In 2021, we celebrated our 30th anniversary - what a milestone! Speyside Wildlife has always been focused on its guests and where they want to visit. Our ethos has always been; small friendly groups of like-minded people, where everyone is treated as an individual and not one of a crowd. If guests are one side of the Speyside Wildlife coin, then our staff are the equal and opposite other. They are what makes us what we are and their loyalty goes hand in hand with that of our guests.
We pride ourselves on our commitment to the environment and we do all we can to ensure we offer the very best standard of service and quality to our customers. Below are just some of the ways in which we do this:
”To share outstanding, fun-filled wildlife experiences,
where you are always treated as an individual, not one of a crowd.”
When you book through us your money is safe and sound. Speyside Wildlife complies with the requirements set out in ‘The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tour Regulations 2018’.
Speyside Wildlife also holds an ATOL (Air Travel Organisers Licence) No 4259, issued by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in the name of Suzanne Dowden trading as Speyside Wildlife.
Our certificate can be viewed here.
All guests booking a holiday without flights with Speyside Wildlife are protected against the loss of all monies paid to us in advance (and repatriation if applicable, back to the point of commencement of the holiday with us) in the event of our insolvency, by way of a Trust Account, administered by Masson Cairns Ltd, Solicitors and Estate Agents, Strathspey House, 36 High Street, Grantown-On-Spey, PH26 3EQ. Tel number 01479 874800
On any flight-based holiday, CAA regulations dictate that all guests must have insurance. Speyside Wildlife cannot be responsible for any loss or damage to personal items, or for personal accident or injury. Guests are therefore strongly recommended to take out personal insurance against cancellation charges and other loss or injury. Further details can be found in our
Terms and Conditions. For non-UK guests, insurance cover must be obtained in your home country prior to travel.
Our Responsible Travel Policy - Doing our best for the environment and local communities
We're all becoming increasingly aware of our impact on the environment. Consequently, we've set out to do our bit to reduce our footprint. Not only are we adhering to the "reduce, re-use, recycle" ethos, but we're also making a contribution back into the environment.
Speyside Wildlife has linked up with RSPB Abernethy, which has a long term vision to extend the Caledonian Pine Forest within the Reserve. For the travel and transport included in the price of our holidays, we contribute to the RSPB to help fund the Abernethy Tree Nursery, so helping to offset the effects of climate change. Each hour of air travel is offset by ¼ of a tree and each 1,000 kms of car travel is offset by ½ a tree.
Click
here to read our Responsible Travel Policy.
Tourism Declares Declaration
We declare our shared commitment to unite all stakeholders in transforming tourism to deliver effective climate action.
We support the global commitment to halve emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050.
We will consistently align our actions with the latest scientific recommendations, so as to ensure our approach remains consistent with a rise of no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100.
As a signatory, we commit to:
1. Deliver a climate action plan within 12 months of signing.
2. Report publicly both progress against interim and long-term targets, as well as the actions being taken, at least annually.
3. Align our plan with five shared pathways (measure, decarbonise, regenerate, collaborate, finance) to ensure climate action is consistent across all of tourism.
4. Share information on activities connected to Tourism Declares and/or the Glasgow Declaration among contacts and networks.
5. Work in a collaborative and constructive spirit with other members of Tourism Declares and/or signatories of the Glasgow Declaration.
Green Tourism Business Scheme
We have been assessed by
Green Tourism for the environmental credentials
operating throughout our business and are delighted to have achieved a Gold
Green Tourism Award in 2016 and continued to maintain this. The assessment looks at all aspects of the
business, awarding credit for different areas, from our recycling policies,
through our virtual office set-up, to our increasing use of social media and our
newly designed App, eliminating excess paper usage. Consequently, we scored an
‘excellent’ for the purchasing, travel & transport and nature & culture sections
and an ‘outstanding’ for innovation!
Fair Work Policy
Speyside Wildlife is committed to:
- Paying at least the Real Living Wage for all including 16 and 17 year olds (self declared) as fair pay brings benefits to our employees, their families, communities and our business
- Providing an organisational culture where employees have an effective voice where their views and concerns are sought and acted upon
- Employing on open ended contracts with confirmed hours and flexible working, we will never employ on a zero hours contract
- Operates a diverse and inclusive workplace where team members are employed on their merit with no regard for gender, disability or ethnicity
- Offer flexible working patterns to all employees
Cairngorms National Park Brand
Increasing quality whilst reducing impact - Speyside Wildlife have been granted use of this Brand by the
Cairngorms National Park Authority. This is only given to those businesses who have agreed to a set of quality standards in respect of their visitor experience, together with a commitment to reducing their impact on the natural environment.
Visit Scotland - Quality Assurance Scheme (Wildlife Experience)
Speyside Wildlife was one of 40 wildlife businesses to be assessed under
VisitScotland's pilot scheme for Wildlife Experiences achieving four star status for our day tours and we have continued to maintain this. Watch out for the designation throughout Scotland. We were delighted to receive our letter of confirmation from VisitScotland so thought we’d share some of it with you here. “Thank you for participating in the pilot of the new Wildlife Experience Designator within our Quality Assurance Scheme for visitor attractions. Your feedback and contribution to the introduction of this new development has been invaluable and we would like to welcome you as a new member of the Quality Assurance Grading Scheme.”