Taking positive steps now to safeguard travel in the future
Our goal is to inspire, guide and enable you as a traveller to have deeper, richer and more connected experiences on your journeys with us. We aim to create travel experiences that foster a sense of passion and care for the world’s threatened communities, wildlife and habitat.
Our aim is to give you the means to explore the world sustainably, giving you peace of mind in the knowledge that you are having a net positive impact on the people you meet and the places you visit. If the travel industry as a whole can achieve this goal, then we can safeguard your future travel plans and the travel aspirations of generations to come.
This all starts before you even pick up the phone or start writing that first email to us. It’s not only how we create travel experiences for you but also how we run our company. This ranges from our internal Impact Team researching and adopting best practices on energy consumption in our office, to developing a flexible, innovative travel app that outlines your itinerary in detail, replacing our previous printed itinerary and travel pack.
During your booking you will notice that the Steppes Travel approach might work differently to those around us in the industry. Your Travel Expert will share insights on both the travel experience and its potential impact, giving care and consideration in equal measure to you and your needs alongside those of your hosts and the environment. With this approach we believe the enjoyment of your holiday will be enhanced, knowing that you are making a positive difference on the ground.
This takes shape in many ways. By offsetting the carbon footprint of your flights (based on economy class travel). By donating funds to causes and initiatives that support conservation, community and carbon sequestration. By articulating how our key holidays contribute to at least three UN Sustainable Development Goals. By auditing our value chain to ensure our partners share our commitment to sustainability. By prioritising the use of accommodation that promotes conservation and community alongside practical carbon reduction initiatives. Throughout the process of creating your itinerary, your Travel Expert will also look to suggest ways to reduce your carbon footprint, such as taking fewer flights and opting for travel by train for example.
If you’re flying to and from your destination, then we suggest your holiday should be no less than seven days duration. The shorter your stay, the less opportunity you have to mitigate the carbon footprint of your flight. And where possible slow things down and spend longer in each place you visit. This will help enhance your positive impact and give you a more intimate connection with the places you visit.
Your travel expert will already be looking at the accommodation we recommend, based not only on your needs and desires but also based on the positive impact the property has on community and conservation. We are in the process of consolidating the properties we work with based on their sustainability credentials, using our own knowledge but also that of external partners, such as The Long Run and Weeva. Lodges, camps and hotels have the capacity to help protect wild habitats and provide career opportunities and sustained income to local communities. We want to champion those properties that are leading the way in this respect.
As a standard, we set aside £100pp from each booking, which is split between carbon offsetting your flights and supporting our charities working towards conservation, community and carbon reduction. In 2022, we donated a total figure of just under £134,000, covering our offsets with World Land Trust and our philanthropic giving under the auspices of Steppes Fund For Change.
To underline our commitment to Positive Impact Travel, and to show our clients that we’re working with a long-term vision in mind, we will be creating and sharing an annual Positive Impact Travel Report. This report will give an honest review of our progress against the sustainability goals we set ourselves each year. We don’t expect to have all the answers, far from it. We know that carbon offsetting is far from being a perfect solution, but we shouldn’t let perfect be the enemy of the good. We hope you’ll join us on a journey to refine the way we travel to ensure it is a privilege that can be cherished by future generations.
From the blog
Our knowledge, curiosity and expertise set us apart, driving us to create remarkable holidays and Beautiful Adventures tailored perfectly to you, carefully curated to help protect and conserve our planet.
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