The small-ship travel company Ecoventura is offering 10 to 15 percent discounts on specific Galapagos departures through Dec. 12. For last-minute summer trip bookings aboard the Eric, Flamingo and Letty, 10 percent discounts apply to eight-day departures on Aug. 1, Aug. 15, Aug. 22, Aug. 29, Sept. 5, Sept. 12, Sept.19 and Sept. 26. On a fall promotion, discounts are 15 percent off on departures starting Oct. 17, Oct. 24, Oct. 31, Nov. 7, Nov. 14, Nov. 21, Nov. 28; Dec. 5 and Dec. 12.
An early-bird booking incentive for 2011 cruises offers a 5 percent discount on new bookings made 120 days or more prior to departures on Jan. 9, Jan. 16, Jan. 23, Jan. 30, Feb. 6, Feb. 13, Feb. 20, Feb. 27, March 6, Aug. 28, Sept. 4, Sept. 11, Sept. 18, Sept. 25, Oct. 2, Oct. 9, Oct. 16, Oct. 23, Oct. 30, Nov. 6, Nov. 13, Nov. 27, Dec. 4 and Dec. 11.
During the cruise, guests can help support sustainability in the region. The company and its guests recently raised $12,000 to help fund, among other things, a satellite vessel monitoring system to combat illegal commercial fishing in protected Galapagos waters. The money went to the Galapagos Marine Biodiversity Fund administered by the World Wildlife Fund. "Our clients always want to know how they can help our efforts to create a positive level of sustainability for this fragile eco-system called the Galapagos," said Santiago Dunn, president and owner of Ecoventura.
Ecoventura helped establish the fund in 2006 in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund to support environmental education and marine conservation by strengthening the local communities' ability to manage natural resources. Dunn's company has pledged a donation of $65,000 annually in support of the fund. Since GMBF's inception, $160,950 in contributions have gone directly to the various projects now in operation including scholarships for local children to study at the university level, development of micro-enterprises to create alternate sources of income and control of illegal fishing activities through a permanent floating station at Darwin Island and the acquisition of a satellite vessel monitoring system.
Ecoventura is a family-owned company based in Guayaquil, Ecuador, with sales offices in Quito and Miami. In operation since 1990, the cruise company transports 4,000-plus passengers annually aboard three expedition vessels, 20-passenger motor yachts with 10 double cabins. The company also operates the Galapagos Sky, a 16-passenger dive live-aboard offering seven-night weekly itineraries to the northern islands of Wolf and Darwin. For more information, call 800-633-7972 or visit www.ecoventura.com.
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