Responsible Travel
How to travel in a responsible way
We live in a globalised world where travelling is a big part of most people’s everyday life. Each day thousands of people leave for vacations, business trips or to provide humanitarian aid. However, is is not a secret to anyone how travelling affects our environment and our earth. In Unitas Travel we believe that we, as a travel agency, holds a responsibility of contributing to a more sustainable world so that all destinations are kept for the future. We do not believe that we should travel less. We believe that we should travel wiser.
We strive to show respect for the destinations of the world, and we encourage our travellers to do the same.
We think sustainability into each aspect of our business. This applies to within our company as well as in our dialogue with our suppliers and customers. Likewise, we encourage our customers to travel more responsibly for the future generations to experience the same joy of travelling as we have.
Below you can read our tips on how to travel more responsibly. It does not have to be a major change but it about showing common sense, acting decent and treating people and the environment with respect. It requires a change in our travel habbits for our travels to have a positive impact on the local commmunity. This is not only beneficial to the environment and the local population, it will also create new experiences for the traveller.
When discussing responsible travelling, it revolves around three aspects – social, economic and environmental.
Responsible Travel – Social
Travel with insight
We recommend that you learn about the local culture, religion and political situation before entering a new country. This will make it easier to act respectfully and in accordance to local norms and rules.
Meet the locals at eye level
It is beneficial to familiarize youself with the langauage as well as learning a few common sentences – and do not hesitate to say them out loud! It will open up the opportunity of a deeper insight and the locals are glad to share tips on acitivities, restaurant, markets and other places for you to go visit.
Observe the behavior of the locals
Other cultures may have different ways of doing things. Look around, observe the behavior of the locals og do as they do. Other terms may be used, other dresscodes, other ways of adressing each other etc. A ground rule is to use your common sense and behave properly.
We distance ourselves
At Unitas Travel we distance ourselves from child labour, child abuse, sexturism and discrimination and we encourage our travellers to do the same.
Always remember to ask before taking pictures or recording videos of other people og special places and sights.
Responsible Travel – Economic
Use local suppliers
You get the most out of your trip whenever you live, eat and shop local. In that way, your money is spent in the place you are visiting and thus have a positive impact on the local community. In addition, you contribute to preserving the traditional culture. Whenever you shop local, you are reducing the emission from imported goods.
Be reasonable when negotiating the price
It is often possible to make a great deal at local markets. But remember to be polite and show respect when negotiating the price. Observe the local customs and get a feel for the price level. A small amount for you can be a lot of money for the local seller.
Support local charities
We encourage you to support local charities in the area rather than tipping beggers on the street. By doing so, you help more people in need while contrinuting to a more long term effect.
Responsible Travel – Environmental
Consume with care
In order to contribute to the environment in a positive way, you should reduce your consumption of water, heat and electricity. Most accommodations encourage their guests to not get their sheets and towels changed every day. You can also bring your own reuseable waterbottle and bag.
Choose eco-friendly transport
No matter what form of transport you choose, we encourage you to compensate for your trip. Bus and train are the most eco-friendly forms of transport and here, climate compensation is always included. In addition, we offer compensation on all of our travels as additional purchase through Go Green.
Respect and preserve natural areas
We recommend that you follow the rules of the different unique natural areas. It is evident to secure the places, their nature and their value for both locals and future visitors.
Wild animals
Avoid having a negative effect on the nature. Unitas Travel prioritises business partners who respect the animals’ natural habitat, and we encourage our travellers to follow that example.
Sustainable accommodation
An increasing number of hotels are working on becoming more sustainable. Unitas Travel offer different types of sustainable accommodation. Reach out to one of our travel consultants to learn about the possibilities of finding the right accommodation for you.
Our Sustainability Policy
As a travel agency, we have a responsibility and a wish to secure the ability to enjoy travelling for our future generations. That is why we have developed af sustainability policy that revolves around both the working process within our company and our cooperation with suppliers and other business partners.
Among other things, this means that we carefully pick our business partners, we treat locals at our destinations with respect and we encourage our customers to travel responsibly. As part of our sustainability-journey, we have been verified Travelife Partner.
Photo: Mikkel Østergaard
Our climate project in Uganda
In cooperation with the Danish humanitarian organisation, DanChurchAid, Unitas Travel offers to mediate compensation equivalent to the amount of CO2 emitted on your travel. The money from the compensation is being invested in our climate project among other things. A project partly where trees and crops are planted and partly an investment in climate adaption in areas where climate change has already left its mark. In this way, the compensation has both a social and environmental perspective.
Travelife Partner
In February 2016, Unitas Travel got verified as Travelife Partner. The purpose of Travelife is to promote sustainability in the travel industry. As Travelife Partner, we have been acknowledged for our focus on sustainability and for meeting the basic requirements within CSR.
We are proud to be Travelife Partner and are now working towards the next step; to become Travelife Certified.
Do you want to learn more about our work with CSR, sustainability and climate compensation?
Read more about our work with sustainability by clicking on the images below.
