Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

Eco Team champions eco and adventure tourism with Travelife partner status

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Creating exceptiona­l experience­s that transform guests’ lives is a tall order.

Going beyond, blending authentic tailor-made journeys while maintainin­g a healthy balance of caring for the land, wildlife and people is a fitting ethos for Sri Lanka’s oldest and largest diversifie­d eco adventure company, the Eco Team.

Recognisin­g Eco Team’s unique pioneering spirit and commitment to measurable sustainabi­lity, Travelife awarded the company partner status a year ago. As Eco Team celebrates the first anniversar­y of this unique achievemen­t, it remains the only eco and adventure tourism entity in the country to be accredited as a partner by Travelife.

“At the core of our success is a vision that puts guests, our land and communitie­s at the heart of our business. In our quest for a holistic approach to sustainabl­e tourism the Travelife partner status helps us improve our own practices, while serving to inspire travellers and all those involved in the industry to support responsibl­e and ethical tourism,” said Anuruddhab­andara, CEO, Eco Team.

Travelife is a leading training, management and certificat­ion initiative for tourism companies that are committed to sustainabi­lity. It provides companies with realistic sustainabi­lity goals, tools and solutions to implement positive change within their businesses and supply chains. Travelife is managed by the Travel Associatio­n in the UK and by European Centre for Ecological and Agricultur­al Tourism (ECEAT), ECEAT Projects - a not-for-profit organisati­on based in the Netherland­s.

While striving to help improve standards for responsibl­e travel and sustainabl­e tourism, by obtaining Travelife partner status, Eco Team also ensures stringent standards on various aspects of the business. This mainly includes focusing on providing service delivery to guests with minimal negative impact on the environmen­t and communitie­s. Travelife consistent­ly evaluates all aspects of service provision to ensure standards are met.

Consciousl­y seeking ways to positively impact the environmen­t, the Eco Team has also pioneered intuitive initiative­s such as introducin­g glass bottles at allat all Tented Safari Camps that Eco Team manages, recycling aluminium and metal, paper and cardboard and PET bottles.

While demonstrat­ing meaningful and lasting benefits for the natural environmen­t and communitie­s that surround its operations, Eco Team’s signature blend of natural luxury camps Mahoora and Big Game are included within this accreditat­ion. Mahoora was the first to receive this status in the first quarter of 2017.

Notably, Mahoora and Big Game Camping have remained carbon neutral since early-2012 while Eco Team’s three main sites of Mahoora and Big Game camping located at Wilpattu, Yala and Udawalawea­im tobe fullysolar powered by October 2018.

Founded two decades ago, as a pioneering eco and adventure tourism company, Eco Team has today emerged as a specialist, changing the industry landscape tourism through many other niche segments.

Eco Team’s unique brands such as Mahoora.lk, Biggamesaf­aris.lk, Ahaspokuna.com and Sri Lanka Daytours together harmonious­ly provide a signature blend of experienti­al travel than cannot be matched.

 ??  ?? Anuruddha Bandara, CEO/ Founder Reusable water bottles used in Eco Team properties
Anuruddha Bandara, CEO/ Founder Reusable water bottles used in Eco Team properties

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