Who we are
Tribes is an independent specialist travel company. It is owned and run by Amanda and Guy Marks, who founded the company in January 1998. They are backed by a small, committed team of travel professionals who really do have a passion for what they are doing.
From the very beginning, the company’s central tenet was to offer holidays which were inspiring to travellers, but also brought benefits to the local people, wildlife and environment of the destination.
As the company name suggests, there was a focus on the local people, who, at the time the company began, tended not be getting a fair deal in the world of tourism. We wanted to change this, as we believe that local people should benefit from tourism and from their own natural resources. Without involving local people, good quality tourism is not sustainable. If local people can not benefit from their own natural resources, such as national parks, why should they protect them?
Our holidays are mainly tailor made and we currently cover the following destinations:
Botswana, Brazil, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, India, Jordan, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Morocco, Nepal, Peru, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia.
We really do know the places that we sell.
We are members of the travel industry association of AITO (Association of Independent Tour Operators) and have an ATOL licence (Air Travel Organisers’ Licence). This means that our clients are financially protected.
What People Say About Us
The Client:
“In a world where you expect things to go wrong before they go right, Tribes is a real beacon of light. From that first phone call nearly a year ago right through to unlocking the front door on Monday, you have dealt with us in an efficient and professional manner that goes beyond exemplary.
In a former life B… was the Commercial Director of Bridge the World, a company now belonging to the Travelbag Group. Having worked in the long haul travel industry she understands better than most the immense effort involved in attaining and maintaining such high service levels, especially when choosing to operate in that part of the world where chaos traditionally reigns supreme. You should be extremely proud of what you have achieved”.
B & T Neal
The Press:
In Sept 2006, Tribes’ founder, Amanda Marks, was proud to be listed in The Times “50 People to Know in Travel”.
Travel editor Cath Urquhart said all the listed people “have created, or achieved, something new and interesting in their specialist field, and their companies and services are ones that every traveller should know about”.
The Environmentalist:
Prof David Bellamy, chairman of the “Tourism for Tomorrow” judging panel said: "Tribes Travel will make a great global role model for other small tour operators. They have successfully combined the wish-lists of discerning tourists with the needs of local communities worldwide. Responsible tourism principles such as these are vital if we are to protect biodiversity and cultural diversity for generations to come."
The Charity:
Duncan White, Director of New Sector Development of TWIN Trading: “I can only praise Tribes for their ‘alternative’ stance in the tourism industry and have had and am still having great pleasure in working with them, given the similarity in our mutual organisations’ values”.
The Professor
According to Harold Goodwin, chair of the Responsible Tourism awards judges, and Professor of Responsible Tourism Management at Leeds Metropolitan University, and director of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism : Tribes' commitment to introducing the principles of fair trade into tourism has“consistently raised the bar for how to run a responsible tourism business”.