Question 1

How do you ensure responsible and sustainable tourism on your tours?

Daniel · Accepted Answer

We are a locally owned company and very committed to community-based, sustainable tourism practices. This means we operate and make decisions in order to try and ensure that our tours and operations provide positive socioeconomic impact on local communities and limit our environmental footprint. Our commitment to sustainability principles and community tourism includes:

We hire local staff and work with guides, drivers, horsemen, homestay families and local coordinators from the places you are visiting so that tourism income benefits the local people in these communities. For example, many of our trekking guides are local university students so that they can earn additional income in the summer to support their studies. We pay fair wages and ensure that they have proper gear.
On our treks we use yurt camps run by local families or shepherds so that they can earn additional money from hosting and feeing trekkers and hikers in the summer months. We helped set up many of these yurt camps by providing special hospitality training to the families and financial support to buy additional yurts to host trekkers. In remote high mountain regions without a lot of job opportunities, this additional money often is used for schooling, health costs, home improvements and more.
We buy food and supplies from local businesses and village markets to support local farmers, producers and businesses.
We choose accommodation in cities and towns that is locally owned and usually family-run. This ensures that we are supporting local small businesses and the money is staying local.
We aim to preserve the natural environment by enforcing a “leave no trace” policy on treks – e.g., all trash packed out, no picking rare flowers or plants, staying on the trail, etc. -- and educating travelers on respecting the fragile high altitude mountain landscapes. After the trekking season ends we often organize cleanups where our staff picks up litter and trash left on the trails from the summer.
We try to limit single use plastics by encouraging use of reusable water bottles and boiling water at yurt camps to provide clean drinking water
We encourage respectful cultural exchange by briefing our guests on respectful behavior like modest dress, asking permission before photographing people, and understanding local customs. This helps avoid negative cultural impacts.
We support animal welfare by having weight limits on what pack animals can carry, the number of hours per day they should work, ensuring proper rest and food.
A portion of some tour proceeds go to a local development fund that helps support local family yurt camps and businesses to invest in and grow their business.

By choosing to travel with Visit Alay, you’re supporting a network of Kyrgyz and Tajik families and small businesses, many of whom live in remote mountain regions. We believe tourism can and should benefit everyone involved with the traveler having an immersive and memorable experience while the local communities benefit from their visit. We’re always looking for ways to improve our sustainability approach. Feel free to ask us more if you’re curious.

Question 2

How do you ensure responsible and sustainable tourism on your tours?

Daniel · Accepted Answer

We are a locally owned company and very committed to community-based, sustainable tourism practices. This means we operate and make decisions in order to try and ensure that our tours and operations provide positive socioeconomic impact on local communities and limit our environmental footprint. Our commitment to sustainability principles and community tourism includes:

We hire local staff and work with guides, drivers, horsemen, homestay families and local coordinators from the places you are visiting so that tourism income benefits the local people in these communities. For example, many of our trekking guides are local university students so that they can earn additional income in the summer to support their studies. We pay fair wages and ensure that they have proper gear.
On our treks we use yurt camps run by local families or shepherds so that they can earn additional money from hosting and feeing trekkers and hikers in the summer months. We helped set up many of these yurt camps by providing special hospitality training to the families and financial support to buy additional yurts to host trekkers. In remote high mountain regions without a lot of job opportunities, this additional money often is used for schooling, health costs, home improvements and more.
We buy food and supplies from local businesses and village markets to support local farmers, producers and businesses.
We choose accommodation in cities and towns that is locally owned and usually family-run. This ensures that we are supporting local small businesses and the money is staying local.
We aim to preserve the natural environment by enforcing a “leave no trace” policy on treks – e.g., all trash packed out, no picking rare flowers or plants, staying on the trail, etc. -- and educating travelers on respecting the fragile high altitude mountain landscapes. After the trekking season ends we often organize cleanups where our staff picks up litter and trash left on the trails from the summer.
We try to limit single use plastics by encouraging use of reusable water bottles and boiling water at yurt camps to provide clean drinking water
We encourage respectful cultural exchange by briefing our guests on respectful behavior like modest dress, asking permission before photographing people, and understanding local customs. This helps avoid negative cultural impacts.
We support animal welfare by having weight limits on what pack animals can carry, the number of hours per day they should work, ensuring proper rest and food.
A portion of some tour proceeds go to a local development fund that helps support local family yurt camps and businesses to invest in and grow their business.

By choosing to travel with Visit Alay, you’re supporting a network of Kyrgyz and Tajik families and small businesses, many of whom live in remote mountain regions. We believe tourism can and should benefit everyone involved with the traveler having an immersive and memorable experience while the local communities benefit from their visit. We’re always looking for ways to improve our sustainability approach. Feel free to ask us more if you’re curious.