Audley's roots
It was while travelling around Indochina, India, and Australasia in 1991, following his graduation from the London School of Economics, that Craig Burkinshaw, Audley's Managing Director, had the idea for a way of sharing his passion for the places he had been. Vietnam was then a little-visited destination with much potential but little infrastructure, a place that seemed off-putting to many people who would love to see the country if there were some way of visiting without pulling on a backpack and going it alone.

Asian Journeys
For the next couple of years Craig led his own small guided group tours around Vietnam - getting to know both the region and the business - and he is still in touch with many of the people from his very first tour. In 1996 he joined forces with fellow LSE-graduate John Brewer to found 'Asian Journeys', a company specialising in tailormade travel to Southeast Asia (including group tours with Terry Sullivan, who continues to lead tours for Audley). The company's first brochure was produced in September of 1996, featuring photographs by Bill Hobdell. That was also the year the company took on its first employee, and in 1998 Nick Coates joined Asian Journeys as well.

The birth of Audley Travel
By offering unique, private itineraries to clients who wanted to travel according to their own schedule, the company expanded into North & Central Asia in 1998 and the Indian Subcontinent in 1999, quickly outgrowing its small premises in Northampton. In 2000 we moved to a converted barn in the rural Oxfordshire village of Stratton Audley, and in 2001 the name 'Asian Journeys' became obsolete with the creation of the company's South America programme. It was then that the company metamorphosed into 'Audley Travel'.

Going from strength to strength, Audley's Africa, Arabia and New Zealand programmes were created in 2003, with Australia following in 2005. Again needing larger premises, in 2006 Audley moved to the New Mill in Witney, Oxfordshire, a handsome converted blanket mill on the banks of the River Windrush. In 2007 the Canada, Alaska and the Arctic programme was created. The company is now organised by region as eight individual 'mini-companies' under the Audley name, each filled with expert country specialists. Although Audley now takes clients to over 50 countries we still pride ourselves on our staff's intimate knowledge of the places we visit, and our specialist knowledge has in fact increased as we are able to devote more experts to each country.

Responsible Travel

The company grew from Craig's passion for Vietnam, and as the company has developed we have been able to continue this passion by being ever more socially and environmentally responsible in the countries we visit. To this end we are proud to have earned the highest Responsible Travel rating possible from AITO. In almost all circumstances we have been able to identify accommodation options that are based on sustainable lines, showing great respect towards the environment and treating employees in a responsible manner. All Audley staff now undergo training in Responsible Travel, and we reached a landmark by creating the Audley Charity Portfolio, which offers permanent support to projects about which we are particularly passionate. All staff trips are now balanced by carbon offsetting.

Recommended by our clients
Although we do still advertise, 80% of our business now comes from people who have travelled with Audley before or have had Audley recommended to them by those who have done so. At the heart of everything we do is this pride in creating the best possible tailor-made itineraries for our clients and doing everything we can to ensure they are so happy with their trip that they recommend us to their friends and family. This ethos was rewarded when the readers of the Observer and Guardian voted us 'Tour Operator of the Year' in the papers' prestigious annual travel awards, and it is this level of client satisfaction that we are determined to maintain in the future.

We are passionate about the countries we specialise in, so it is natural that we try to maximise the economic benefits that tourism can bring to these destinations whilst trying to minimise its environmental and social impact upon them. We are committed to continually improving our Responsible Tourism policy and our 3* Responsible Tourism status from AITO, the highest rating achievable, reflects this.
Destinations

* We are committed to supporting a wide number of responsible and ethical initiatives including environmental projects, community tourism projects and education programmes. We encourage our clients to visit many of these initiatives such as wildlife sanctuaries, local schools, orphanages and co-operatives.
* We are able to recommend a variety of homestays in many different countries for those clients who are interested. Not only does the money from homestays directly benefit the local community, but clients also gain an authentic insight into local culture.
* Through client specific notes in tailor-made itineraries, we continue to actively recommend restaurants, shops and other local businesses so that the community is directly benefited. Most of these have been discovered by our country specialists and include craft shops that ensure tourist money is fed back to the hill tribes that produce the crafts, and restaurants which train local street children.
* We promote environmentally friendly tours and accommodation in a number of destinations.

Ground agents

* We prefer, where possible, to use smaller, locally owned ground agents. Not only does this ensure that it is the host community who are managing and benefiting from the local tourist industry, but we also believe that our clients will have a better trip as local agents have a much more intimate knowledge of the region.
* For the same reasons as above, we always use local guides and drivers. This not only provides crucial employment and income for the local community, but also increases the authenticity of the client’s trip.
* We favour ground agents who have an awareness of responsible tourism policies and strong environmental commitment. Responsible practice is one of the principle criteria during the selection of new suppliers, and ethical initiatives form a fundamental element in our ground arrangements.
* In addition to feedback from country specialist visits, all our ground agents are asked to keep us updated on their own responsible tourism practices as well as potential community tourism projects, local charities, eco-accommodation etc that we can recommend to our clients.
* Clients are asked to report on the behaviour and awareness of our agents and local guides once they have returned home from their trip.

Hotels

* We always try to favour small locally owned hotels over large international chains. We work closely with our local ground agents to source more small guesthouses, B&Bs, boutique hotels and eco-friendly lodges. This ensures that as much revenue as possible remains in the host country as well as providing a more characterful experience for our clients.
* We always prefer to use hotels which have environmental policies in place regarding reuse of towels and sheets, electricity and water usage etc.
* Where available we recommend our clients stay in ethically responsible accommodation, such as eco-lodges that aim to preserve the beauty of natural surroundings.

Clients

* Whilst we recognise that a vital element of any holiday is relaxation, we do try to encourage our clients to be aware of their impact in their destination. For each booking, we provide notes on the cultural sensitivities of the chosen destination and our local guides brief our clients upon their arrival. We hope this will serve not only to ensure the sustainability of our destinations, but also to improve the quality of the experience overall.
* In addition to providing advice specific to each destination, we have drawn up a generic Traveller’s Code which we hope will benefit all our clients as well as the destinations they visit. These travel guidelines include advice on everything from preserving local resources to appropriate tipping and bartering customs.
* Ethical considerations are also part of our research and development process and we encourage feedback on our practices. Clients are asked to comment and make suggestions on our responsible practice when completing the post-trip questionnaire they receive when travelling with us. In addition to this, as well as visiting destination-based initiatives whilst on their educational trips, our country specialists are encouraged to also make suggestions through a dedicated area on our company Intranet.

Office practice

* Ethical practice is not just limited to the destinations we operate in. Responsible practice is exercised in our office with various measures put in place aimed at reducing, re-using and recycling resources where possible.
* We carry out dedicated responsible travel training sessions with all employees upon joining the company.
* We buy fair trade coffee and tea products for the office.
* We minimise our electricity consumption by switching off lights, computers, fans etc in rooms that are not in use and at night. We also monitor thermostats and keep doors and windows closed when heating is on.
* We recycle all office paper, encourage double-side photocopying and, where appropriate, circulate documents by email. We also exercise effective control of brochure production, distribution and disposal.
* We encourage car sharing amongst employees.
* We offset the carbon emissions resulting from staff educational trips through the Friends of Conservation carbon-offsetting programme. We also offer the facility for clients to do the same for their own travels. Please visit our Carbon Reduction pages for more details.

The Audley charity portfolio

* As part of our commitment to responsible tourism, we formed the ‘Audley Charity Portfolio’ in early 2005, which consists of five organisations that we actively support.
* The charities are: Schools for Children of Cambodia, Task Brasil, Encompass Trust, Friends of Conservation and The Galapagos Conservation Trust.
* Our ongoing support covers sponsorship of specific projects, the promotion of these charities plus ad hoc fundraising projects.
We have tried to help a wide variety of causes from wildlife, human rights issues and education through to the environment and conservation.
* We have selected charities that involve a number of countries across our range of programmes.

Future aims

* We are committed to developing our Responsible Practices policy even further in the future. Our aim is to continually incorporate new responsible practices into our business at all levels.
* We are committed to increasing our involvement with the Audley Charity Portfolio and developing the number of good causes we support throughout the destinations we visit.

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