Our Commitment to Sustainable Tourism

Midnight Sun Adventure Travel's small group adventures utilize local outfitters, stay in small scale, locally owned accommodation and frequent local shops for meals, supplies and crafts. These practices facilitate a high degree of contact with locals and ensures that the economic development our business brings goes directly to local businesses and communities.

Our goal is to ensure that the business we bring to remote communities is a positive experience for local people, tourism companies and tourists themselves. As a company that specializes in off-the-beaten path experiences in western and northern Canada, we know that the environment, economy and culture of the areas we visit are particularly vulnerable to damage. Small group tourism in isolated areas can be more devastating than mainstream beach-or city-based tourism, which has a higher resiliency to absorb growth. Our vigilance in promoting and practicing sustainability of our tours in Canada extends to educating clients, training our guides, and the caliber of our suppliers.

As examples, our bear viewing practices avoid interrupting the bear's natural traffic patterns and eating habits. Our whale watching practices conform to "Be Whale Wise" guidelines established by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Overall, all operators we work with live in nearby communities and depend on the sustainability of a healthy and confident wildlife population for their livelihood. We utilize only local, licensed operators who have proven track records of client safety, keep respectful viewing distances and use environmentally friendly practices.

As part of our ongoing process to review and modify our sustainable tourism practices we encourage our clients to make suggestions. Our clients note how we may improve our practices in the evaluation we provide after the tour, or by emailing us.
Our sustainable tourism practices are:

Guides We employ guides with experience in working and/or living in the areas in which we travel. They are familiar with the area's local culture, environmental issues, natural history and any particular challenges associated with traveling through remote areas of Canada. We select our guides based on their knowledge and commitment to sustainable travel and train them in low-impact travel. They have first aid and CPR certification and are licensed commercial drivers. We use local guides on all of our trips for specific excursions.

Travel Most of our travel in Canada is by 15 passenger van. These vehicles, which are the most economical way to transport our small groups, are all current year and thus meet or exceed vehicle pollution requirements. To access remote areas, we place a high emphasis on non-motorized travel in Canada including walking, kayaking, canoeing and float rafting. When we walk and hike, we stick to the trails to avoid damage to the native flora.

Tour Composition Our pre-trip information contains insight into social and environmental issues that impact on areas we visit. Tour itineraries include learning about each area's unique social and environmental issues, and how to minimize the environmental impact of our visit. We encourage our clients to sample local cuisine, including wild game, to purchase authentic products and to bring reusable fluid containers. We practice a policy of reduce, reuse and recycle on all tours

Accommodation In order to stimulate local economies we use locally-owned accommodation with an emphasis on hotels that pursue good environmental practices such as conserving water and minimizing waste. When we camp, we practice no trace camping.

Group Size We limit our group size to 8 people. This size is less intrusive on the environment and local tourism infrastructure. It also facilitates better opportunities for local interaction.

Direct Corporate Contributions Midnight Sun Adventure Travel supports the following environmental charities in Canada: The Land Conservancy, the Alpine Club of Canada and the BC Wilderness Tourism Association. In the office we use recycled tissue and environmentally friendly cleaning products. Our office staff are provided with a secure place to store their bicycles and encouraged to car pool. We solicit and act upon client comments as how to improve our sustainable tourism practices.

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