Trust Our Family To Look After Yours
We are striving to help You choose The Best sustainable holiday
You can choose to be a responsible traveller
We want to enable the world to go on travelling, to experience different cultures and make those all important lasting memories with family and friends in a way that is kinder to the planet and creates a more climate positive future for us all.
There is no easy solution. It is unrealistic to give up flying as this could be damaging to the destinations that rely on tourism for income. We have ingrained in our ethos that ‘small changes have big impacts’ and now with eco-travelling becoming ever more at the forefront of travellers minds, we want to help.
So where do you begin when trying to balance the impact of financial benefit and environmental burden when choosing a holiday? Maybe this is what is meant by ‘responsible travel’.
We have hand-selected some of our favourite destinations, hotels and tour operators that all go the extra eco-mile.
Let's Work Together
‘Sustainable’, ‘ethical’, ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘responsible’ are some of the biggest buzzwords in tourism right now, but what does it actually mean to travel responsibly?
- Research accommodations
- Respect Local Cultures & Traditions
- Minimise Your Environmental Footprint
- Support Local Businesses
- Wildlife Tourism
Hand Picked Resorts where sustainability matters
We work with hotels and tour operators that we trust to do their utmost to respect and go the extra eco-mile for our clients and our planet. Helping us to help you travel responsibly and ethically, all while still enjoying those much needed escapes.
One&Only Gorilla's Nest, Rwanda
The One&Only philosophy encapsulates their passion for preserving the rich stories of their chosen locations, contributing to the protection of the natural habitat, and being a valued member of the local community.
They are proud to work hand-in-hand with communities for whom these magical places are home, and to play a meaningful part in the ongoing conservation and development efforts.
Sala's Camp Maasai Mara, Kenya
The Safari Collection firmly believe that we should all tread delicately on our planet, leaving behind footprints made only by sandy toes. Their aim is to not only share the incredible natural wonders of East Africa, but to be passionate protectors of it.
This is why they have created a dedicated foundation to protect the environment and impact positively on the communities they work alongside.
They call it ‘Our Footprint’.
Six-Senses Laamu Atoll, Maldives
Sustainability is at the heart of Six-Senses’ decisions and actions. By being responsible today, they ensure the unique environments, cultures and experiences they share with their guests will be experienced for generations to come.
They will warmly invite you to join a Sustainability Tour to see innovation and experimentation in action at the Earth Lab, the hub for self-sufficiency and zero waste.
Ikos Olivia Halkidiki, Greece
Ikos resorts are committed to actively reducing energy, water, waste and chemical consumption. Investing in a wide range of features to achieve greener operations, including heat pumps, solar panels, 99% LED lights, aerated flow in all taps and showers, roof and botanical gardens, all without compromising the luxury guest experience offered.
Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Resort. Thailand
The Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort in Chiang Rai, Thailand, is known for its sustainability program, which aims to protect and conserve elephants while providing an unforgettable elephant experience for guests.
Iberostar Selection Anthelia, Tenerife
Iberostar Selection Anthelia is a hotel chain that places a strong emphasis on sustainability. Some of the eco-friendly initiatives they have implemented include reducing energy consumption through the use of energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances, recycling waste, using environmentally friendly cleaning products, and promoting water conservation.
Our Favourite Sustainable Partners
Our Sustainability Champion
Hannah Leggett
With the current rate of plastic pollution, climate change, and deforestation, our world needs some good environmental champions. Luckily for us, there are some truly wonderful people out there fighting the good fight and we are fortunate to have one of them, our very own Hannah.
Along with being the Managing Director’s Executive Assistant, Hannah has a strong passion for bettering the planet and a strong moral compass, so naturally appointing Hannah as our company Sustainability Champion made more than perfect sense. Within three months of Hannah joining the Meon Valley Travel family, she has proven her passion for sustainability and challenged our consciousness, bringing us to a Carbon Neutral status and ensuring that at no point during our sustainability journey, both on a personal level and as a business, are at risk of ‘greenwashing’. Tirelessly implementing protocols throughout the business and leading our climate change agenda for the Meon members and for our clients.
Hannah has built a fantastic relationship with 5D Net Zero and chosen to appoint them as our Carbon Management and Sustainability Consultants, not only as they give consultation to and work closely with Heathrow Airport, but their credentials and efforts speak for themselves.
We are committed to achieving a Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2027, and already working in partnership with Trees4Travel, Hannah is holding us accountable, ensuring we are measuring the outcome and not simply the effort. We are aiming to decreasing Scope 1 emissions (direct) and reducing Scope 2 emissions (indirect), by 90% over the next 4 years.
Our Sustainability Pledges
We are proud to say that we are well into our Sustainability Journey and have been Carbon Neutral since last Christmas, with the aim to achieve Net Zero by 2027.
As a carbon neutral company, we are striving to reduce our emissions beyond our own footprint. Although we are pleased to have reached this point, we are committed to setting higher goals. The next steps in our sustainability journey, as we continue to innovate, improve and inspire others are:
- To continue supporting Trees4Travel
- To plant a tree for every current and new members of our Meon family
- To continue to use sustainable and eco-friendly resorts, hotels, cruises and tours
- To remain paper free and continue recycling all brochures
- To continue to carbon offset through verified international carbon removal schemes, only when it’s not possible to reduce our carbon output
- To continue to give purchasing preference to sustainably sourced, reclaimed and recycled materials
Carbon Neutral Vs Net Zero
As part of environmental betterment, there are two choices, Carbon Neutral or Net Zero. ‘Carbon Neutral’ and ‘Net Zero’ are related but distinct terms that refer to the balance between greenhouse gas emissions and carbon removal or reduction.
- Carbon Neutral: A company or individual that is Carbon Neutral has balanced its carbon emissions with an equivalent amount of carbon removal or reduction, typically through carbon offsetting. Resulting in zero net emissions from their activities.
- Net Zero: Net Zero goes beyond Carbon Neutral by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the first instance and then offsetting the remaining emissions where further reduction isn’t possible.
Carbon Neutral is where you pay to offset as much of your footprint as possible and Net Zero obligates you to mitigate 95% of your carbon footprint by not creating it in the first place, allowing only 5% offset thereafter.
Offsetting is most definitely part of the solution to fighting global warming, but it isn’t the answer. While we wait for initiatives like sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to become widespread, we have to look at what else we can do.
We have decided to take the Net Zero approach as the idea that you can pay your way out of trouble, plant trees and carry on polluting the planet, isn’t one we think is sustainable in itself.
Introducing the newest member to the
meon family ~ Buttercup The Giraffe
Can you imagine a world without giraffe?
With less than 100,000 giraffe remaining in the wild, it is time to act now!
Supporting the Footprint Foundation
It is now possible for giraffe lovers worldwide to help ‘stand tall for giraffes’ and contribute to their protection by sponsoring one of the resident Rothschild’s at Giraffe Manor. The Safari Collection Footprint, is the dedicated foundation which supports several carefully chosen community and conservation projects across Kenya, including the wonderful efforts of the GCF which we are proud to sponsor and champion.
The Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) is the only organisation in the world that concentrates solely on the conservation and management of giraffe in the wild throughout Africa.
Just by staying at Giraffe Manor you are actually contributing to the conservation of these majestic, beautiful gentle giants. For each guest that stays at Giraffe Manor, The Safari Collection donates to the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (AFEW).
Karen and James have been lucky enough to have experienced Giraffe Manor, where they interviewed Cecilia from the Footprint Foundation to find out all about their wonderful protection and conservation efforts.
seth Wise and the polar Marathon
Follow Seth’s adventure as he journey’s 90 Degrees North and sponsor his efforts…
We are proud to be sponsoring 90 Degrees North, supporting Seth and his epic adventure to the Arctic.
In April 2024, Seth will compete in the Coolest Race’ on the planet, The North Pole Marathon. He is a husband and father who has always been a keen sportsman. A qualified personal trainer and group exercise instructor. Seth juggles professional fitness obligations alongside his full time role as a Director of Partnership Management at The Goodwood Estate, Chichester.
“The North Pole Marathon is the ultimate physical and mental challenge. An adventure like no other, an opportunity to test my mental and physical limits on arguably the most extreme marathon course on the planet. A course that within our lifetime is likely to disappear forever!” ~ Seth
