EVERY JOURNEY IS A LOVE DECLARATION TO OUR WORLD!

We love our planet! And we must protect it so that future generations can also experience breathtaking landscapes, diverse animal worlds and fascinating cultures. We are convinced that tourism can and must make a positive contribution to protecting our planet. Through partnerships in which we strive for sustainable change, through the involvement of local communities to create alternative, environmentally friendly sources of income, and through the awareness of our travellers, who want to experience unique places first-hand and preserve them.

As a tour operator, we take our social responsibility seriously. Acting sustainably in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations and complying with environmentally friendly and social standards are at the core of our entrepreneurial activities.

SOFT TOURISM HAND IN HAND WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES

We are certain: When it comes to the conservation of unique ecosystems, we depend on local communities. Tourism in harmony with the local population can offer alternative sources of income and prevent the destruction of nature, for example through deforestation or illegal gold mines that are harmful to people and the environment. For us, this is the key to preserving vital ecosystems, especially the oceans and the few remaining intact rainforests as CO₂ reservoirs and habitats for countless species.

SPOTLIGHT:
SURINAME − NEW STANDARDS FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

As small as the country in the middle of the huge Amazon basin is compared to the rest of the world, its importance for the global climate is huge. The reason: Suriname is considered the greenest country on earth. About 93 percent of the land is covered with trees. The dense primary forest, 13 percent of which is currently protected, not only provides a habitat for numerous endangered animal and plant species, but also serves as a natural CO₂ reservoir. Suriname already has a negative CO₂ balance of minus 21 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. The country thus fulfils an important function in the fight against advancing climate change.

In order to sustainably protect this unique ecosystem from destruction, we are working together with the non-profit organisation Conservation International Suriname and developed a very special trip. After our visit to the indigenous Tiriyó people in the south of Suriname, we were the first tour operator to receive permission to bring a few travellers to their tribal area in the future. "It is a trip that on the one hand offers an incomparably deep insight into a still unknown travel destination and on the other hand makes a valuable contribution to the protection of the rainforest and the culture of the Tiriyó," says itravel founder Axel Schmiegelow about his heart project.

⇒ Discover now: Suriname Group Roundtrip: „In the footsteps of the rainforest's indigenous people"

The close cooperation between Conservation International Suriname and itravel goes far beyond travel cooperation. For example, the repair and reactivation of a local bakery in Kwamalasamutu on the Tiriyó tribal territory is planned. This should ensure that bread no longer has to be flown in from Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname. In addition, a pilot project with solar plants in Amotopo is to contribute to supplying the indigenous population with renewable energy in the near future.

CLIMATE NEUTRALITY & COMPENSATION OF ALL EMISSIONS

CLIMATE-NEUTRAL COMPANY

We are a climate-neutral company. We actively reduce the emissions of our business activities, and what cannot (yet) be avoided we compensate for completely via climate protection projects. ClimatePartner supports us in calculating, reducing and offsetting CO₂ emissions. The entire process is traceable through the "climate neutral" label.

WE OFFSET 100% OF OUR CUSTOMERS' CO₂ EMISSIONS

In order to discover the world, immerse yourself in other cultures and broaden your own horizons in the process, it is hardly possible to do without flying. Unfortunately, at present this still means that the resulting emissions have a negative impact. To prevent this, we have to make our trips climate-neutral. For our customers, we choose the shortest possible direct flight connections, avoid domestic flights and encourage them to take a few longer trips instead of many short ones. For our clients, we bear the cost of offsetting all CO₂ emissions associated with their full trip - both for air and all land services (hotel accommodation, meals, activities).

Current offset status: 399,764 kg CO₂e (as of: 06/2022)
⇒ Learn more

SPOTLIGHT: COMPENSATION PROJECTS
STOP THE PLASTIC FLOOD − PLASTIC BANK
Project: CO₂ offsetting and marine conservation

It is predicted that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish. Money against plastic - that is the approach of this project to prevent the plastic tide. In Haiti, Indonesia and the Philippines, waste collectors can earn their income in this way. Anyone can collect plastic waste and exchange it for money, food, drinking water, mobile phone credit, cooking oil or even school fees at the local Plastic Bank collection points. The exchanged value is higher than the actual market value of the plastic, so that the local people can actually live off it.
Thanks to this project, plastic does not even end up in the sea. It is recycled and turned into so-called social plastic, which in turn becomes new products.
⇒ Learn more

SUPPORTING INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN PROTECTING THEIR FORESTS
Project: Forest protection in Mataven, Colombia
Estimated annual emissions reduction: 3,622,352 t CO₂.

This project protects 1,150,200 hectares of tropical rainforest and preserves its biodiversity. It provides education, health care, sanitation, food security and other social services for 16,000 indigenous people. The project works hand in hand with the communities to improve living conditions and promote sustainable economic growth.
The holistic approach ensures a sustainable shift towards sustainable economic practices and conservation, and contributes to the protection of indigenous territories by promoting community-driven governance, better monitoring of territories, and stronger communication and transport systems. It also helps improve food self-sufficiency for six different ethnic groups.

PARTNERSHIPS FOR ACTIVE TRANSFORMATION

Together we can make a difference. Through our partnerships with non-profit organisations such as Conservation International Suriname, we actively contribute to change.

Through active memberships in environmental and animal welfare organisations, we challenge people to actively protect the environment and also question our own portfolio. While encounters with animals play a major role for many travellers, as a tour operator we also bear the responsibility for the welfare of animals and the conservation of biodiversity. For these reasons, we deliberately avoid experiences where animals are not kept and treated in a species-appropriate manner. We do not include activities such as elephant riding and dolphin petting in our programme for ethical reasons. We are convinced that there is no more sustainable way to experience animals than in the wild. We therefore recommend that our clients go on wildlife watching trips where the animals are in their natural habitat. These include safaris or whale watching that respectfully approach the animals.

OUR PARTNERS

Conservation International Suriname is a non-profit environmental organisation that has been working in Suriname for 25 years and internationally in 40 countries for 30 years to protect nature for the benefit of people. This is achieved by combining field work with innovations in science, policy and finance.

As part of a campaign by the animal protection organisation Pro Wildlife, we revised our offer in February 2019 and removed any activities with direct contact between humans and elephants from the programme. Consequently, we have been classified as an elephant-friendly tour operator by the organisation.

With the help of ClimatePartner, we at itravel offset all CO₂ emissions of our business operations as well as the emissions of our customers' travel. The climate protection projects supported in this way meet internationally recognised standards and are based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.

We support RISE UP and the Blue Call to Action, which was formally launched in New York in February 2020 at the preparatory meeting of the UN Ocean Conference. RISE UP is a call to governments and businesses to take bold and fair action to put the ocean on a recovery path.

IN LINE WITH THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

In 2015, the United Nations adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Sustainable Development Goals are a call to action for a better and more sustainable future for all. They address global challenges including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice.
At itravel, we are committed to aligning ourselves with the SDGs to make our contribution to a livable future.