OUR SUSTAINABILITY POLICIES

Responsible Travel leads to Sustainable Tourism

 

Responsible travel practices are a win-win for everybody: for your clients, local businesses, natural resources, communities, and us!

Legendary Adventure is recognised as a Sustainable Tourism Company by the Portuguese Tourism Board, but we know it is necessary to keep reducing our environmental and social footprint wherever we can, with an ever-growing ethical and sustainable approach to our activities.

Be it from simple acts like recycling all office waste to having fair working conditions, from favouring locally owned businesses to picking trash along our walks/activities.

We want to partner with companies that share the core principle that holidays should benefit local people and places, not just profit from their resources.

We know it is not easy, not a magic elixir – we want to honestly and steadily do our part for a meaningful change by offering great trips with minimum impact.

Having the vision to become the leading responsible travel provider in Portugal, we are proactively engaged in implementing sustainable travel practices.

And we are ambitious for the future! Our sustainability strategy is an ever-developing project – we fine-tune our goals and actions according to the latest scientific discoveries and adapt our conduct to each destination.

Check below how we put our views into practice.

#Can’tSkipTomorrow

“We pledge to keep improving our sustainability measures.
We want to keep receiving guests at our home and share our culture, history, and nature in unforgettable experiences.”

#ChooseALighterFootprint

“We work on an small scale and with clear ethical principles to ensure benefits for all: our business, our clients, our suppliers, our community, and our shared natural resources.”

SUPPORT LOCAL ECONOMY


 

We actively favour resident guides, locally-owned restaurants, accommodations, and other services.

We research in-person – this means we visit the establishments, talk to people, to build a personal and, ideally, lasting relationship.

We analyse not only: transportation distances, comfort levels, if the food is locally sourced, the type of management they practice, but also how these factors impact the quality, sustainability, and fairness of each tour.

We check if there are practices of using renewable energy, plans for water use, fair treatment of employees. In short, we care in assuring that the benefits of tourism support the social and economic activities of that place.

Most of our travels are in off-the-beaten-track places, where low-impact tourism plays an essential role in maintaining the economy. The opportunities created by sustainable touristic activities provide additional incentives to small entrepreneurs to stay in their local area, keeping it alive.

We are proud to say that many of our suppliers are very committed to sustainability practices. And this not only protects their environment and culture; it also offers a more rewarding and authentic holiday experience for our guests.

PROMOTE FAIR DEALS


 

Closer to Nature & Communities

A key element of what makes a holiday experience unique and memorable is the opportunity to meet and speak with local people, to know their ways and their culture.

Our team is locally hand-picked to meet these expectations. We strive to offer good working conditions, fair pay and empower our staff with training opportunities and a sense of belonging.

All of our products are planned, researched, and run by our resident in-house staff, giving your clients unparalleled knowledge and insight into the regions visited.

The leader and driver accompanying our small groups will offer a crucial understanding and appreciation of the areas. In turn, this has a ripple effect on whether or not visitors will recommend these tours to others.

We also keep a constant eye out for potential new experiences that can simultaneously benefit local people and enrich the holiday experience.

Supporting local artisans and promoting cultural attractions, local markets, and businesses contributes to sustaining jobs and cultural diversity.

We do our share to keep our holidays inspiring and sustainable. You can promise your clients a far more authentic, rewarding, and enjoyable holiday in Portugal, organized by a committed local team. They will return!

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT


 

Our office staff and local guides are highly conscientious when it comes to environmental responsibility.

We operate in several protected areas and work mainly in nature settings, which we see as a real privilege. We love our small – but rich in diversity – country and have enormous respect for the environment.

All of our guides operate a strict leave no trace policy, and they ensure that all guests follow this rule during our tours – not only in nature but everywhere we operate.

They can also give interesting personal views. We know that traveling in our small groups encourages friendly chats with local people and a closer approach to the communities.

One of the principles of responsible tourism is to promote mutual respect and deep knowledge of others and their lifestyles – and this why we love to travel!

 

Animal Welfare

We work to ensure that we, and our guests, behave in a manner that causes no harm to any living creatures or their habitats.

As a nature tourism company, we feel the responsibility to ensure that our holidays do not cause harm or any negative impact on the health and welfare of animals and their natural environment.

We believe in an ethically-minded appreciation of animals and strive to ensure that none are mistreated during our trips.

We promote and support local projects and organizations that have environmental protection as their goal.

The tours that involve the viewing or interaction with animals, like birdwatching, are led by local guides trained to ensure the well-being of all involved.

We are committed to promoting only ethical experiences and refusing any cruel tourism practices that compromise animal welfare, like visiting captive animal facilities.

 

Transport

We research intensively to find the most sustainable means of transport to access the areas where we develop our activities.

Our tours aim for responsible travellers, who appreciate the “live like a local” ethos, and we work very hard to fulfil their expectations.

Most of the tours take place in ancient paths in nature, crossing rural villas and hamlets, and we use small vehicles with local drivers to reach those sites.

From there, we travel happily on foot, or with a bike, undoubtedly the lowest impact ways of exploring.

Whenever possible, we use public transportation (local buses, trains, and metro lines) as a more sustainable alternative to private vehicles.

In our portfolio, we also offer rail and train travel – it is not only the most environmentally friendly way of journeying, but it is also a fantastic way to see the sights, contact people, and know the destination. It is a greener transport method and a more stimulating and authentic way to experience our country.

 

Waste

We strive to promote “plastic-free” tours and recommend vividly that our visitors bring reusable bottles to reduce single-use plastics.

Our guides also carry garbage bags to pick up any waste they find along the way – some clients join us spontaneously.

Our office has active policies for reducing, reuse, and recycle, and we continuously study new ways to make it greener and more efficient, like achieving the goal to be paper-free soon.

We are investing in tools to facilitate and make our tours more enjoyable and to meet this goal we developed an in-house app (Android version and IOS version) to assist the clients throughout their stay without paper material.

We say NO to single-use packages in our tours: our guests receive a simple but handy (and stylish!) cotton snack bag.

Most lunch-on-the-go food comes in plastic packages and bags that carry a heavy ecological footprint. They will either wind up in a landfill, adding to the growing issue of plastic pollution, or pollute the trails if discarded on the route.

While the packaging is not provided in recyclable or compostable materials, we use the best next solution: a reusable snack bag made with a 100% cotton cloth. A small contribution to shifting away from single-use plastics and toward zero-waste, sustainable touring.

This is not a meaningless freebie – we find it essential to actively provide the best conditions for a sustainable and enjoyable travel time.

Sustainable Holidays in Portugal

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY


 

Corporate Social Responsibility policies provide us with methods of assessing our current values, products, and systems to seek positive impacts.

Legendary Adventure believes that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is one framework that helps businesses improve social and environmental standards.

We aim to constantly improve our practices through self-awareness.

Following the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) guide to CSR we regularly use the following rules to access our progresses:

  • Are we promoting Accountability?
  • Are we promoting Transparency?
  • Are we promoting Ethical Behaviour?
  • Are we exceeding Legally Binding Norms?
  • Are we reflecting the Precautionary Approach towards the environment?
  • Are we respecting Human Rights?

DECLARING A CLIMATE EMERGENCY


 

Legendary Adventure is declaring a Climate Emergency.

A global community of 287 organisations, companies and professionals in the tourism industry are working together to plan a better future for tourism.

We’ve all committed to aligning our plans with the need to cut global emissions in half by 2030.

By sharing our challenges, ideas, and solutions, we look to develop a tourism industry that’s more in balance with our climate, helps to restore biodiversity and supports vulnerable people across the world.

IMPORTANT NOTICE – CARBON OFFSET


 

We do not promote carbon offsetting schemes, as it has been proven it doesn’t work.

In fact, from 2021 the EU will stop allowing offsets to be counted towards emissions reductions targets.

In our view, a responsible approach to tourism and the climate crisis must preview a slower and sustainable growth.

It is a global moral responsibility to fight for carbon reduction – to continue the splurge and then make “compensations” is unethical.

Plus, we believe it is a dangerous distraction to a much-needed global behaviour change towards traveling.

We believe that the setting of achievable goals – that have a real and immediate result in the communities and nature – is a more honest, sustainable, and responsible practice of our touristic activity.

UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS


The UN Sustainable Development Goals is a plan to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. It addresses the global challenges humanity faces, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice.

We believe that a sustainable travel activity can contribute in many ways to achieving these goals by empowering people and including them in the tourism value chain and the conservation of forests, biodiversity, and marine life.

Responsible travel practices are also a valuable way to stop over-tourism and over-consumption, with more efficient use of resources, including food, water, and energy, from sustainable tourism companies.

The travel industry should also undergo the responsibility to take urgent actions to mitigate its climatic impact by finding innovative solutions.

Legendary Adventure works on an small scale and with clear ethical principles to ensure benefits for all: our business, our clients, our suppliers, our community, and our shared natural resources.

We pledge to keep improving our sustainability measures.