When a Holiday Is Sold as Helping a Place: What to Ask Before You Book

Clients now ask me about holidays sold on the promise that the trip restores nature or supports a community. The labels for this vary and none has an agreed definition, so there is no standard to check a company against. This page covers what to ask before you pay for a holiday sold this way.

Why there is nothing to check against

A 2024 paper from the University of Gloucestershire says there is little consensus on how this kind of travel should be defined, and a 2025 review in Travel Tomorrow reached the same view for both industry and academia. The review also cites researchers who warn of a high risk of misleading environmental claims. Darrell Wade, founder of Intrepid Travel, has said the approach tends to focus on the small and positive rather than the large and negative.

A lodge may fund a tree-planting project, but that says nothing about the flights that brought you there. In its 2024 Hurtigruten Expeditions ruling, the ASA found that consumers would read a claim about a holiday as covering the whole holiday, flights included. I set out the rules in my article on environmental claims in holiday marketing.

What to ask before you book

• Which project does this holiday support, and who runs it?
• How much of the price goes to it, and is that amount stated?
• What has been measured, by whom, and over what period?
• Can I see a report that was not written by the company selling the holiday?
• Does the claim cover the flights, or only the stay?

If a company cannot answer these in writing, treat the claim as unproven.

What I can check

I make no claim that a holiday restores a place or leaves it better off. What I can check is the itinerary, and where the trip allows I ask for time with local makers and producers that the operator can name. Responsible Travel Choices covers the other requests I make of operators.

Responsible Travel

When I plan a holiday, I ask operators for locally owned accommodation and local guides where the trip allows, and I follow my Animal Welfare Policy on wildlife experiences. Holidays that include flights include a £15 payment to Sustainable Travel International, a non-profit working to protect vulnerable destinations and the communities who live there. It is part of the holiday price, there is no opt-out, and I keep a record of each payment. The Traveller's Pledge and my full approach are on my Responsible Travel page.

Planning Your Holiday With Me

This is a personal service from start to finish. I plan the route and book every part of it, and if anything changes while you are travelling, you call me and I deal with it.

As a travel agent I have 30 years of adventure travel experience, and I have visited around 80 countries myself, so my advice comes from experience and not from a brochure.

There is a belief that travel agents cost more. Booking with me does not. Many suppliers charge the same price whether you book direct or through me, and others sell to the trade only, on contracts with competitive pricing. Either way you pay no more for having me plan and book the trip, and your booking carries ABTA and ATOL protection where stated on your booking. You can read more in why book with me.

Call or WhatsApp 0117 452 1159 or email bridget@worldclassadventures.co.uk