Core Values
Mission
Journeys International designs profound, immersive experiences that help people connect across cultures, honor our natural world, and gain insight & discovery.
Core Values
These fundamental forces shape our philosophy of adventure design, relationship building, and showing up to life every day. When we say #adventuredeeper, we mean to bring these values to the table.
- Can-Do Spirit – We believe all things are possible, and we are capable of figuring out how to make them happen. (You are, too.)
- Curiosity – We approach the world and other people with a desire to learn and the courage to ask questions.
- Human Connection – We reach out to connect across lines of difference with the desire to listen first, understand more, and build honest relationships.
- Cross-Cultural Engagement – We seek to respect, understand, and learn from each human as an individual with unique strengths.
- Integrity – We mean what we say and we do the right thing.
- Reflection – We believe in the value of experiences for what we learn by contemplating them.
- Play – We let go, embrace silliness, and enable diversion for their capacity to facilitate openness, joy, and a myriad of other benefits.
- Forward Thinking – We strive to anticipate the future and shape it as we’d like.
- Honoring Earth – We respect and care for our planet and environment.
- Ascribing Positive Intentions – We believe the best about other people’s motivations.
Journeys Ecological Code of Ethics
for Travelers
Respectful, environmentally-conscientious behavior lays a foundation for gratifying experiences and interactions throughout your travels. These are our expectations for ourselves, our guides and our hosts as well as our travelers.
Aspire to Weightlessness
Observe, but do not disturb natural systems.
- Move cautiously and quietly in natural areas.
- Do not collect natural souvenirs.
- Sense and emulate acceptable conversation volume and vigor. Don’t overwhelm or intimidate your hosts.
- Observe all locally established rules and customs for conduct.
Aspire
Leave Nothing But Footprints
Minimize your impact on the environment.
- Remove packaging from items before leaving home.
- Bring and use biodegradable soaps and detergents.
- Bring a reusable water bottle and water filtration system to avoid single-use disposable water and beverage bottles.
- Conserve water.
Minimize
- Do not build campfires in dry or protected areas.
- Do not distribute nondegradable, breakable gifts or items in nondegradable packaging.
- Carry a reusable shopping bag and decline disposable plastic bags from vendors.
- Do not buy or consume animal or plant products harvested from unmanaged wild populations.
- Leave no litter.
Preserve
Seize the Power of Your Experience
Act directly to accomplish conservation.
- Pick up litter left by others.
- Do not rely on remote local markets or village food supplies to outfit your trip. You can cause inflation and food shortages.
- Do not patronize accommodations, organizations, vendors, operators, villages, or individuals who violate environmental regulations or principles.
Conserve
- Advocate for sustainable use of the natural environments you visit.
- Discuss conservation with local students and teachers.
- Tell your guides and the Journeys staff about improvements we can make to positively affect nature and culture conservation.
- Make donations to temples, schools, monasteries, parks, and museums.
- Join local conservation organizations.
Advocate
Value Other Cultures
Embrace diversity. Reverse missionary zeal.
- Learn proper local etiquette.
- Dress neatly and conservatively in your own cultural tradition.
- Employ local residents as guides, porters or drivers.
- Treat them as friends, not servants. Learn the names of your local hosts and a little of their native language.
- Listen and learn; do not preach or criticize cultural practices.
Value
- Purchase souvenirs from the original makers and do not drive an excessively hard bargain.
- Evaluate requests for gifts carefully and provide a balanced view of Western material culture.
- Determine from your guide the most culturally appropriate way to reciprocate for local hospitality.
- Take photographs within the guidelines suggested by your guide. Make good on promises to send copies.
Embrace
Journeys International offsets the carbon footprint of every trip in collaboration with the Earth Preservation Fund (EPF), and supports additional projects of the EPF to fulfill a commitment to donate 1% of revenue to earth-sustaining projects.