Responsible Tourism Policy

The social and environmental welfare of Ireland and planet Earth is fundamentally important to all of us at Ireland Chauffeur Travel – not just as a business, but as citizens too. We value our community and our environment and are committed to sustainable, responsible tourism.

We take the potential negative effects on the environment that our business activities can cause very seriously.

In line with this, we will continually strive to improve our environmental practices in a range of areas including carbon offset, energy use and water usage. We support local tourism and ecotourism experiences and our community through a number of diverse projects and we enhance the experiences of our clients through meaningful connections with the real people of Ireland.

We are working towards being a carbon-neutral company and becoming B Corp certified. Current measures include the following:

Responsible Tourism

Sustainable Tourism: We support local tourism and hospitality enterprises, ensuring money from tourists supports local communities around the country. This is a key tourism sustainability approach of our company. We ensure clients are introduced to Ireland’s tourism entrepreneurs, food producers and local experience providers, ensuring they experience and support “real” Ireland.

Support Local: We work actively with other local business whether through informal referrals or through formal partnerships. We employ as many local personnel as possible and purchase as many quality local products and services as is possible. We also contribute to local fundraising activities, for example supporting local sporting clubs and charities.

Vehicle Efficiency

We continually re-invest in our vehicles to ensure they are as energy efficient as possible.

Our vehicles are all the latest diesel models that have blue efficiency engines for minimal carbon output.

We are monitoring the electric vehicle space and will migrate to electric when the market has opened up further to support touring.

We encourage eco driving by all Driver Guides, which is an energy efficient style of driving that reduces the overall carbon emission from the car. Studies have shown that drivers trained with the practices of eco driving can help in the reduction of fuel consumption up to 20%. These practises are ideally suited for the modern engines and help them to perform efficiently for a longer period of time.

The Environment

Natural Area Focus: We promote experiences that encourage interaction with the natural environment through walking, wildlife watching, botany and education.

Interpretation & Education: All clients are provided with local information, which assists them in helping to protect and respect the landscapes they visit. We are always happy to give further information and make recommendations based on sound local knowledge.

Respecting Cultures

Cultural Respect & Awareness: All Ireland Chauffeur Travel staff are encouraged to be respectful of the culture of visiting guests. Equally, clients are encouraged to be respectful and aware of local culture and sensitivities. Clients are encouraged to interact locally in pubs, or through traditional music and dancing or local events such as sporting activities.

Inclusive policies: We ensure we are a safe, fair and inclusive company and proudly hold these values across all aspects of our work with clients and in our policies.

Bunratty Castle and Folk Park | Ireland Chauffeur Travel

Responsible Marketing

Paperless approach: We operate as much as possible as a paperless office. We have invested in software to produce digital itineraries which means clients can download their personalised itinerary to their smart devices using an app. The itineraries can be viewed in real-time, so there is no need for duplicate printing. If we are supplying itineraries on behalf of a third-party, we will supply that itinerary in online version unless print is requested.

Visitor feedback is important in helping us maintain and improve our products and services, including our environmental practices. All clients are given an electronic Client Feedback Survey and are encouraged to complete it.

Responsible marketing: We use web-based marketing activities as much as possible and have a strict policy of not using mailshots. We keep in contact with regular customers through the use of e-zines. Recycled paper and card are used in the printing of brochures and leaflets.

Contributing to Conservation

Our conservation measures include actions in the office and further afield:

We use water from the sustainable water management company in Tipperary. All bottles are recycled.
We are part of an organised planting of Irish forestry.
We have an office green policy in place.
We organise quarterly litter clean-ups of popular tourist viewing spots, such as the Rock of Cashel.