Whl Group

The WHL Group is a travel services organisation. Our focus is on e-enabling small local travel providers around the world (especially the developing world) and connecting them to the global market. Today we operate in over 100 countries and distribute travel products via a number of subsidiary companies; whl.travel, Green Path Transfers, Urban Adventures, Lime & Tonic and Gunyah. In every case we are seeking sustainable tourism outcomes which deliver benefits over the long term to the local communities. We also operate a successful travel blog (The Travel Word) and are the co-sponsors of a blog dedicated to local travel (The Local Travel Movement)

We started operations as a project of the IFC (part of the World Bank Group) focussing on supporting small accommodation providers in the Mekong region. The pilot project was successful and led to the company being spun off as a private company in 2006.

Products/Services

Technology and Online Marketing Services to the Travel Industry

Why we are a green organisation

In each of the WHL Group companies we have put social and environmental issues at the centre of our tourism work. We work to support small and medium scale tourism operators and to build a truly sustainable future for them in the tourism sector. In practical terms;

1. All of our focus is on independent or small group travel. We are not involved in mass tourism.

2. When selecting local tourism operators to work with, a heavy weighting is placed on selecting operators already active in their local communities in social and/or environmental programmes benefiting the community.

3. When building branded products we try to build care for environment in at each step. For example with Urban Adventures on all of our day tours we either walk, bike, kayak or take public transport. In Green Path Transfers (our eco friendly airport transfers) we have tried to recruit eco friendly operators in the first instance to operrate the transfers and provide financial incentives to all operators to go green. We also offset any carbon we can’t avoid. In Lime & Tonic, every weekly deal is matched to a supporting charity and in every destination we try to include at least one charity or NGO with an environmental focus.

4. Finally, we are trying to walk the talk internally by minimising the carbon footprint of our own staff. Most of the global team work from home, and all are actively trying to reduce their respective carbon footprints.

Please get in touch with Whl Group from the Contact box on the right.