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ECOCLUB, Issue 89
3
Jane Crouch:
I am not sure that the consumer necessarily pays so much attention to these awards, but I do think that they can
have a very positive impact on the highly competitive tourism industry. They are a fantastic way of raising the profile of
really positive initiatives which other companies may want to copy and they can help 'raise the bar' for the industry overall.
ECOCLUB: You work both for Intrepid Travel and for The Intrepid Foundation. Why does a responsible travel company
need to operate a foundation, as opposed to a section within the company? Is there a need perhaps for a clear dividing line
between 'for-profits and non-profits in the responsible tourism field?
Jane Crouch: We established The Intrepid Foundation Inc. (TIFI) as a separate entity from Intrepid Travel, to help ensure total
transparency - to ensure we use donors’ monies as intended - it cannot go through Intrepid Travel's books. The other reason
we chose to have the Intrepid Foundation quite separate, is so that if Intrepid Travel has a 'difficult' year, like when SARS
struck, we can still consistently support our charitable commitments, without a dependence on the profitability of Intrepid
Travel. TIFI is still 'housed' under Intrepid's roof and receives administrative resources from Intrepid Travel.
ECOCLUB: Please name the most important ingredient for responsible tours, and explain why you chose it, through an
example you have experienced as a tour guide.
Jane Crouch: Making friends with local people, on their terms, in their environment, living their usual way of life. You can see
all the spectacular scenery, museums and beaches in the world, but our travellers tell us time and time over, the most rewarding
and memorable parts of a trip and that which brings them the most feeling of love and respect for a place is making local
friends, and gaining a personal insight into their lives and families.
ECOCLUB: As a woman, did you ever feel tempted to intervene on behalf of local women, who were abused or
overburdened, yet in a covert 'traditional' way, in the conduct of tourism and pseudo - 'responsible tourism'? For example, a
homestay where the woman does all the work, and then cares for the tourists as well, while men retire at the coffee shop? And is
such intervention politically correct?
Jane Crouch:
Experienced this dilemma frequently. One way I have dealt with it, is rather than try and implement change, I
have discussed the demands of our visitation with a group of community women and ask them how they would like to 'resolve'
the situation so that they as women benefit. Rostering systems that spread the work around a community and payment methods
that increase the economic empowerment of women, for example by paying for all the food directly to the women, have
helped. In one Northern Thailand village we facilitated the fairer sales of handicrafts by asking that all the weavings had a fixed
price and that the travellers could look at them and choose without haggling and competition. This helped to more equitably
distribute income amongst the village women.
ECOCLUB: Sex tourism is taboo in many of the countries where your company and you have worked. Officials usually do
not discuss it, neither do tour or airline companies, it is invariably 'illegal', abominable but omnipresent. At the request of
conservatives, international aid funds have been cut to NGOs working to assist prostitutes. But should there perhaps be a more
intelligent approach from the tourism industry, rather than crocodile tears or silence, towards a phenomenon that exists and
persists, rather than draconian hypocrisy?
Jane Crouch: The approach we have taken and I would encourage all the industry to do, is to direct resources to the experts
who understand the myriad of complexities of the issue – ECPAT or ChildWise as they are known in Australia. The other very
important thing is training staff in the issue and encourage them to never turn a blind eye to what they might see, i.e. document
and report suspicious activities to appropriate authorities. We have made about 10 reports in recent years, which are treated
totally confidentially and professionally by ECPAT and connected policing bodies. We are not quiet about our proactiveness if
it helps shame those in the industry who do nothing…
ECOCLUB: Intrepid excels in managing to convince seasoned, independent tourists to go on a packaged tour. Amazing, but
how do you do it? And are these people easy to handle or you keep chasing after them?
Jane Crouch: Operate a good product, practise what you preach, and then your customers will advertise for you. We have
an enormous amount of repeat business, with some of our travellers taking a trip with us each year. We are aware though of
continually adding new fresh product and trip styles to our range, to appeal to a changing market. For example, in a couple of
years our family trips have grown in popularity as the travellers of my vintage want to travel the Intrepid way but with their
kids.
ECOCLUB: Intrepid is arguably the world's most accomplished responsible tour operator. What is your next move?
Jane Crouch: We have plenty of room to grow in the newer regions for us of Africa and Central & South America. But we
want to grow sustainably. One ambitious target we have made is a pledge to become carbon neutral by the end of 2009 and
we are already well on track to see this happen. We have introduced carbon offset payments for airline tickets sold in Australia,
our head office uses 'Green Power' or sustainable energy and our Melbourne and overseas offices are currently undertaking