Codes of Conduct for Ground Handlers and DMC's.
Responsible travel operators, or ground handlers and agents play a critical and central role within the supply chain, in ensuring the use of the most sustainable services, experiences and products, without compromising quality or experience.
This is now more easily applied by using TOFT members and encouraging enhanced PUG rankings of your accommodation providers, as part of your own corporate social responsibilities. Click
here for details on members.
a) Consider your client's footprint
- Undertake full and proper reconnaissance of each area of operation before sending clients there.
- Use accommodation and services that minimise their environmental footprint and/or enhance conservation of their ‘wilderness resources’. Use PUG rankings as the basis of your choice.
- ownership
- energy, waste and water management
- local employment and training opportunities offered
- food purchasing (local produce or shipped in)
- ‘extra’ services or tours offered for clients
- quality of guiding and briefing
- any local projects/initiatives/enterprises supported directly by accommodation.
b) Ensure your clients
- Have been fully briefed about the host country, its customs, cultures, sensitivities and sensibilities on arrival by accompanying guide or lodge staff.
- Act correctly and with due reverence and respect to cultures and customs, and encourage the learning of basic phrases in local languages to facilitate this.
- Are briefed as to the official park rules and regulations. Avoid any activity that results in cruel treatment of animals, or interference in their natural way of life, including getting too close to tigers and wildlife, pressuring mahouts to get too close, or getting drivers to drive irresponsibly, off road or dangerously. Procedures for reporting such incidents should be made available to clients and should be emailed to info@toftigers.org or by mail to Travel Operators for Tigers.
c) Enhance visitor interpretation & participation
- Maximise opportunities for your clients to visit local handicraft shops and cooperatives or encourage local communities to start such cooperatives as a business venture.
- Ensure that interpretation and guiding offers a real picture of the area, and that visitors are made aware of the issues and concerns facing the communities they visit and the conflicts facing the conservation of wildlife and resources in each area.
- Ensure wildlife guides used by your visitors in parks have a competent standard of interpretation and knowledge of the flora and fauna to enhance your client’s experiences. Wildlife guides should carry suitable maps, a mammal guidebook, bird books and other material in their vehicles to show/illustrate what is being seen.
- Engage with local community representatives to identify individuals eager to become trained wildlife guides who can offer independent services to visitors
- Enlighten clients through high quality interpretation to all of India’s extraordinary wildlife rather than relying solely on the pursuit of tigers. This will require better training, guiding and language skills.
