Responsible Travel
GVI is dedicated to responsible tourism. All of the projects that GVI supports directly benefit the environment, the local community, or both. All projects are carefully chosen to offer our volunteers sustainable and responsible travel, with specific attention being paid to their involvement in the sustainability of all their practices and project goals.
All of our projects and expeditions issue the participants with clear guidelines on responsible tourism and ecotourism, all specific to the particular environment or region. These cover a number of issues, ranging from waste disposal in remote areas, recycling materials and buying from local businesses to not exploiting the area’s wildlife or harming the environment.
Below is a list of ways in which GVI ensures that we act responsibly at all times – financially, environmentally and socially:
Economic Responsibility
- A percentage of volunteer contributions goes directly to the project or expedition
- The GVI Charitable Trust is used as a fundraising vehicle for our partner projects
Environmental Responsibility
- GVI use local suppliers and businesses
- We use sustainable practices in project operations
- Research rights all stay in the host country
- Staff work from home in the UK, North American and Australian offices
- We recycle in our UK, North American and Australian offices
Social Responsibility
- GVI provides pre-departure information and training for volunteers
- Volunteers have on-site training in local customs and cultural norms
- We employ host country staff
- Education and training of local communities
- Education and training of individual volunteers
- We run a National Scholarship programme.
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