What We Believe In.
Integrity
We believe in the old fashioned virtues of saying what you mean and standing behind your word. As more newcomers enter the travel business, the rhetoric and the promises seem to have lost touch with reality. While we can’t prove that our promises are more real than anyone else’s, we can point to an uninterrupted history of over 20 years in the business, the loyalty of our travellers (our people like to come back) and the respect of our peers (we’ve won plenty of awards in our time). We interpret our policies generously in light of the relevant facts rather than hiding behind empty words. We admit that we are wrong when we make a mistake and we take responsibility for our actions when we are accountable, and we try to do so with the minimum of fuss and a modicum of graciousness.
Sophistication
We believe that sophistication in travel is a combination of substance and style, an elusive blend of savoir faire and worldliness, a triumph of authentic experience over artificial expense. It is about smart choices rather than obvious choices, it is about calibrating luxury to the circumstances rather than imposing rigid definitions out of context, it is about nuanced discernment rather than personal pretension. We attempt to weave an element of sophistication in everything we do, from the choices of where and how to travel to maintaining the balance between price and value, from the seamless anticipation of every need to the mastery over minute details, from the zest for discovery of new experiences to the joy of sharing them with our travellers.
Creativity
We approach travel as a form of theatre that aspires to bridge the gap between travellers’ imaginations and the destination’s reality. Our researchers strive to impose narrative structure on the convoluted and multiple histories of a region, our knowledgable trip planners provide the mise-en-scene and the local character actors, and our local hosts seek to provide the spark of creativity that transports the traveller from the status of observer to that of participant. Our ambition is always the same – to create a moment of pure magic and the illusion that what is carefully choreographed and staged is actually perfectly spontaneous and real. The end result is an enduring memory, an unforgettable moment of authentically experienced life.
Service
We believe that great service is about listening to both the spoken and unspoken needs of our travellers and then doing everything possible to exceed them. Our sales team works directly with our travellers to understand their desires and match them to our journeys. Our planning team parses the details to ensure that every eventuality is anticipated. Our local hosts have few peers when it comes to caring for our travellers, navigating the intricacies of international travel, and nurturing the sort of camaraderie that can last a lifetime. We encourage them to behave as the equals of our travellers rather than their servants. We believe that treating individuals with respect is the highest form of compliment, and thus our traveller’s opinions are never lightly dismissed.
