At Explore, we believe we are sincere in our commitment to responsible travel - the delicate chemistry of 'give and take' has, after all, been instrumental to what we do - and we believe that's true for many other adventure travel operators who 'travel beyond'. For four years running, Explore has been shortlisted for these awards (which are held in November, in association with responsibletravel.com, Geographical Magazine, World Travel Market and The Daily Telegraph), and we're delighted to have been Highly Commended in the Best Tour Operator category as well.

Enjoying the wonders of the world should not come at a price for either the people or the environment they live in. Despite being pioneers in RT some three decades ago, we are ever more aware of the responsibilities we have as a tour operator. Travel does impact, but we constantly work to ensure our impact is a positive one - by enabling local people to genuinely benefit from our visit and by minimising our impact on the environment. We also promote the protection of the environment through our work with suppliers and conservation organisations. In short, we ensure you have a holiday which does not cost the earth.

So what has Explore done this year? First of all we've made the boldest and most significant move amongst tour operator of our size, and decided to go for it: include the cost of each traveller's carbon offsets in their tour price. Why? - Because if you are going to address your environmental impact as a company, you have to put your money where your mouth is. Full stop.

Explore has contributed a six-figure sum to sustainable development projects that deliver proven and significant CO2 reductions. Our carbon footprint has further been reduced by implementing a number of projects back at head office, such as working with the Carbon Trust and knocking 20% off our stationery consumption - a reduction we aim to continue year on year.

Out in the field, meanwhile:

• we've incorporated sustainability further into our tours through the development of our Volunteer product range, ensuring that a variety of hand-picked projects really do benefit from our visit
• we continue to drive forward not only the recruitment but also the training of local staff, ensuring we maximise local employment and drive up performance in destinations
• we've added several partnerships to our project portfolio, including Travel Operator for Tigers in India, Education for All in Morocco and the Elephant Transit Home in Sri Lanka
• we've generally strengthened our existing relations with industry and charity sectors

Each year the challenges get tougher and it's fantastic that responsible travel is now a mainstream issue; but we are confident that we continue to rise to those challenges.

Finally, if you have travelled with us in the past, here's a big thank you from your Responsible Travel team because, believe it or not, you have already made a difference to someone locally. A small difference, perhaps, but a very positive one.

We'd like you to vote for us, so if you think we do a good job, please tell the Virgin Holidays Responsible Travel Awards.

Otherwise, simply contact us - we love to hear your feedback .

The closing date is Monday 16 June.

For more information on Responsible Tourism you can:

Access our Responsible Tourism home page

Read our Responsible Tourism Policy

Find out about the charities we support

And, most importantly,

Learn about what you can do when travelling

Thanks for your support!