Michael Carter
New Zealand is famous for its clean green image and recent growth in ethical businesses.
From the natural fibre clothing brand Icebreaker, to the fully recycled shoes of All Birds, New Zealand is truly making its mark in the social enterprise sector.
These businesses have leveraged New Zealand’s ethical clean green image to create successful international brands. The latest social enterprise to come out of New Zealand is the hiking tour company VX Tours Nepal.
VX Tours Nepal
VX Tours Nepal has become one of the fastest growing New Zealand businesses, attracting over 60,000 Facebook followers within the space of a few months.
That is no easy feat for a company selling hiking tours to Mt Everest Base Camp.
The company was created to improve the working conditions of local guides and porters in Nepal. Its Founder was shocked when she heard that guides and porters in Nepal are often paid so little that they cannot even afford basic accommodation during the hike.
As a result, they are regularly forced to sleep in caves and shelters at extreme temperatures.
Conscientious Employer
VX Tours Nepal pays their porters 50% more than the standard wage to prevent this from happening to their staff.
VX Tours Nepal has also taken advantage of the recent influx of tourists to Nepal.
Nepal has recently become one of the most popular off the beaten track travel destinations in the world. It has slowly been recovering from the devastating earthquake that hit the country in 2015.
Over the past four years, the trails to Everest Base Camp have been cleared and the quaint teahouses along the way have been repaired.
Now that the earthquakes are over, tourists are excited and ready to get back into this exotic country. Tourism numbers have risen from over 500,000 in 2015 to one million in 2018.
Top Destination
Nepal has also featured in many newspapers and magazines as a top travel destination.
Huffington Post recently voted it as one of the top 20 adventure travel spots for 2019.
Lonely Planet also got on board, voting Kathmandu as one of the top 10 cities to visit in 2019 and Nepal as a top travel destination in their 2018 list.
This small New Zealand company is not just growing because of the expanding tourism industry in Nepal.
It offers a superior service throughout the hike.
Once their customers reach Everest Base Camp, they have a unique opportunity to take a scenic helicopter flight that takes them over Base Camp and parallel to Mt Everest.
Although the views from the hike are breathtaking, the helicopter flight provides a different view altogether and is often the highlight of the trip. In addition to this, they hire some of the best guides in the country to ensure their clients are well looked after and safe.
Uncompromising quality
VX Tours Nepal demonstrates that high quality services can be provided without compromising the wellbeing of the local communities.
Their tours provide a source of much needed income for the locals.
They also ensure that their clients respect the local culture and don’t leave any rubbish behind on this breathtaking hike.
With the rise of ethical businesses like VX Tours Nepal, Icebreaker and All Birds who knows what the future landscape of NZ business will look like.
Michael Carter is a Journalist based in Auckland.
