Code of Conduct
Our Commitment to Responsible Travel
What is 'Responsible Travel'?
Tikalanka actively encourages responsible and sustainable travel to Sri Lanka and Maldives. By working closely with 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 and Maldives.
Tikalanka actively encourages responsible and sustainable travel by only employing Sri Lankan guides, promoting small family-run guesthouses and homestays, eating at local restaurants, supporting community-led projects, and ensuring travellers are aware of their impact on the environment and people of Sri Lanka and Maldives. We are a member of Responsible Travel, AVAAZ and Tourism Concern, and a supporter of the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) 'Know Before You Go' and the Born Free Foundation’s ‘Travellers’ Animal Alert’ campaigns. We also make a contribution to community projects in Sri Lanka for every holiday booked.
Tikalanka recognises that increasing traveller numbers to Sri Lanka and Maldives can have a negative impact on the islands’ culture and environment, and also that travelling there involves long-haul flights, which contribute to global greenhouse gas 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 and Maldives, while enabling the people of Sri Lanka and Maldives to gain maximum benefit from the positive impact of increased tourism.
Our Travel Philosophy
Tikalanka 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 of the founders, and by working together we are able to offer a more intimate experience of Sri Lanka.
Tikalanka 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 and Maldives. For more information and background to our policy, visit:
- AVAAZ - https://www.avaaz.org/en/
- Born Free Foundation - http://www.bornfree.org.uk/
- CITES - http://www.cites.org/
- FCDO ‘Know Before You Go’ - https://www.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo
- Friends of the Earth - https://www.foe.co.uk/
- Greenpeace - http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/
- Green Globe - http://greenglobe.com/
- Responsible Travel - http://www.responsibletravel.com/member/284/tikalanka-tours
- Tourism Concern - http://tourismconcern.org.uk/
- WWF - http://www.wwf.org.uk/
