I. Achievement & Success
1. Social policy & human rights
Team Activities
Team building activities has taken place actively throughout the year. Our staff always takes these chances to celebrate team spirit and communicate thoughtfully. Other than the former team activities, Footprint Travel offers new activity including morning coffee once per month to help our staff understand each other more and boost team spirit.
Healthy Eating
In order to provide a healthy, energy-producing meal for our staff, Footprint has hired a cook to prepare lunch for our staff. This initiative also helps ensure food safety because all the ingredients are fresh and organic.
Sales Training
Every year, we have provided our staff opportunities for professional development. This year, training for sales department provides a range of activities that enable an employee to develop sales skill and knowledge. On the other hand, they were also trained on crafting sustainable products.
Our on-going training has resulted in improved performance of sales team. Two of our sales consultants has received 1st ground handler – a certification awarded by partner in UK.
2. Recycle Event
The 5th annual Recycle Event was successfully held between May 18-21, 2017 in Hoang Su Phi. Aiming to raise awareness among staff, partners and friends of responsible tourism, participants had the opportunities to participate in various activities, from cycling, local interaction to voluntary work in Suoi Thau Hamlet.
The bike challenge this year attached 22 cyclist enthusiasts from Vietnam, France, Australia, Spain and The Netherlands and raised 54.000.000VND for constructing a 200 meters concrete road in the area.
Additionally, the event is considered an important fundamental step in establishing various community based tourism activities in Hoang Su Phi and introduce with our friends new hidden attraction destination, with a lot of potentials for the development of adventure and community-based tourism.
3. Destination
Inspection trip
Throughout the year, we have organized several inspection trips to new areas in Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Hoa Binh, Myanmar.
Using destination policies that we developed, we carefully assessed sustainable aspects of the destination. The products then should be crafted to showcase the best of our destination while providing social, environmental and cultural benefits.
4. Community
With the optimization of local products, we have successfully increased our percentage of revenue going directly to the local, from 8% in 2015 to 18% in 2017.
II. Difficulties and Solutions
– We want to expand our list of sustainable suppliers. However, Footprint is a small company, making it more difficult to persuade them to practice sustainably.
Solution: We connected with other members of Responsible Travel Club or Travelife Partner to raise our voice.
– Garbage separation and recycling are not common in Vietnam. Hence, after waste sorting at our office, all the garbage is sent to the waste handling center for processing.
Solution: There are street sellers whose trading items are recyclable and reusable products. Hence, we can recycle at an easier level of separating only paper, cans, plastic bottles, organic waste and other waste.
– Guests are not willing to cooperate. Although we have always encouraged our guests to carry refillable water bottles, they are still hesitant to practice because of doubts in the water source from where they can refill.
Solution: for this case is making sure the water is from certified brands or brands that are familiar to travellers.
– Homestay: Changing commitment to responsible travel of local hosts. We facilitate and educate local hosts with infrastructure and knowledge to accommodate guests in the most hospitable way. Once the destination becomes more popular and attracts more visitors, it is easier for some homestay to receive more bookings. However, with a steady income and more dependence on new bookings, local host’s commitment to responsible travel also changes. Practising sustainable tourism can be more complicated and costly, thus they tend to choose the easier way: the unsustainable direction.
– A common case is that after gaining a stable income, some local hosts invest in an extra property next to their house for guests. Therefore, guests are not staying together in the same house with local family. The interaction between local family and guests is limited, along with the authenticity of the experience for guests.
Solution to this challenge is to create and maintain a close relationship with the local community, offer training and supervise them on practising responsible travel. Also, local hosts who strongly commit to responsible travel are prioritised in sending bookings.
