Sustainability and Tourism

Built upon the core principles of philanthropy and sustainability, The Evolved Traveler promotes responsible travel that respects the destination, its people and culture, and the surrounding environment. Our “business as usual” is anything but usual.Our mindset at The Evolved Traveler is simple: when we treat the environment as an integral part of our humanity and not just an afterthought, we can ensure the health and happiness of our planet and future generations.

Our Sustainability Guidelines

Sustainability is one of the core values of The Evolved Traveler. As there is no “one size fits all” solution for the number of issues that ail our planet, our environment, and even the multitude of cultures amongst us, we have resourced the sustainability guidelines set forth by several organizations we consider to be at the forefront of this effort: The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), Sustainable Tourism International, and UNESCO. The guidelines adopted by The Evolved Traveler for sustainable tourism focus on three primary areas:

• Maximize social and economic benefits for the local community
• Enhance cultural heritage
• Reduce negative impacts to the environment

We believe that our guests and partners are part of something amazing. Our goal is to create a positive and lasting impact wherever we go. Using best practices from around the globe, as well as some of our own, we’ve created our own declaration of sustainability.

We promise to:

• Strive to leave every location in better condition than we found it
• Educate our guests regularly regarding responsible tourism and sustainability
• Encourage the use of local goods and services
• Respect all places, peoples and cultures
• Discourage the consumption, trading, or harvesting of protected wildlife and plant life
• Offset carbon emissions by donating to reforestation causes
• Volunteer in our local community, just as we encourage our guests and partners

We will not only adhere to these guidelines, but further strive to pioneer new concepts and practices for sustainable travel with our guests and global partners.

See our full Sustainability Declaration.

Guests Documents 

The Evolved Traveler is pleased to provide our guests with their travel documents in a variety of ways. These options are made available so that we can provide top-tier personal service while also giving our guests the opportunity to support our sustainability efforts and initiatives.

Travel documents may be received in one of the following ways:

The Evolved Tablet – Guests will be presented with a tablet preloaded with all of their individual travel documents, such as a full personalized itinerary; contact list to be reached at while away, as well as contact information for our partners abroad; customized destination guide(s); and reading lists. The use of tablets also allows us to provide an extra level of service by including apps stocked with comprehensive local maps, currency exchange information, detailed restaurant guides, local insights, and much more. A $50 deposit will be required for our tablets, and guests will be provided with $100 credit off their next trip with The Evolved Traveler when they return the tablet.

The Evolved Cloud – Guests can choose to download their documents on to their own tablet or device with the same digital amenities as our Evolved Tablet option. Guests will be provided access directly to a personal folder in The Evolved Traveler cloud which will contain all of their personal documents and journey information. Access to their cloud-based folder will remain in place for the duration of their trip.

Printed – A limited set of personal travel documents will be provided for guests that chose to have printed documents. It should be noted our printed documents will be basic, as we will not be able to provide the digital amenities provided with our Tablet and Cloud options. There will be a $50 charge for printed documents to offset carbon footprint and printing costs.

Animal Policy 

One of our key tenets as a company is that of giving back, which we apply to the people, cultures, environment, and in this case, animals, that we encounter on our travels. We at The Evolved Traveler promise to not involved ourselves or our guests in any activities which cause harm, discomfort, or danger to animals of any kind, nor will we engage our guests in activities that involve contact with endangered species or captive wild animals.We also will not offer rides on elephants at any point.

As world travelers ourselves, we know that wildlife encounters can be some of the most memorable highlights of a journey, which is why we want to make sure those encounters are positive experiences for the animals as well. We know our guests will understand and respect our stance on this, and if there are those who question or doubt, we hope to be able to educate them and help them understand how crucial it is to start giving back in this way as well.