What is Sirena Adventure designed to address?
What is our purpose, our cause, and the reason we wish you to experience one of our unique trips?
Why should you consider the way in which you travel differently?
Put simply, ecotourism is a unifying term which brings tourism together with cultural and environmental awareness. At Sirena Adventures, we share our passion for nature & travel with a commitment to learning from & protecting the cultural and environmental value inherent to our destinations. Most current dive and adventure travel focuses entirely on the activities themselves, with little interaction made between the local population, including local biologists, guides, native business leaders, and others who are the main stakeholders in the environment they live in after the tourists have left.
Oftentimes there is much taken on behalf of the visitor, and not much given or returned to the destinations which have provided so much to accommodate the visitor. Across the globe, the amount of leisure travelers increases exponentially every year, challenging both local resource use and the local governments timely response to infrastructure and growth issues. The impact is felt more highly in communities which often have fewer (and equally precious) resources to part with. As ecotourism is commonly practiced in areas which hold unique environmental and cultural significance in our world, their preservation into the future for continued enjoyment becomes ever more important.
Tourism has been proven to be an effective vessel for transformation, beyond solely economic in scale. Our desire is for all of those who travel to strive for more than just quelling of a curiosity or self-interested indulgence – but to come to appreciate their role as a carrier of their own individual culture and paradigms. In this way, the awareness of self brings the awareness of another.
What is unique about the people and their culture you are visiting? What is unique about the landscapes you will be seeing and hiking through? How can you be a respectful and best representative of your country while accepting the differences and similarities you are bound to find in the host destination?
Before embarking on a trip, travelers seeking to be more conscious-minded should begin asking themselves:
* Who owns and operates the accommodations you will be staying at?
* Where is the food you will be eating sourced from?
* Are you willing to adjust your diet to coincide with what is grown locally?
* Which items are locally sourced versus those which must be imported in?
* How can you be a more responsible consumer – specially with reference to single-use plastics, souvenirs, and items purchased for travel?
In crafting our itineraries at Sirena Adventures, these are some of the benchmarks we make best efforts to meet:
ā Using operators which are locally-owned and employ locals (nationals)
ā Lodging which may:
– use sustainable materials
– run with renewable energy sources
– offer biodegradable bath & body products
– launder with biodegradable cleaning agents
– incorporate water conservation policies
– recycle
– compost waste
– purchase locally grown crops for raw ingredients in kitchen
– has a greywater treatment system
– markets locally made products
ā Dive operators that incorporate training and sustainable practices in their daily operations:
– education of sensitive marine life
– stress proper buoyancy
– minimize single-use plastics for excursion or meals
– participate locally in the community through education or beach clean-ups
While being a responsible, conscientious consumer requires making difficult choices at times, especially placing us out of our comfort zones, it is here that positive growth and change occurs. We can only continue striving together to create tourism experiences that create a catalyst for personal and environmental change, in turn creating a more sustainable future.
*”SIRENA LLC (dba Sirena Adventures) is registered with the State of Florida as a Seller of Travel. Registration No. ST41086.”
Sirena Adventures 