Jetsettersblog

Pre-purchased and pre-paid carbon credits will be offered to all customers as proof one Australian tour company is aware of the environmental cost of its operation. Northern Territory tourism operator Wayoutback Desert Safaris will fully fund carbon credit payments for paying customers after the recent cessation of the successful Carbon Offset Pilot program operated by Tourism NT.

“We participated in the pilot during the 2008-09 financial year and successfully achieved carbon neutrality for that year.

“We are working towards this again for 2009-10 as it has had a highly successful outcome for our business, in particular with our European and American clientele who are highly focused on environmental sustainability and often choose safari operators who reflect these same values,” said Wayoutback Desert Safaris Managing Director Don Wait.

When a customer purchases one of the tours offered by the operator through any distribution channel, an amount of carbon credits equal to the emissions per passenger trip will be automatically paid for by Wayoutback Desert Safaris.

“We anticipate this will cost approx $20,000 per annum on current projections,” said Wait. Wayoutback are recognized pioneers in eco-tourism strategies.

They were one of the first Advanced Eco-Certified companies operating in the Northern Territory, and their operations manager/head guide Phil Taylor was winner of Eco Tourism Australia’s 2008 William Angliss National EcoGuide Award of Excellence.

The carbon credits are purchased by Wayoutback Desert Safaris from the LMS Generation Pty Ltd abatement project in the Northern Territory. The Shoal Bay waste disposal site services the Darwin area providing safe and environmentally friendly disposal of domestic and commercial waste.

The facility produces electricity from methane gas harvested from waste and is the first of its kind in the Northern Territory.

For more information, visit www.wayoutback.com