Our responsible tourism principles:

• On Foot Holidays recognises its responsibility towards the beautiful rural places that our walkers visit, and the importance of minimising the impact of our presence.
• We aim to deal with our suppliers fairly and honourably, and encourage environmental and social responsibility wherever possible.
• We endeavour to reduce, reuse, recycle and replace in an environmentally responsible way every day, both in our office and when out walking.

Some things we are doing:

• We have appointed a staff working group to develop our responsible tourism objectives. Members of this group have undertaken training with AITO’s Sustainable Tourism Project team. They work with the rest of our staff in Salisbury and on our routes to implement our initiatives.
• We use local, family-run hotels and agri-tourism accommodation, as well as small-scale suppliers, in an effort to support the local economy. And we try to avoid tourist hotspots that are overburdened by tourism.
• We encourage the use of public transport by clients, and minimise the impact of taxi journeys by sharing luggage transfers whenever possible and using the same vehicles for route shortening options.
• By not printing brochures, we significantly reduce the environmental impact of marketing our holidays.
• We keep as much as possible of our records digitally, to reduce the use of paper and ink cartridges. We always use recycled paper for office printing, and recycle as much as possible of all office consumables.
• The majority of our staff travel to work on foot, by bicycle or on public transport.
• We support some events and projects local to our office or in our destination countries. We’re actively looking for more environmental projects to support – suggestions welcome! See more below…
• Some of our clients have raised the issue of the amount of plastic items in our Walkers’ Packs. Much of the plastic content is now made of recycled and/or recyclable materials, and we are looking for effective replacements for the remainder. However, our major step forward is the development of the On Foot Holidays Companion App, which can be used instead of the printed materials. It contains all the information currently in the Walkers’ Pack, as well as an easy-to-use GPS navigation system.

Some things you can do:

• We encourage you to bring and refill reusable water containers.
• You might like to reduce packaging by bringing a lunch box for your picnic, and asking hotels to fill it on days where they are providing your packed lunch. A travel cutlery set can be useful too – please avoid using disposable plastic cutlery.
• We can’t get away from the fact that many of our clients will be getting to their holiday by air. Consider the most fuel-efficient flight(s) to your start point – Google Flights provides an indicator of carbon emissions per person per flight for most routes worldwide, with some comparative train journeys suggested too. You can also consider carbon off-setting your flights – there are various programmes where you can donate to environmental projects which will offset the carbon emitted by your flights. Look for an option to donate when booking your flight.
• Get to your holiday by train. Admittedly this is a bit tricky for walkers living outside Europe! But there is a good choice of holidays reachable by train in one day from the UK or other European air and rail hubs. You could consider a sleeper train to take the pressure off the timetable – new night trains are being launched throughout Europe. There’s a wealth of advice on The Man in Seat 61 website, and RailEurope is helpful for booking tickets. See the “Travel Information” tab on each route page of our website for advice on getting to the start of your holiday, and if you’re making a longer trip including two separate On Foot routes, see our suggestions for the best pairings that can be linked by train.
• Consider using the On Foot Holidays Companion App instead of receiving a Walkers’ Pack. This app contains all the information currently in printed form in the Walkers’ Pack, as well as an easy-to-use GPS navigation system.
• Let us know if you don’t wish to receive a map holder in your Walkers’ Pack.
• And do please tell us if there are improvements we can make, or ideas for projects we can support.

Projects we are pleased to support

Broken Bridges Nature Reserve, Salisbury

On Foot Holidays has pledged funds to a project local to us, here in Salisbury, in a place close to our hearts.

An area of water meadows along the River Nadder, on the western edge of the city but seemingly a world away, is being purchased by the project, with the aim of restoring bio-diversity, improving public access and enhancing wildlife.

The work will safeguard the area as a community asset, and we’re looking forward to seeing the progress, and helping out when we can.

You can find out more on their webpage, and donate to the project here.

Pommie Pilgrimage

Our man in the Peak District, Richard Tucker, has been taking part in a fundraising project for his local church in Youlgreave. A merry band of walkers have walked to every Anglican cathedral in England during 2024, and we were pleased to support them and say hello to walkers passing through Salisbury.

Other community events we have supported in Salisbury

• Concerts by Salisbury Area Young Musicians, Salisbury Symphony Orchestra, and National Orchestra for All
• St Thomas’s Church Christmas Tree Festival
• South Wilts Grammar School Enterprise Days

Tree planting on La Gomera

We were happy to contribute in 2024 to a project by Herman and Amala at Hotel Anaterve in Vallehermoso, La Gomera. They are planting hundreds of specimens to restore the tree canopy on the slopes around their property. A young ficus Amstel and a cupressus are now growing in our name!