 Camino Travel stands for sustainable & responsible tourism Honesty, great service, innovation, cultural sensitivity, destination knowledge, flexibility and social responsibility were just some of the bases on which Camino Travel was founded and to date, we continue to make efforts to improve our practices and services; that’s what makes us one of Costa Rica’s leading tour operators!
With the vision of achieving a better way of doing tourism, with little impact on the environment and big impact on each traveller’s experiences, we have outlined our path…making strong commitments towards sustainable and responsible practices in our daily actions.
 How do you know that Camino is really
engaged with sustainable and responsible tourism?
Camino has invested in different initiatives to be sure about what the company is doing. These actions give you more confidence about our practices and also provide information regarding how we do sustainable tourism.
Today we are proud to be one of the first seven companies in Costa Rica that obtained the Certification for Sustainable Tourism for Tour Operators (CST) achieving the fourth out of five levels. This certification is a product of the Costa Rican Tourism Board and it is regulated by the Costa Rican National Accreditation Commission. The main purpose is to distinguish companies according to the degree to which they comply with a sustainable model of natural, cultural and social resource management.
Why the Certification for
Sustainable Tourism makes sense?
CST gives you reliable information regarding companies that make efforts to improve their management and operations to offer a sustainable product. It is also a good tool to differentiate those companies that are truly engaged with sustainable practices, from others that claim to be sustainable but are inconsistent in their actions.
When you see that a company has the CST,
what can you expect?
- The company avoids damaging the natural environment.
- Performs different actions to prevent natural environmental risks.
- Reduces, Reuses and Recycles.
- Uses natural and biodegradable products.
- Have programs to save electricity and saving water.
- Encourage people to take care and protect the natural and cultural wealth of the country.
- Complies with the law and regulations regarding the environment, wildlife, archeological heritage, and social security.
- Cares to provide employment opportunities for the community where it operates.
- Promotes and values the national traditions and customs.
- Have different programs to evaluate its services and improve their quality.
- Educates their employees to understand the benefits of good practices not only with activities related to the company itself, but also in their everyday lives.
If you need more information regarding the CST, please take a look at:
www.sustainable –tourism.co.cr or www.sustainabletourism-cst.com
Besides the Certification for Sustainable Tourism,
is Camino doing something else?
Besides the Certification, in 2005 Camino signed an agreement with Rainforest Alliance, a non governmental international conservation organisation dedicated to the promotion and implementation of best practices towards sustainability. We are committed to work alongside with this organisation in the development of responsible tourism and, to actively participate in the multiple activities organised by the RA including workshops for local tourism suppliers.
Moreover, loyal to our moral and ethical principles, Camino signed the Code of Conduct against Child Sexual Exploitation in Tourism. This code is promoted by the World Tourism Organization in conjunction with local child protection organisations. The aim of the Code is to create commitment among all the actors in the tourism industry, to fight against child sexual exploitation in tourism. We do this by means of raising awareness of the problem and assuming an active role in the battle against tourism of this kind.
How does Camino translate
the initiatives into actions?
We know that aside from the business related issues, the concept of sustainability requires a great deal of responsibility and hard work. Being sustainable means that we care to maintain a system of both local and global resources. For this reason we have developed a clear strategy to work in areas such as infrastructure and services, education, and interaction between the natural habitat and the socio-economical environment.
Within our actions to make tourism sustainable we:
- Encourage local suppliers
- Promote contact between the traveller and the local inhabitants
- Preserve the ecological and cultural integrity
- Encourage social and economic equity
- Understand differences
- Promote community involvement placing emphasis on education
- Give information to travelers on how to be a responsible tourist
- Keep high quality and control standards to assure our clients a top service
We believe that if something is not sustainable it will eventually disappear; therefore we will follow our conviction in promoting and supporting the development of responsible tourism, for the benefit of present and future generations, and in absolute harmony with the environment.
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