Responsible Travel
One of our core values here at Real Gap Experience is responsible travel. Responsible travel is made up of a multiple attitudes and theories, and we hope by supporting our customers in understanding these principals, you’ll be able to travel in a sensitive and sustainable way.
Our core values include:
- Respecting Cultures: Our trips are designed to respect local traditions and cultures, so not only will you get an authentic taste of local life on our trips, you’ll learn the ins and outs of local culture and what it means to be a traveller, not a tourist. We encourage you to learn some of the local language, customs and traditions before you go and think about the impact of your presence while you are there.
- Protecting the Environment: Our conservation projects make a positive contribution to the preservation of natural and human heritage, biodiversity and wilderness across the globe.
- Keeping it Local: What makes Real Gap Experience different is that we don't set up our own overseas projects. Instead we work in partnership with projects that have already been established in local communities as they understand the destination and the culture better than anybody else.
Where Does Your Money Go?
For our volunteer programmes, on average, just over half of the fee you’ve paid goes directly to your destination, to pay local suppliers for your transport, accommodation and food. The fee also pays for local support staff, through our partners overseas in the form of materials of services rather than a monetary amount. The local community and economy in which you will be based therefore benefits from both your time and your financial contribution.
The remainder of your fee is used to provide all the other services we carry out to ensure that you have an awesome, valuable experience. This involves important research and development of programmes to ensure that your time and energy are dedicated to projects that they will really benefit.
We also employ our awesome team to provide the services you receive before, during and after your trip, such as extensive pre-departure information, a 24-hour global support network and carrying out background checks on all those volunteering with kids or vulnerable adults.
