with internationally acknowledged (e.g. GSTC recognized) and/or Travelife certification (taking into account price and comfort criteria).

Entertainment/excursions

Excursions and attractions in which captive wildlife is held are not offered, except for properly regulated
activities in compliance with local, national and international law. Excursions which include interactions with
wildlife comply with relevant codes of conduct. Any disturbance of natural ecosystems is minimized.

Where available preference is given to excursions that operate on the basis of acknowledged and controlled
sustainability standards. The company offers no products or services of excursion suppliers that harm humans,
animals, plants or natural resources (e.g. water/energy).

Human rights & labour conditions

Management of Pleasure and its Suppliers shall not discriminate based on gender, age, religion, race, tribe, caste, social background, disability, nationality, membership in workers’ organizations, political affiliation, sexual orientation, or any other personal characteristics. All employees shall be free to enter their employment through their own choice and shall also be free to terminate their employment when they choose without penalty, as long as the process occurs in accordance with the (oral or written) employment contract;

Wages and working hours

Wages paid by Management of Pleasure and its Supplier must meet or exceed legal minimums and/or industry standards. No illegal or unauthorized deductions from wages are allowed; Working hours of the employees are to be kept in line with the legal requirements and / or industry standards; The employees shall be granted their stipulated annual
leave and sick leave without any form of repercussions; Female employees shall be granted their stipulated
maternity leave and other rights in case of pregnancy.

Environment

Suppliers shall minimize their negative impact on the environment; The Supplier shall actively reduce the
amount of energy and water used and shall minimize the use of chemicals known to cause damage or pose risks
to health and/or the environment; The Supplier shall comply with mandatory national and international law,
particularly in regard to the procedures and standards for waste management, handling and disposal of
chemicals and other dangerous materials, emissions and effluent treatment; The Supplier shall monitor and
control wastewater and solid waste generated and shall treat it as required prior to discharge or disposal;
Waste of all types shall be reduced to the greatest extent possible by the Supplier.

Local sourcing and benefiting communities

Management of Pleasure shall promote local products and services to guests, by recommending guides, restaurants,
markets and craft centres wherever possible.