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CODE OF CONDUCT
What is 'Responsible Travel'?
Tikalanka Tours (UK) Limited actively encourages responsible and sustainable travel to Sri Lanka.
By working closely with our associate company in Sri Lanka, Tikalanka Tours (Pvt) Limited, and
other partner organisations, we are endeavouring to promote cultural exchange, social awareness,
self-employment and self-development. We have established our own Code of Conduct for operational
purposes, which will be used as a Responsible Travel Policy document and will enable us to
monitor our progress in developing responsible and sustainable tourism in Sri Lanka.
Tikalanka Tours actively encourages responsible and sustainable travel by only employing
Sri Lankan guides, promoting small family-run guesthouses, eating at local restaurants,
supporting community-led projects, and ensuring travellers are aware of their
impact on the environment and people of Sri Lanka. We are a member of
ResponsibleTravel.com,
a supporter of 'Know Before You Go' and the
Born Free Foundation,
and advocate carbon neutral flights. We also make a contribution to community projects in Sri Lanka
for every holiday booked.
Tikalanka Tours recognises that increasing traveller numbers to Sri Lanka can have a negative
impact on the island’s culture and environment, and also that travelling there involves
long-haul flights, which contribute to global carbon emissions. It is our duty, therefore,
to minimise the negative aspects of long-haul travel and its potentially damaging effect on
the culture and ecology of Sri Lanka, while enabling the Sri Lankan people to gain maximum
benefit from the positive impact of increased tourism.
Carbon neutral flights
When we travel by plane we cause carbon emissions that contribute to global warming
and climate change. Although you can reduce the damage by visiting local destinations
that require shorter journeys, many of us do want (and need to) make long-haul journeys
by plane. To reduce the impact of these long-haul flights on the environment, you can
'neutralise' your carbon emissions through contributing to global projects that balance the
effect of your flight. We encourage all of our customers to make a voluntary contribution to
Climate Care
to reduce the impact of their long-haul flight on the environment.
All business flights to Sri Lanka taken by Tikalanka Tours personnel
are fully offset by a contribution to Climate Care.
Our travel philosophy
Tikalanka Tours is committed to showing interested world travellers the real Sri Lanka –
its natural beauty, rich cultural heritage, abundant wildlife and secluded sandy beaches.
We have a genuine passion for the island, borne out of the close personal friendship between
the companies’ directors in Sri Lanka and the UK, and by working together we are able to offer
a more intimate experience of Sri Lanka.
Tikalanka Tours believes a Responsible Travel Policy is an evolving set of guidelines that
constantly change in order to adapt to new ideas. With this in mind, we are setting ourselves
operational objectives with the aim of maximising the positive impact of increasing tourism in
Sri Lanka while minimising its negative impact. By implementing monitoring and recording
procedures we intend to evaluate our progress in developing responsible and sustainable
tourism in Sri Lanka. For more information and background to our policy, visit:
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