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Paper travel documentation is back at Ponant

Paper travel documentation is back at Ponant
In response to requests from its travel agency partners, Ponant has been sending a new personalized folder to its passengers for departures in April and later.

The folder contains booking information including shore excursions, flight information, pre- and post-cruise programmes, luggage labels, supplements and so forth.

‘After introducing the electronic travel folder two and a half years ago, we decided to maintain the option of a paper copy as we wanted the Ponant experience to start with the booking and the receipt of the travel documents,’ comments Hervé Bellaïche, evp sales and marketing at the French luxury operator.

Passengers have the option of a digital version.

The choice is in keeping with Ponant’s commitment to responsible tourism including supporting the Inuit communities in the Upernavik district of North West Greenland.

As strict quotas have been imposed on hunting, the Inuits have to diversify their sources of income. Ponant will donate €10 to the Upernavik FabLab for each passenger who chooses to receive only electronic travel documentation.

Initiated by the Edana Research laboratory from the HE-Arc in Neuchâtel (Switzerland) , the Ethnographic Museum (also in Neuchâtel) and Nicolas Dubreuil, an expedition leader with Ponant, the Upernavik FabLab is the first 3D printing laboratory in Greenland. 

The aim is to produce 3D copies of traditional Inuit amulets, held in the collections of European museums. Reproduced by Inuit sculptors from the Upernavik district, they will be offered for sale in museums and aboard Ponant ships, giving a sustainable source of income to these craftsmen.

‘At Ponant, we strive constantly to be environmental friendly, from the design of our ships to the organisation of our shore visits. Our support for the local communities of the Upernavik district is therefore perfectly in line with this company priority,’ adds Bellaïche.

The paper travel folder option is offered in France, UK, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland.