Member Article

Northumberland firm goes from green to silver

A Northumberland-based tourism operator is celebrating after success at the Oscars of the travel industry - the British Travel Awards.

Activities Abroad, based in Stannington, is a tour operator for adventure holidays, activity breaks and overseas adventure travel. After reaching the finals in two categories, Activities Abroad picked up the silver award for Most Environmentally Responsible Small Tour Operator.

Company founder and Managing Director, Alistair McLean, said: “We’re especially delighted to have won the Environmentally Responsible award and to have gained this national recognition for our commitment to the planet and the communities that welcome our customers around the world. It shows that a North East business working out of a converted farmhouse in Northumberland can compete on a national stage against companies owned by industry giants such as TUI and Thomas Cook.

“We are a fiercely independent company and therefore have the luxury of being able to focus on our key stakeholders rather than corporate shareholders. For us these are our employees, our suppliers, our customers and the environment. Our financial successes can be directed towards the local environment and ensuring that our visits have little or no impact other than a positive contribution.”

Activities Abroad supports numerous projects that provide clients with tangible methods of seeing its green policies at work, including a tree planting project at a school in Costa Rica.

Activities Abroad is a member of Responsible Travel - an organisation which promotes holidays that respect destinations and local people, working to support and stimulate local economies and the communities their clients visit while making concerted efforts to act in an environmentally sensitive way.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .