Green-minded vacations
Questions that journalists, organizations, trade fairs, and even you have asked us over the years 🙂
What does Jonas do?
Jonas has never been, and never will be, a traditional travel agency or a standard tour operator: Jonas creates sustainable vacations by bike, boat, and on foot, using low-impact transportation that allows you to fully enjoy the places you visit, moving slowly, in a group, and with respect for the environment, to get closer to nature and slow down the pace of everyday life.
How did your business start?
Jonas was born on May 13, 1988, in Venice, from a bet between friends who had a dream: to build a new reality of alternative and associative tourism, aimed at all 'young people', not only in terms of age but certainly in spirit. The target audience was curious, active tourists, open to discovering the world through group holidays: the idea came from previous experiences in Northern Europe, such as the German Friends of Nature and Bike Danmark. The bet was won!
Why the name Jonas?
Jonas will remind you of characters from biblical history, but our choice of name is actually inspired by cinema: Jonas, who will be twenty in 2000 is a 1976 film directed by Alain Tanner. The film is about a couple who, expecting a child who will be 25 in 2000, hope that by that date their son will be open to the world and to others. Taking the same name as that boy, Jonas inherits his openness and desire for discovery, without prejudice and with great curiosity. Among the reviews of the film, the New York Times declared that "in 2000, people will still be talking about Jonas": well, they were right, it's 2020 and Jonas is still here!
What is the idea behind Jonas?
For over 30 years we have cared about the climate, ecology, and sustainability: we have always sought to create vacations with a logical ecological connotation. We want to convey the concepts of respect for nature, the land, and the traditions of the places we visit, and raise awareness of good practices to use on vacation but which can also can be used in everyday life, to preserve this beautiful world that is sometimes taken for granted. Traveling is a discovery, but it must be done not only with the heart but also with the head.
We were the first
We are proud to have been the first, over 30 years ago, to offer Italians cycling holidays abroad: the bicycle is the greenest means of transport there is and still represents for us one of the best ways to experience freedom and contact with nature, even if we are not expert cyclists.
We We then specialized in sailing vacations, which we have made accessible since the 1990s to "non-sailors" by being the first to offer individual boarding, allowing even those traveling alone to enjoy a vacation in complete freedom, experiencing the sea at 360°, without having to organize a group to charter an entire boat.
For all trekking enthusiasts, we also offer many walking holidays, because walking in contact with nature is good for you, dispels negative thoughts, and helps slow down the pace of everyday life. This fits in perfectly with our idea of a sustainable vacation where you can rediscover the pleasure of getting to know places and people with whom you feel at ease!
Share experiences
A vacation is made up of places and people: all our initiatives combine the beauty of the destinations with the fun of traveling in a group. There are many people who, by choice or necessity, have to travel alone but enjoy sharing the experience with new friends from all over Italy: with Jonas, this is possible. In recent years, levels of socialization have declined, despite the widespread use of social media, but human interaction and direct exchange are limited. This is why we take particular care in recommending the right vacation and, for people traveling alone, in matching personalities and characteristics that allow for harmony and camaraderie, making each vacation unique.
Do you need to be fit to take part in trips, especially those by bike or on foot?
We have vacation packages for every type of training. To make it easier for customers to choose, we have grouped them into four lifestyles, each with its own defining characteristics.
We will therefore have a vacation ACTIVE that requires good training, anIMMERSED IN NATURE for all lovers of unspoiled or "remote" places and with a desire for discovery, WITH VIGOR for those who want to move around in nature without neglecting a sort of worldliness and WITHOUT WORRIES dedicated to those who want a completely relaxing vacation.
In addition, each program published on the website the mileage and elevation gains so that everyone can get an idea of the daily activity.
What was the biggest success in the last year?
In addition to winning the 2018 GIST award for green tour operators, reserved for companies that have distinguished themselves in the implementation and promotion of sustainable and responsible travel, we have done everything possible to ensure that our headquarters have a low environmental impact, exactly as we wanted: our office, and the life within it, almost entirely complies with the principles of low environmental impact, reuse and transformation of materials, CO2 reduction...
Have you introduced any innovative products and/or services in the last year?
The sustainability criteria that we consider essential, in addition to being promoted during our vacations, have been included in written agreements with suppliers and correspondents since this year, and are an evaluation item in the evaluation questionnaires that we send to all our customers at the end of their vacation. To date, we have been awarded a score of 8.30.
What are your strengths compared to your competitors?
competitors?
Our vacations are handcrafted, with guides who live the destination every day and the use of local services, with departures exclusively for our customers. In line with our philosophy, we have chosen to limit damage to the environment by avoiding the continuous travel between Italy and the rest of Europe of vans loaded with bicycles, instead using those offered by our local partners.
Where possible, we prefer sustainable facilities that support the green economy , such as B&Bs, farmhouses, and hotels that operate ethically and promote the local area.
Do you also offer vacations for singles?
For Jonas, single It's not a status, but a way of traveling.Sometimes we travel alone because our friends or partner have vacation time at other times of the year, or they have booked a destination that does not interest us, and we do not want to forfeit our right to travel. Or perhaps this year we have simply decided to try something different and want to meet new people by traveling in a group. We are not a dating agency and we don't have a magic wand, but the carefree attitude and desire to meet new people that come with being on vacation, plus a little bit of luck, have allowed more than a few people to find their soul mate. 70% of our customers travel alone and are more inclined to meet other people. All the ingredients are there: you're on vacation, with a clear head to show the best (and worst) of yourself... and at the end of the day, we see couples blossom every year: the less shy confess their feelings at the end of the vacation, while the more reserved may not say anything, but the following year they sign up together, changing their personal details to include the same residence: the litmus test, in short!What is the added value of a vacation focused on active mobility and ecology?
We organize vacations using low-impact transportation, such as bikes, boats, or walking. Sustainable mobility is non-polluting, enjoyable, and allows you to visit places that are often inaccessible by other means. Together with our guides and skippers, we share a commitment to optimizing consumption, limiting waste, and adapting our lifestyle with a view to respecting the environment: season after season, year after year, we strive every day in the hope of transferring and sharing responsible behavior, with one big goal: to learn to respect and enjoy this beautiful world.
#GreenHeroes
Jonas, traveling to be #GreenHeroes
The saga of the "green heroes" honored by actor Alessandro Gassmann continues. They are the protagonists of a new economy that rejects waste, is environmentally friendly, and produces innovation, income, and jobs.
01-02-2020 RAI3
Alessandro Gassmann talks about Jonas during the program "Le parole della settimana" (Words of the Week).
#GreenHeroes
Watch the video:
What new developments are planned for the near future?
We are developing a technological upgrade, which includes the creation of a new EPR, which will allow for better management of the booking workflow, ensuring, among other things, the protection of rights regarding privacy law and allowing for automatic compilation, via API, of the new site designed for an optimal user experience.
Paying Ethically
Since 2019, we have been working with Banca Etica: with the savings collected through
, this bank finances organizations that
operate in social cooperation, international cooperation, culture
, and environmental protection.
Plant it!
We plant trees while searching online. How is this possible? By using Ecosia, the search engine that uses the revenue generated from advertising to plant trees in Ethiopia, Brazil, Indonesia, Spain, and many other biodiversity hotspots. The browser extension is free to add.
Our behaviors GREEN
We are well aware that resources are not unlimited, and that saving raw materials and energy is possible throughseparate waste collection: plastic, paper, glass, and organic waste. We do it at home, so why shouldn't we do it at work? In an office, waste production can be substantial, but we are all committed to proper disposal.
Global paper production is constantly increasing every year: notes, printouts, and photocopies—how many sheets of paper are used in the office? Technology has certainly helped us, but there is still more we can do. We haveabolished the printing of documentsforbooking purposes, preferring digital archives, and any faxes arrive in digital format. If we really have to print something, we favor double-sided printing and reuse discarded sheets and/or sheets printed on one side only for taking notes.
There are many of us, all non-smokers; those who live in the city come to the office by bicycle... and even some from the suburbs!
We prefer reusable products, such as rechargeable batteries and cotton towels instead of paper towels.
We encourage the use of public transport to reach our holiday destinations, providing timetables, routes, costs, and all the information needed to help those traveling with us and, where possible, to leave their cars at home. If this is not possible due to a lack of public transport, we promote car sharing, facilitating the formation of car groups. Traveling in a group is more fun, and sharing starts with the journey!
A boat holiday allows you to experience the sea and nature in all their beauty: traveling using wind power is always the ideal solution! Out of respect for the environment, on board we prefer to use melamine tableware, or alternatively biodegradable and reusable tableware and eco-sustainable cleaning products. We promote separate waste collection and careful water management. If we spot any waste in the sea, we are ready to recover it and dispose of it correctly. We avoid waste by planning our galley supplies carefully, preferring packaging made from recyclable materials.
