A schools’ tour operator specialising in ethical travel has reported an increase in sales of 55% over the past year as schools demand a more sustainable and responsible approach to travel.
Based in Exeter, STC Expeditions, which has been organising ethical school travel around the world since 2006, has noted a surge in enquiries and bookings from schools looking to launch sustainable trips.
Adrian Ferraro from STC Expeditions says: “Looking at the nature of enquiries coming in, as well as our sales increase over the last year, we believe that schools are now placing ethics and sustainability as a high priority when choosing their next school trip or expedition.
“When organised responsibly, travel has a positive economic, social and cultural impact, but we recognise that we are in an industry that does have a negative environmental effect. We therefore do everything we can to reduce this, whilst also taking the opportunity to educate the next generation of travellers.
“From the moment we launch a trip to when the group returns, we aim to educate students and teachers on how to be more responsible tourists; flying less and making each flight count, avoiding single use plastic by drinking filtered water and employing and training local leaders from the destination instead of sending staff from the UK – are just a few examples of many of the things we do.
“We also include a compulsory CO₂ mitigation scheme for all our clients, working with the UK charity, Friends of Conservation, whose schemes work through a combination of reforestation, carbon reduction programmes and carbon lock-up schemes in Peru, Kenya and India. We have also just announced an exciting partnership with Scottish charity, Trees for Life https://treesforlife.org.uk/, through which we will be planting a tree in the Scottish Highlands for every person that travels with us. As a result, we are now helping to restore, protect and expand a unique habitat of global importance – home to rare wildlife and incredible biodiversity, whilst also locking up additional carbon
“STC Expeditions is the only school tour operator and one of only two in the UK and around 90 worldwide with ‘Travelife Certified’ status, an accreditation formally recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. While we have been providing ethical trips for schools for nearly 15 years, it is fantastic to see that teachers and senior leaders are starting to place a greater emphasis on responsible and sustainable travel.”
For more information on STC Expeditions and its sustainable travel ethos, please visit: https://www.thestc.co.uk/travel/what-do-we-do/
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About STC Expeditions – www.thestc.co.uk STC Expeditions is a tour operator working in the schools’ travel market. Trading since 2006, the company is based in Exeter (UK) and organises ethical expeditions and educational journeys to worldwide destinations for schools across the UK. STC Expeditions is bonded by ATOL and was the first travel company in the UK to receive Travelife sustainability accreditation, as well as Childsafe certification.