About Us

OUR STORY

North South Travel was set up in 1967 by Dr Mukesh Kapila and Terence Khushal Singh, after Khushal’s retirement from the Government of India Tourist Office in London, where he was Director.

Khushal and Mukesh chose the name North South Travel after the famous speech by the then Chancellor of West Germany, Willy Brandt, who pointed out that the greatest division in the world was not between the global superpowers of the time, the USSR and the USA – East and West – but between North and South, rich and poor.

Khushal and Mukesh were inspired to start a travel agency that would generate funds for developing countries. North South Travel later became a charity, and since then all our net profits have gone to support hundreds of grassroots development and aid projects all over the world.

OUR STAFF

Brenda Skinner - Director and Office Manager

Brenda has more than fifty years of travel industry experience and a wealth of knowledge.

We always strive to provide the best personal service to our travellers. Don't take our word for it, please take a moment to read our Testimonials Page.

directors and trustees

The Directors of North South Travel, who are also trustees of the NST Development Trust, provide their services on a pro bono basis. As much income as possible goes to the Trust.

Nigel Watt MBE is the chair of North South Travel and the NST Development Trust. He has wide experience in the voluntary sector, especially in Africa, and was formerly Director of the Africa Centre.

Jamila Gavin MBE is a writer. She won the Whitbread children's prize for her novel Coram Boy. Her father Terence Khushal Singh co-founded North South Travel.

Brenda Skinner has more than fifty years of retail travel experience. She specialises in long-haul flight itineraries.

Richard Trillo is East Africa Manager at the tour operator Expert Africa. He is a travel writer and was formerly director of communications at the travel guide publisher Rough Guides.

North South Travel is always happy to receive offers of assistance with all aspects of the business from people with suitable experience.

WORK WITH US

North South Travel and the NST Development Trust are looking for new recruits. 

Are you interested in travel and international development? Could you devote an average of 2-3 hours a month  assisting us with social media promotion and attending twice-yearly meetings? 

We’d love to hear from you. Please email: brenda@northsouthtravel.co.uk

Climate crisis

When North South Travel was founded in 1967, air travel was taking off in a big way, and the dangers of climate change were barely recognised. Mass air travel was seen as a way of bringing the world together, increasing global understanding – hence the North South name.

Nobody could deny that flying brings huge benefits to host countries, especially in the developing world. But we are critically aware of the environmental dangers posed by the rapid growth in air traffic, which is globally acknowledged to be the fastest growing and most harmful cause of climate change. The average seat on a round-trip flight from London to Cape Town, for example, produces 2.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide. That's per seat, not per flight, amounting to more than 900 tonnes of CO2 from a 747 making the 12,000 mile round-trip journey. That's an awfully big volume of greenhouse gas from one return flight.

If you have to fly, we hope you’ll do so with North South Travel. If you’d like to help offset your emissions, and learn more about the issues, please visit the profit-for-purpose company ClimateCare.org, where you can calculate the carbon footprint of your trip and easily pay the relevant offsets – money which is used to pay for technologies that reduce reliance on fossil fuels in developing countries, such as low-energy light bulbs and heat-conserving cooking stoves.

Alternatively, donate your money to the rainforest protection charity, CoolEarth.org, a non-profit organisation that pays to put rainforests back into the hands of their inhabitants, thus protecting them from deforestation. Cool Earth works in Peru, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Papua New Guinea.

If you want to do more about climate change, why not sign up to the Possible. campaign, working for a zero carbon society in the UK?