Just You Cares | Changing lives through travel
We are passionate and driven to make our vacations a force for good.
We aim to make a positive impact on our customers and the places we visit. We have always made it our mission to make your vacation the experience of a lifetime, but now more than ever, we also strive to make our tours as responsible as possible, to ensure that local communities we visit benefit from tourism and we contribute positively to our local community. We call it Just You Cares.
Community projects
For many years, Just You has been supporting local communities around the world, on many of our tours we encourage our travellers to visit local enterprises, enjoy meals in local restaurants and visit initiatives that highlight and preserve the traditional heritage of the region. For example, we visit the KOTO restaurant in Vietnam, a social enterprise that helps disadvantaged youth to train in the hospitality industry to provide a better future.
We are continually looking out for new community projects to add to our tours that ensure that Just You travellers are able to travel and see the world with more meaning.
One of our more recent additions includes an insightful visit to the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, as part of the America’s Music Heritage Tour. Through this visit, we are excited to support The Stax Academy, a unique learning center that provides at-risk youth with mentorship, high-quality music education and performance opportunities, with a strong focus on the rich legacy and tradition of Stax Records.
These are just a few examples of how Just You adds not just great experiences on solo tours, but supports initiatives that drive meaningful change and create a lasting, positive legacy for future generations to benefit from.
Just You Cares Projects
-
Fattoria Il Poggio
- Visit Fattoria Il Poggia on Day 2 of Highlights of Tuscany
- We are delighted to work with this family run business to inspire a direct positive impact on the local Tuscan economy
- Your visit enables to farm to keep their ancient traditions alive as you learn about olive oil and wine production
-
Libearty Bear Sanctuary
- Visit this project on Day 11 of The Balkan Explorer
- Home to the biggest brown bear sanctuary in the world, with over 100 bears cared for here
- Learn more about this haven for these bears who have been treated badly in captivity and now have a second chance
-
KOTO Restaurant
- Visit this project on Day Two of the Discover Vietnam tour
- With over 700 students trained by KOTO (Know One Teach One), and 200 currently enrolled
- KOTO teaches culinary and hospitality and skills to students as part of a two-year programme
-
Panda Research Base
- Visit on Day 8 of the Inspirational China and Yangtze Cruise Tour
- Discover the natural sanctuary for giant and red pandas
- Learn about the research into management and breeding of these much-loved bears
-
Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre
- Visit on Day 6 of the Wild Borneo tour
- Learn about the plight of honey bears from deforestation and poaching
- Your visit helps support continued research and awareness
-
Vicchiomaggio Castle
- Visit Castello Vicchiomaggio on Day 2 of Walking in Tuscany
- Learn more about the winery’s commitment to be environmentally sustainable from vine to wine
- Sample the fruits of the winery’s labour with a glass of chianti
-
Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
- Visit on Day 6 of the Wild Borneo tour
- Discover more about the centre’s work to reintegrating orangutans back into the wild
-
Stax Museum
- Visit the Stax Museum on Day 6 of the America’s Music Heritage Tour
- This is a unique learning centre that provides at-risk youth with mentorship, education and opportunities
- This project celebrates the rich legacy and tradition of Stax Records
In partnership with Planeterra
The Planeterra Foundation is a non-profit organisation that turns travel into impact in local communities. Since our partnership with Planeterra began, we have donated a small percentage of our profits to various projects, and on some of our tours, there is the opportunity to visit these projects.
For example, you could enjoy a tour at the Mi Cafecito Coffee plantation in Costa Rica or the learn the about traditional weaving processes in Peru. Learn more about Planeterra and the projects we support in partnership with them here.
Planeterra donations
While not all of our tours visit a Planeterra project, many of our customers have expressed an interest in supporting this charity. We now offer all travellers the opportunity to make a voluntary C$5 per person donation when they book with Just You. For every C$5 donated by our customers, we will match that donation.
Welfare policies
We are continually reviewing our policies, for a number of years we have had our Animal Welfare and Modern Slavery policies in place, but we have recently reviewed our Family Leave policy and have Mental Health trained first-aiders in the office.
Just You is one of the Top 50 UK’s Best Workplaces™ as recognised by Great Place to Work®, the global authority on workplace culture. Best Workplaces™ consistently put people first – not just in terms of looking out for their own employees but also by caring for and supporting their surrounding community and environment. Just You has also been recognised as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces for Women.
This isn’t the end of our journey for our Just You Cares initiatives. We are constantly looking for projects that support communities around the world, support our team with training on new initiatives and policies, and identify ways to just be better.