Responsible Travel Policy

We organise responsible tours around Buenos Aires, responsible trips around the provinces of Argentina and volunteering experiences. We combine tourist attractions with visits to social and environmental projects which work in the same geographical region. We work in partnership with responsible suppliers and local communities to act as hosts of the travellers and provide transportation, lodging and other services with the least negative impact on the environment and with a positive impact on the socio-economic situation of the local communities.


Responsible Travel Policy

We aim to quickly get our travellers into our society and do our best to facilitate their active involvement in each community they visit, so they can learn about the argentine way of living and feeling. We bring travellers close to locals as equals, respecting the identity of the visited communities without over exposing them and responsibly deciding on the activities and proposals together with the local communities.
Our tour guides play a key role in promoting and facilitating the travellers’ involvement in our society. The guides are recruited according to specific criteria, not only in terms of skills (language, group management, communicative ability) but also in terms of previous social involvement experiences. Once the tour guides join our team they are trained in responsible travel and the culture, history and socio-economic aspects of Argentina and the communities they will be visiting with the travellers. Our tour guides understand they are the key to generate a fruitful exchange experience between the traveller and the local communities.
We work in partnership with the charities and local communities that receive our passengers and we co-operate with them in order to design our tours and journeys around the country.
We choose institutions and organisations that have a transforming and innovative mission to give solutions to social and economic problems that affect their communities and that are transparent in the management of the economic resources. By supporting their work we are contributing to improve the situation of their beneficiaries. We ourselves are consumers of the products of the organisations whenever possible, in a manner which abides by the principals of fair trade. Souvenirs which we provide at the end of the tours are their produce, as are presents we give to our suppliers and the snacks consumed during the tours are always provided by the local communities.
In all of the tours organised by ANDA, the travellers are invited to make a donation to the social organisations (separate from the price of the tour) in thanks for having received them and in an effort to contribute to their work and sustainability. The organisations agree a minimum purchase or sum for the donation with ANDA and the travellers can choose to donate either the minimum, or a larger sum.
We also organise volunteering opportunities for individuals and for groups, for varying amounts of time. We match the profiles and wishes of volunteers to the needs and set ups of the projects, thus enabling the co-operation and development of social causes whilst establishing long lasting links between cultures.
In our office we strive to take measures as outlined by Greenpeace Argentina in order to reduce damage to the environment. This includes measures such as recycling and minimising use of paper, using paper provided by sustainable sources, minimising unnecessary consumption of electricity and using environmentally friendly transportation whenever possible.
Our Responsible Travel Policy is published online, along with a full explanation of the concepts of responsible travel. The policy is also distributed to all staff and suppliers. We distribute feedback forms at the end of every tour, thus are able to deal with complaints and suggestions promptly and continually improve our services.

Policy Aims

Our goal is to become the first and leading responsible travel company in Argentina. Our aim is to strengthen the role of tourism as a means to raise funds for social endeavours and to preserve and raise awareness about Argentinean resources.
ANDA activity falls in this category: all circuits are designed to contribute to the development of the communities visited and preserve the environment. The tours organized by the company seek to generate a more equitable distribution of benefits generated by tourism sectors reaching those most in need.
These experiences not only contribute with the social and environmental development in Argentina, but also generate a fruitful exchange experience between the travellers and the local communities. While taking a tour, a trip or a volunteering day, the traveller comes back to her country having an unforgettable experience about her visit to Argentina.

 

Economic Responsibility

We always employ or work in partnership with local people or endeavours. For example in Iguazu the guides who we employ for the tours come from the local Guaraní community. Moreover, we make use of local products in our tours, another example being Mendoza where the travellers eat food produced by the families with whom they're staying. Before the start of a trip, travellers receive a personalised itinerary with information about local services, such as where to buy locally manufactured products or where to consume meals from local communities. Regarding our tours, guides inform travellers about the best places to consume from local sources during the visit. We introduce our passengers to local artists, productive projects and social cooperatives, promoting fair trade. All of the projects that are included in our tours and trips find another fundraising source in responsible tourism. The prices of the trips and tours already include a donation to the local organizations. Moreover, our passengers are invited to make additional donations and purchases to the social projects we visit, as a way of showing gratefulness for receiving us and in order to contribute to their mission and sustainability. As part of our commitment, ANDA donates 5% of its profits to the communities and social projects we work with and chooses the charities production over regular providers whenever possible.

Environmental Responsibility

In our office we strive to take measures in order to reduce damage to the environment. This includes measures such as recycling, minimising use of paper sending most of the information by email and using paper provided by sustainable sources, minimising unnecessary consumption of electricity, and using environmentally friendly and public transportation whenever possible. We promote experiences which are commited with the environment care and awareness. For example, the destinations Puerto Madryn, Iguazu and “Sustainable livelihood in the countryside” all provide visits to local projects which promote and support environmental conservation. Depending on the destination, they also support social causes. For example the later works with the local inhabitants (gauchos) to provide different services during the experience in the countryside such as cooking, horseback riding, visits to the town. In tours or trips when the focus is on social projects, we also mention local environmental concerns (e.g. pollution in the Riachuelo during La Boca tour). In addition to this our website and blog informs travellers how to be a responsible tourist, including how to reduce water consumption. In the individual tours travellers are informed in detail how about various forms of environmental conservation and protection. (See www.andaturismoresponsable.blogspot.com).
 
Social Responsibility
 
Before arriving to Argentina there is information available for the traveller on our website on the ‘useful information’ section about economic history, politics and general information the traveller might need. Upon arrival there is the opportunity to partake in “Ideas Café” to gain in-depth knowledge of topics such as the political and socio-economic situation of Argentina before (or after) undertaking the tours. This experience is conducted by local experts in economics, history, politics, and argentine arts and culture. When booking a tour or a trip, the traveller is given a clear description of what the tours entail as well as information on how to minimise damage to local cultures. This is emphasized during the experiences by the local guides. We always work with local hosts and guides both in Buenos Aires and in the interior of the country. Our trips serve to preserve the way of being and living of the community and the exchange between different cultures they involve promoting respect and understanding. Furthermore, our trips contribute to diversify the local economies, to give employment to local communities as well as motivations for younger people who usually have to migrate to cities because of unemployment or lack of motivations in the town. At the destinations Mendoza, Iguazú, Sustainable livelihood in the countryside (Yamay), Catamarca as well as the tours of tango, La Boca, the city and the Jewish tours we visit and interact with local communities and social projects.

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