Bamboo Adventures and its Sustainable Practices

Esteemed business partner and friends. 

Sustainability and the responsibilities that come with it, have always been on the forefront of our operations throughout all our destinations and including partners in tertiary destinations. 

Since 2009, thousands and thousands of satisfied customers have enjoyed our services, hospitality and above all, travel happiness.

Practices that have stood at the cradle of our inception when we opened our office, practices that have been interwoven in our operations, our partners and within our team members; it is without this strong sense of responsibility and commitment to not only stay abreast with our eyes peeled to exceeding expectations. It is also our obligation to maintain our stride for respecting cultural heritage and the biodiversity of all the countries we are present.

Our Vision

Our Destination Management Company (DMC) services range from tailor-made and corporate travel planning, and an extensive variety of theme-based programs – ranging from history or adventure. Our expertise is where our strength lies and we are proud to be recognized as one of Malaysia leading experts in travel-related experiences. 

Our knowledge of each destination is paramount, backed by product innovation, training, consulting and investment into state-of-the-art technology.

With our name connected to operating exceeding expectations for travel experiences, Bamboo Adventures is strongly committed in working closely, practicing and designing its daily operation with the least amount of impact on the environment as a whole. In all that we do, it is on the forefront of our minds to respect nature, honor cultural differences and abstain from harming flora and fauna.

Our practices are aligned with international standards set by our partners where we aim to deliver the respectful understanding of a destination rather than getting a glimpse of the surface. 

Priority here is working with responsible partners who align their operations as seamlessly as possible with ours.

The Core Values 

Nothing is more important for us to follow the same guiding principles throughout our operations. These are summarized in 7 values that are essential to how we work on a daily basis.

• We believe our success depends upon our leadership and management teams’ abilities to focus and execute their mission on schedule with an entrepreneurial mind.

• We work as a team: We believe in building and maintaining professional, win-win relationships with our employees, customers, preferred partners, and all our business partners in order to achieve mutual success.

• We believe in integrity: we are committed to honesty, loyalty, and a high standard of ethical conduct in dealing with each other. We trust, help and respect not only each other and treat each other with understanding but also all our customers, partners and suppliers.

• We strive for excellence: We are committed to being a high performance organization by staying focused on total customer satisfaction. We continuously analyze our processes and ourselves in order to become the most preferred inbound DMC. 

• Our main objectives are customer-focused: We are committed to providing the highest level of customer service; we extend this to our agents, their customers and our preferred suppliers.

• We continue to innovate: We are driven in developing and implementing cutting-edge solutions and developments for our customers, preferred partners and employees. We strongly believe in state-of- the-art technological solutions to facilitate all concerned.

• Long-term partnerships are part of our DNA: We believe in nurturing fruitful, long-term relationships with our employees, customers and suppliers, based on understanding requirements and implementing needs to sustain business relationships.

We care about all our customers

With dedicated departments catering for the needs of each main source market, each department is headed by multilingual staff that understands not only the cultural aspects of each source market, but also has years of experience in department management in the inbound tourism industry. Bamboo Adventures prides itself that it has Swiss, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Dutch nationals to respond in source markets’ native language, outside of the local language and English.

Outside of language skills, it is in the interest of Bamboo Adventures to conduct training and coaching sessions on a regular basis for all team members to maintain and develop the required skills to act, handle and respond appropriately to generic and specific demands from its customers.

We operate a 24/7 emergency service for our customers should any emergency arise. We are able to provide emergency assistance in multiple languages. 

Outside of essential experience in the inbound industry field, each Managing Director has proven to cope effortlessly with the constant changes in the industry. An internal check balance system is in place for each Managing Director to measure performance levels on all these fronts.

We educate and explain our customers about the possible effects on the environment and advise them accordingly. This includes our Code of Conduct and void selling excursions and tours that are against our sustainable principles. These principles cover all aspects of our operations, be it historical, cultural, natural, social-economical, or the welfare of human beings and animals.

As one of the few companies in the industry, it has its own Code of Conduct in place, created in collaboration with Bamboo Adventures owning company.

We are strongly against corruption and bribery

Guaranteeing integrity throughout its operations by Bamboo Adventures, this includes a strong, shared aversion against bribery, corruptive dealings and inappropriate business ethics, which is an essential part of the company’s cornerstones of operating its business model.

Guideline to protect our environment 

As a destination management company, it has internally set strict guidelines to respect the overall well-being of Asian tourism where we follow our three main principles for ‘tourism longevity’, as earlier outlined. This on-going process requires training, setting up guidelines for our staff, guides, drivers, suppliers and executives to honor this commitment. Protection of the environment in all our destinations where we eagerly want to show our natural and cultural resources is an essential practice to keep our Asia for generations to come.

We are more than 100% committed: we will make all endeavors to bring this message over to you, our business partner and to all those who form an essential part of the tourism chain. 

We are committed to take care of our people

Our HR and Administration standards are exceeding destination-specific laws: Bamboo Adventures reputation of recognizing the importance of its team has not gone unnoticed. Part of its vision of working as a team, Bamboo Adventures staff turn-around figures are among the lowest in the market. With employees working with the company since it opened its doors, the executive management enforces that all team members are well-treated and are an integral part of the success formula.

The company provides regular in-house / outsourced training and coaching sessions including

sustainability related matters led by the managers and pays out above industry benefits and salaries.

We respect human rights

Child protection is a strong commitment for us and we are an active member of Youth Junction.

We nurture, care and share our experiences and knowledge to protect the environment following the outlines of the internationally-recognized ‘Five Freedoms’ of animal welfare for all of his activities and excursions. 

The ‘Five Freedoms’ outline five aspects of animal welfare under human control, and were developed in response to a 1965 UK Government report on livestock husbandry, formalized in a 1979 press statement by the UK Farm Animal Welfare Council. The Five Freedoms have been adopted by professional groups including veterinarians, and organizations including the World Organization for Animal Health, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The Five Freedoms are

• Freedom from hunger and thirst;

• Freedom from discomfort;

• Freedom from pain, injury and disease;

• Freedom to behave normally;

• Freedom from fear and distress.

Within our offices, we apply strict and systematic rules of reducing, reusing and recycling at every possible level. Daily routines such as turning off the lights and electrical appliances when not in use, printing double sided, reducing water and use or separating and choosing the best disposal chain to manage our waste are as important as our procurement procedure where the environmental and social impact of every purchase is taken in account or our commitment to improve our impact by reducing packaging, single use products, business travels, staff means of transportation and paper promotional materials.

Sustainability for Bamboo Adventures continues to play a very important part of the core values; not only from a business / commercial perspective, but also caring for its environment.

The principle of sustainability on the work floor and with all partners has to be a main pillar of operating within its business parameters. From ensuring that we work with responsible, sustainable partners to in-house energy-saving and ecological, protective measures, Bamboo Adventures  is thoroughly aware that it needs to lead the way in Asian tourism on this worldwide trending topic.

Representing reputable tour operators from around the world for many years, the success of Bamboo Adventures has been that it can easily adapt to the fast-moving changes in the travel industry and the specific wishes of its source markets. It has tackled this matter with ease by setting up dedicated departments for source markets, led by (a) native speaker(s), for bridging the gap between the local culture and the source market. Swift responses to cope with flexible demands without compromising Quality standards have been part of the DNA since 2009.

Giving preference to the suppliers offering the best options for transportation to and on site considering carbon emissions and environment impact, the destinations where tourism development will lead to positive social, economic and environmental benefits, the excursions and activities that respect our code of conduct, the accommodations and restaurants committed to improve their footprint on the countries we operate in, Bamboo Adventures  strives to stand as a role model and a key player in the network of sustainability in tourism actors.

The only means to achieve this success is by enforcing and advocating a supply-chain involvement strategy. 

This allows us to set sustainability standards that are aligned with our partner requirements. Bamboo Adventures will discontinue collaborative means once suppliers, guides, transportation or other 3rd Party contracted experts do not contribute effectively in line with our fundamentals.

Involvement in development and assuring that we’re giving back to our community is essential.

Bamboo Adventures believes that every experience should be conducted in the most socially responsible and holistically sustainable way possible. The company has taken great steps in striving to conduct our business in a socially responsible and ethical manner – in such a way that is good for the local communities, the environment, people and our business.

Therefore any activity we undertake endeavors to tread lightly on our planet; empowering travelers and local communities to leave a positive impact on the surrounding environments in which they visit or live. All our destinations regularly support local causes, non-government supported projects and conduct team-building activities that are beneficial for the environment.

We at Bamboo Adventures are committed to operate with the future in mind: we are committed to present something authentic for the generations to come and we feel very much connected with what is our ‘playing ground’ in delivering exceeding-expectations’ service standards and respecting the community, the natural splendor and the historical marvels in our Asia.

Tourism leaves an impact on destinations – we cannot deny this. The urge for taking a proactive

position for operating responsibly where all parties gain a benefit; be it the customer, the supplier or the local community where we blaze new paths into travel. It is that vision – giving back to communities, supporting the good cause and carefully selecting partners in our trade – that gives that beneficial advantage when choosing us. 

Bamboo Adventures calls it ‘tourism longevity’, and the core of our activities are summarized in three parts:

• Supporting responsible, economic growth through tourism

Support local NGO 

Part of this commitment is our ongoing support to Youth Junction, a small local NGO which takes care of Malaysian children who live in popular neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city. For the agency team it is an opportunity to share smiles and great emotions. Being together with children and making them smile is, in fact, an immense joy.

Together with the local NGO team we organize an annual event where we create interactive games for children. In these community games there are no losers and the final prize is a pizza, pasta packages and various other groceries to take home and eat together with the family. At the end of the event we always make a monetary donation to support the NGO.

We collaborate as well  with the NGO « Bakau Hijau », located in the area called Lembah Bujang, not far from Georgetown, which always stems from Nico’s friendship with the founder of the NGO itself. 

This NGO is a semi-governmental body that aims to help the inhabitants of the villages of the Lembah Bujang district to diversify their economic and work activities, encouraging the locals not to focus only on the cultivation of oil palm and rubber but to seize opportunities also in other sectors, agricultural and/or tourism. Which? For example, the enhancement of the mangrove forest through tourism and socio-educational activities or fishing or aquaculture of oysters and crabs along the Merbok River.

It is also important to disseminate the principles of permaculture, i.e. the protection of landscapes inhabited by man, with the aim of involving the community in sustainable living practices. These projects focus on creating self-sustaining gardens, raising poultry, creating a seed bank, maintaining biodiversity, sustainable architecture, green energy, water management, as well as landfill abatement pollution.

This collaboration between our agency and the NGO « Bakau Hijau » takes the form of day visits, together with the premises, where guests are informed about these projects and can take part in them directly, for example with traditional Malaysian cooking lessons.

Corporate Social 

Our collaboration with the most important Malaysian university (UM / Universiti Malaya) is for now limited to the Bachelor of Italian established there for years.

This is an important challenge: to create a « bridge » between local students and the world of work. Our contribution begins during the course of study, offering students the opportunity to publish their works, in Italian, on our blog and then involving a training phase at the end of their studies, in the form of a 3-month internship within our organization. If we are mutually satisfied with the journey we have completed, we are always willing to offer them a regular employment contract.

We are convinced that our being in close contact with the Malaysian training system is essential to help train new operators who want to approach the tourism sector and practice the language studied. We are proud to say that 50% of our team come from UM. 

• Minimizing our footprint on the environment

The national park « Belum Temenggor » is a forest that we care about and therefore we manage many projects on site.

Firstly we support the local guides and operators who live in that remote place. It is a way to discourage large agricultural multinationals from entering that territory, which would certainly cause damage to the ecosystem and the environment, such as wild deforestation. On the contrary, we try to involve communities in promoting limited and eco-sustainable tourism.

Secondly, we encourage tourists to visit lesser-known national parks such as the famous Taman Negara. It is a destination that offers only one accommodation and therefore does not attract mass tourism.

Plastic vow is an awareness campaign against plastic in the Belum-Temenggor park.

The main objective is to minimize the impact that plastic has on the native villages present within the national park. This awareness campaign is aimed at locals, tourist operators and, also, the tourists themselves. An attempt is made to change the habits of visitors by discouraging the gift of goods and gifts and, on the contrary, promoting the purchase of their handicrafts. This minimizes the impact of plastic on local populations who, being isolated in the tropical forest, have no waste collection service.

The Orang Asli are a collection of 18 ethnic groups, approximately 150,000 people, considered the original inhabitants of Malaysia. The « Plastic vow » project includes a socio-economic campaign which consists in the purchase, from the population of Orang Asli, of the necklaces they make by hand, totally eco-sustainable as they are made with plant seeds. The purchase cost is Euro 2.00 per necklace which corresponds to the value of 5 kg of rice.

These necklaces are the welcome souvenir that is given to every tourist upon arrival at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. In this way the tourist receives an entirely eco-sustainable souvenir and the Orang Asli, in exchange, benefit from a small economic contribution for their livelihood.

• Preserving and respecting local culture and heritage

By providing engaging and responsible experiences for our visitors, we are also very aware to give back to the local communities we operate in. Our commitment to develop, promote and operate Sustainable programs creates support and development for our host communities.

The Bidayuh are a native population of the island of Borneo. They are mainly farmers and represent the second largest ethnic group in Sabah.

Thanks to the friendship with a Bidayuh family, we offer the tourist the opportunity to share the life of the natives for a day or even for several days, staying at their home. It is an unforgettable experience as the tourist comes into contact with the natives of Borneo who are the only ones to protect their historical and cultural roots.