Sustainable Travel
Adrian Matkat is committed to growing its business in a sustainable way. With our own corporate responsibility plan, we strive to reduce the negative effects of tourism and increase its positive effects. We cooperate with operators who have adopted the guidelines of the Travelife Certification Program regarding the environment, society and human rights. We especially oppose the use of child labour, as well as the sexual abuse and harassment of children.
What is sustainable tourism?
Sustainable tourism is affected by the sum of economic, socio-cultural, normative, legislative and environmental demands, which take into account the activities of tourists and tourism providers in relation to the environment, society, the local population and profitable businesses now and in the future. Tourism can only be sustainable if socially and ecologically responsible business activities are taken into account and acted upon.
The sustainable tourism program
Adrian Matkat’s goal is to promote sustainable tourism practices. As a Travelife Partner Award holder, we are currently participating in the International Travelife Responsibility Program, where we aim to receive the Travelife Certification for implementing sustainable tourism. To achieve this, we have to go through at least 123 different responsibility criteria.
Why sustainable tourism?
Passengers’ demands for sustainable tourism are increasing, and customers are interested in the ethicality of how companies operate. We have to protect our planet from ourselves, and for ourselves. It does matter what kind of world we leave for our children.
Our primary goal is to increase awareness of sustainable development, become part of sustainable practices and cooperate more closely with sustainably operating partners in different sectors of our industry. The sustainable development program is examined using the following main principles: a) Travel destinations; b) collaborators and supply chain; c) customer communication; and d) responsibility management, legislation and internal procedures.
Travel destinations
Whenever possible, we choose an area with natural, cultural or historical significance as the destination of our trips. Local experiences are important to us, yet at the same time, we also help small, high-quality local suppliers who are essential for the development of small communities.
We avoid mass tourism and offer alternative destinations with principles of sustainable development. It is a matter of honour to focus on local culture.
We cooperate with partners on a national or local level on our own initiative, and thus contribute to raising awareness about the development of sustainable tourism.
For destination trips, we primarily choose a destination that follows the “Safe travels” principle, for example “Green destination”, “Green key”, “Safe stay in Croatia”, “Green and safe Slovenia”, or “Blue Flag”.
We ensure that we provide correct information about souvenirs and do not recommend purchasing souvenirs made from endangered species (CITES), following EU recommendations.
Collaborators and supply chain
Transport
We prefer direct flights whenever possible. One of the airlines we use has set itself the goal of being carbon neutral by the end of 2045. We recommend our customers to take only as much luggage as is necessary for a flight trip.
Some of our trips to Europe take place by sea and land. If a motor vehicle has to be used, for example due to scheduling reasons, we choose a vehicle of a suitable size for the customer group, and possibly one with the lowest possible emissions footprint.
In the target country, we include sustainable means of transport as a part of our combined products whenever possible, for example in cities where public transport or bicycle use works well. A significant part of the local busses we use are low-emission vehicles.
Also, in the rest of the target countries, we aim to use motor vehicles that cause as few emissions as possible, taking into account the age of the vehicle, the fuel consumption and quality of the vehicle, the number of passengers and the frequency of maintenance. We also take into account other influencing factors.
Accommodation
As means of accommodation, we prefer small family-run hotels. We are meticulous in that the chosen accommodation is registered in the national register, it is monitored and the owner is known. We prefer hotels that have received a national or international certificate such as “Travelife”, “European Flower”, “Eco Domus”, “Dalmatia Green” or “Green Key”.
We draw attention to the fact that accommodation providers comply with the personnel legislation defined by national laws and take into account their environmental footprint. This applies to the awareness and planning of accommodation providers, e.g. energy consumption, sustainable waste management and laundry.
Guides
Most of the guides we use are authorized professional guides who have received certification at a national, regional or local level. With our selection of guides, we ensure that the guide informs our customers about local customs, social norms and sustainability issues. The same also applies to the tour managers we use and the local representatives of our travel agency. Priority is given to local actors, which promote culture, traditions and encourages the use of local resources.
Customer communication
We provide customers with relevant and accurate information about the destination and activities, including safety and health.
Our product and price information, including our sustainability claims, are clear and accurate and contain no hidden costs. We inform customers of any costs that may be incurred during the trip, as well as advice on local attractions, transport and food, including assistance in case of emergencies. We are careful that our customers’ private information is not disclosed to third parties (GDPR). During the trip, we are available to customers 24 hours a day. We take our customers’ feedback into account. We inform customers about the principles of responsible tourism and our commitments.
Responsibility management, legislation and internal procedures
Adrian Matkat Finland Oy Ab is a responsible tour operator that has placed a deposit with the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (KuVi: 40/17/Mj). In addition, we have signed the Helsinki Declaration 2.0 – a declaration on the Finnish tourism industry’s commitment to responsible tourism.
We comply with ILO standards, e.g. prohibition of child and forced labour. We do not discriminate against our employees because of gender, age, nationality, race, disability, religion or sexual orientation. We do not prevent union membership.
At the office, we operate according to the following principles:
We favour locally produced products that contribute to local culture, heritage and economy. We operate according to the principle: reduce, reuse and recycle. We like to choose organic products and energy-efficient devices. We avoid single-use containers and try to use products that can be reused. We are happy to buy bulk goods, or with minimal packaging. We encourage remote work. Most of our meetings take place online. Visitors to the office are offered tap water from glasses. We try to distribute material electronically, we avoid printing whenever possible, and if possible, we print on both sides of the paper. Our printing paper is environmentally friendly. When the work day is over, computers are shut down instead of being in standby mode. We turn off the lights and other electrical outlets. During the summer, we use as much natural light as possible during the day instead of lamps. In the office, we do not use an air conditioner, but the air is cooled in other, natural ways. Waste is reduced, separated, recycled and disposed of appropriately. We rarely use batteries in our office. The personnel has regularly received sustainable development training and information, and this will be continued. We strive to have staff training organized remotely. Information is provided electronically.
2023
Suomeksi. Learn more on Travelife web page.