BANGKOK, THAILAND (July 26, 2024) – SpiceRoads, a premier adventure travel company specializing in cycling tours, has joined forces with Sustainable Travel International to champion climate action in the adventure travel sector. With over 25 years of experience operating cycling tours across the globe, SpiceRoads is committed to reducing its environmental impact while delivering meticulously curated multi-day tours that blend cultural immersion, seamless logistics, and stunning landscapes.
Traveling by bike is a low-impact activity, but like all international tourism, cycling holidays still generate carbon emissions. Flights, hotel practices, support vehicle usage, office facilities, and other factors are all part of the equation that tour operators must acknowledge and address. In collaboration with Sustainable Travel International, SpiceRoads conducted a carbon footprint assessment to measure its trip and office emissions over the past year. To neutralize its footprint, SpiceRoads offset 346 MT of CO2 emissions through Sustainable Travel International’s Climate Impact Portfolio, supporting the following projects:
- WongPhai Bamboo Biochar: This project creates long-lasting carbon removals by transforming waste from Thai bamboo farms into biochar.
- Larimar Wind Farm: This project utilizes coastal wind energy in the Dominican Republic to create renewable energy, reducing the island nation’s reliance on imported fossil fuels.
- Envira Amazonia: This project protects 39,300 hectares of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest that otherwise would have been cleared for logging and cattle ranching.
- Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve: This project safeguards a critical peat swamp forest in Indonesian Borneo which was slated for conversion to palm oil plantations and provides a critical orangutan habitat.
Along with offsetting its tours, SpiceRoads encourages its guests to offset the carbon footprint of their transportation not included in the tour package, such as flights to and from the destination. To facilitate this, SpiceRoads has partnered with Sustainable Travel International to offer a carbon footprint calculator on its website. Guests can use this user-friendly tool to calculate their flight emissions and purchase carbon offsets to balance them out.
The carbon offset program marks SpiceRoads’ initial stride on the road to net zero. The partnership with Sustainable Travel International also provides SpiceRoads with the data, tools, and knowledge needed to minimize its footprint and promote sustainability in the operation of its cycling tours. SpiceRoads has become a Guardian Member of Sustainable Travel International, joining a global movement of conscientious businesses dedicated to leaving behind a positive impact.
This expanded sustainability commitment builds upon SpiceRoads’ existing efforts. This includes collaborating with local communities and cycling hosts to ensure its tours positively impact people and places by fostering employment and supporting wildlife rehabilitation projects, social enterprises, and community-based tourism cooperatives.
For more information, please visit https://www.spiceroads.com/blog/sustainable-travel-at-spiceroads or contact Andrew Bhasavanich ([email protected]).
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Media Contact
- Kaitlyn Brajcich, Sustainable Travel International –[email protected]
- Andrew Bhasavanich, SpiceRoads –[email protected]
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL
Sustainable Travel International is a social enterprise dedicated to protecting our planet’s most vulnerable destinations and transforming tourism’s impact on nature and people. We engage travelers, businesses, and destination leaders in responsible practices that safeguard nature, combat climate change and pollution, and empower communities to preserve the integrity of destinations around the world. Our comprehensive climate solutions help the travel industry reduce its carbon footprint, advance the global net zero transition, and strengthen its resilience to climate change impacts. To learn more, visit www.sustainabletravel.org.
SPICEROADS
SpiceRoads is a leading adventure travel company specializing in cycling tours around the globe. With over 25 years of experience, we cater to all levels of cyclists on every type of terrain, offering multi-day tours that combine carefully planned rides, cultural immersion, stunning landscapes, and seamless logistics. Operating in 35 destinations across 4 continents (and counting!), we provide a diverse collection of scheduled journeys throughout the year and design custom tours on request. We are an independent, owner-operated company of passionate cyclists that love to travel the world by bicycle and we create and operate all our trips, which are run by local cycling hosts. Come join us on your next adventure.