Responsible Travel Policy
WPH specialize in photography holidays and workshops for small groups of 5-12 people visiting unique locations in Iceland, northern Spain and India. With twenty years of ‘in the field’ experience we are experts in organizing and guiding adventure travel holidays, sourcing fine locations for photographers and most importantly we have personally visited and photographed in all of our locations. We consider it a huge privilege to be able to visit the world’s wild places and at all times we endeavor to respect local cultures, the natural beauty and fragile environments. All of our photography holidays enjoy the services of an experienced photographic tutor and qualified guide.
Local providers
Our transport will be local and wherever possible small family hotels, guesthouses and hostels are used, many of our connections with these local providers of accommodation and transport go back many years. These local providers appreciate our on-going commitment to their livelihoods. Knowing that tourism is an important source of income for the areas that we visit, our responsible travel policy demonstrates our active commitment to sustainable and responsible tourism. All of our service suppliers are informed of the WPH responsible travel policy.
Links
We recommend that you visit our links page where you will find comprehensive information on travel, health, environmental concerns, preparing for your holiday, local cultures and how to support local projects.
WPH are committed to:
- Protecting the environment, its flora, fauna and landscapes
- Respecting local cultures, traditions, religions and built heritage
- Benefiting local communities, both economically and socially
- Conserving natural resources from office to destination
- Minimizing pollution through noise, waste disposal and congestion
Before you go
- Once you’ve identified the holiday that interests you most, we recommend you download or request the associated trip dossier where you will find a comprehensive itinerary and giving specific details of the nature and difficulty of the terrain, local climatic conditions, equipment requirements, as well as a reading list and details of available maps.
- Know before you go: WPH supports the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s “Know before you go!” campaign to enable British citizens to prepare for their journeys overseas, and we recommend that all WPH travelers take a look at the FCO Travel Advice for their chosen destination.
- What is community tourism?
- To save paper Wild Photography Holidays encourages correspondence by email or telephone, so if you have Internet access, including the bookings and we encourage you to view your correspondence on screen to avoid printing at home. We do not produce a brochure although we will send out a dossier in the post on request.
Out in the field
WPH encourages you to travel responsibly and to consider the following guidelines:
- When out in wild places we encourage you to keep erosion to a minimum, keep to footpaths and avoid stepping on or picking native flora.
- Protect the environment – its flora, fauna and landscapes.
- We encourage you to use water sparingly particularly in countries where it is a precious and expensive commodity. Additionally avoid buying plastic bottles of water and use your own metal or heavy-duty plastic bottle such as Nalgene to refil with water from a safe source as recommended.
- River water could also be drinking water, do not contaminate water supplies by washing in it. Any washing products should be phosphate free.
- Respect local customs religion and traditions. Adhere to local dress codes.
- Carry out some research about your holiday destination and being able to speak a few words of the local language is always appreciated.
- Don’t take photographs of local people and places of religious significance without permission.
- Keep promises! Send copies of photos to local people if this is what you have said you will do.
- Don’t give out sweets, pens or money, especially to children, it encourages begging. Far better to offer useful donations (Pens, paper, equipment etc) directly to schools or community projects.
- Buy local products such as food and souvenirs so that money directly benefits the community.
- Minimize pollution, and carry out all litter.
- Re-cycle and benefit the local staff in ‘poorer’ countries by donating warm useful clothing, equipment such as boots, sleeping mats, hats gloves etc.
Returning home
WPH trust that you will arrive home from your holiday with some amazing memories and photos to match!
We really would appreciate your feedback and comments about your holiday and would encourage you to complete the on-line feedback form that we will be sending. If you would prefer to receive this in the post then let us know using the details on our contact page.
Arunachala Greening Project
One of the main locations for our South India holiday is Tiruvanamalai which is dominated by the holy mountain Arunachala, the area is facing an ever-increasing population growth fuelled primarily by tourism, pilgrimage and burgeoning religious institutions. For the past seven years an initiative employing local people which is drawing on the ancient knowledge of tribal forest dwellers and modern expertise has started the reforestation of the holy mountain Arunachala. Previously this majestic mountain rising in the centre of a plain accentuated the environmental degradation for all to see, today the first signs of a return to it’s former greenness are beginning to be apparent.
Donate to Arunachala Greening Project re-forestation project
Iceland Conservation Volunteers
WPH supports the Environment Agency of Iceland through passing on information about its policy and encouraging people to join their volunteer scheme.
- Each summer more than 200 international volunteers take part in the Environment Agency programme. The volunteers now complete over 650 weeks of work around Iceland every year.
- The Environment Agency hosts volunteers from all over the world and works closely with a variety of international organizations. The programme is organized in partnership with the British conservation volunteer organization BTCV.
- The work began over 30 years ago in Jökulsárgljúfur, Vatnajökull National Park, with a team of 15 volunteers. Today, if you visit Iceland’s national parks, there is a very good chance that you will walk on trails built and maintained by Environment Agency volunteers.
- All volunteers live and work in some of the most beautiful parts of Iceland throughout the summer. The teams gain experience of a wide range of practical conservation skills while working closely with local staff and other international volunteers.
- Although work is focused on the improvement and maintainance of hiking trails, volunteers are also involved in wilderness management and heritage management