GetLocals Steps Towards Sustainable Tourism In Russia
GetLocals is an innovative tour operator based in St Petersburg, operated and owned by young enthusiastic entrepreneurs who love Russia and its breathtaking nature, rich culture, and hospitable people. Russia has huge tourist potential with recent relaxing of the visa regime for much of the world now has never been such a good time to visit this fantastic country. GetLocals tours are about visiting historical sights, unique nature, or both. Above all, GetLocals stands for providing unforgettable and authentic experiences within Russia. GetLocals tries to support and develop responsible tourism in Russia at all times.
As stated in the “Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism”, responsible tourism creates better places for people to live in and better places to visit. It maximizes the benefits to local communities, minimizes negative social or environmental impacts, and helps local people conserve fragile cultures and habitats or species.
At GetLocals we recognize that travel and tourism have a significant impact on the economy and environment and we believe that the whole industry should cooperate to ensure the development of positive aspects of tourism. Having said that, we aim to contribute to the long-term future of Russia’s economic stability, environmental wellness, cultural heritage, and people’s well-being by acting responsibly and implementing sustainable solutions on all levels of our operations. Our steps for developing sustainable tourism in Russia:
We care for the community
- We aim to work with local suppliers and local service providers wherever possible.
- We endeavor to place our guests at the heart of the local communities by using small and medium locally-run and locally-owned accommodation providers.
- Where possible, we get involved in projects that will benefit the local communities in the economic, social, or environmental sphere.
- We provide our customers with quality and adequate information on the destinations they visit. Therefore it increases understanding of local culture, its problems and facilitates cultural exchange with local people.
We care for the environment
- We make sure that the volume of participants and the type of tourism we offer doesn’t have a negative impact on local conditions and infrastructure.
- We aim to work with suppliers, communities, and organizations, which are committed to environmental protection.
- We give priority to public transport (where available) and optimize the itinerary to reduce the carbon footprint.
- We prefer digital content management over the traditional paper.
- We are keen on recycling, energy-saving solutions and minimizing litter, water and atmospheric pollution in our office and at any specific tourism activity, we provide.
We promote responsible behaviour
- We try to educate our customers by providing them guidelines on how to travel responsibly. Information is available on our tours and on our website (look for Travel Tips).
- We encourage our staff to act sustainably and train them on the most efficient ways to do it.
- We actively participate in discussions about sustainability and responsible tourism, providing feedback, and sharing our experiences.
- We aim to cooperate with our partners and stakeholders to ensure sustainable supply chain management.