quality & Safety
Caution before leniency – because it’s about your child.
When it comes to caring for children, we leave nothing to chance. Safety, quality and educational responsibility are at the heart of all our programs.
As there are no uniform legal regulations for children’s and youth travel in Austria, we deliberately follow the stricter German quality standards. For this reason, young austria is a certified member of Reisenetz, the German professional association for children’s and youth travel. This certification confirms our high standards of quality and safety.
For over 70 years, young austria has been organizing adventure camps for children and teenagers with a focus on education, physical activity, and health. Together with our dedicated counselors, we support and guide more than 2,000 children and young people every year.
Child protection is our top priority
A safe environment for children and young people is at the heart of all our programs. That’s why we have developed a comprehensive child protection policy for our young austria camps and accommodations that goes far beyond individual measures.
As early as December 2022, we began working intensively on child protection together with the Fachstelle Selbstbewusst in Salzburg. As part of this process, we conducted a detailed risk analysis, reviewed existing protection measures, and evaluated our feedback and complaint system. The result is a tailor-made child protection policy specifically adapted to our programs, camps, and accommodations.
For us, child protection is not just a single program item.
It is a fundamental principle of our work. Safe spaces, clearly defined procedures, and trained staff ensure that children and young people feel secure, respected, and comfortable with us.
Our goal is to provide all participants with a place where they can learn, explore, and grow freely. At the same time, we want to give parents the reassurance that their children are in excellent hands at young austria.
Quality of Supervision – Who Actually Looks After Your Child?
Personalized Care
At the young austria summer camps, high-quality, safe, and personalized care comes first. A key factor in our quality is the counsellor-to-child ratio: one counsellor cares for a maximum of 8 children, and for our youngest participants, only 5 children per counsellor. This allows us to address each child’s individual needs and ensure personalized attention.
Carefully Selected Counsellors
Our counselors are carefully chosen and go through a multi-stage selection process, including a personal interview and a multi-day training seminar, before being deployed at a camp. Many of them are students or graduates in education, sports, psychology, or teaching, bringing both professional expertise and a high level of commitment to working with children and young people.
Professional Training and Verified Safety
As part of their training, our counsellors are thoroughly prepared for their responsibilities. Topics such as experiential and play-based pedagogy, first aid, legal foundations, organization, and program planning are integral parts of their preparation. In addition, presenting a clean criminal record or an up-to-date certificate for child and youth welfare is, of course, mandatory.
Experienced Camp Leadership
Each camp is led by an experienced camp manager who has managed multiple camps and maintains close contact with our office in Salzburg. Daily reports cover activities, group atmosphere, and any special incidents. In addition, our teams are continuously supported and supervised by our educational coordinator, Vincent Ackermans.
Around-the-Clock Care
The supervision and care of our underage participants is our top priority. Children and teenagers are accompanied by our counsellor team throughout their entire stay and can turn to them 24 hours a day with any questions, requests, or concerns. This ensures that every child feels safe, well cared for, and completely comfortable at the camp.
24h Hotline
In an emergency, young austria can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during the summer camps. Please only use this telephone number in emergencies so that the lines are not unnecessarily blocked. The number will be provided on the travel documents (you will find them in the costumer center) 2 weeks before departure.
We are the only Austrian company that has been checked and certified under the German Association for Youth Travel, Travel Network e.V. Member and in the Quality Areas of „Supervised Child and Youth Travel“ and „Youth Accommodation“. An important indicator of quality youth travel.
We are also the only Austrian youth travel company to be awarded the „Austrian Government Honour“. A special award, which so far only 1,400 companies in the whole of Austria have received.
In order to be informed about the newest trends in child and youth camps, we are a member of the International Camping Fellowship. We attend congresses, expand our knowledge and further educate ourselves in diverse workshops.
As a fully-licensed travel agent and registered travel operator we provide professional travel services from a tourism standpoint.
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young austria IS A FULLY LICENSED TRAVEL COMPANY: Since joining the EU, tour operators are legally obliged to protect the customers money they paid the tour operator. |
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INSURER PURSUANT TO PACKAGE TRAVEL ACT: Accelerant Insurance Europe SA / 1050 Brussels / BE (policy: A52081) – Managing agent: Arcus Solutions SARL / 3 Cours Charlemagne / 69002 Lyon / FR |
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HANDLER: Cover-Direct Versicherungsmakler und Werbeagentur Ges.m.b.H. Hietzinger Hauptstraße 35 DG AT-1130 Vienna Tel.: +43 (0) 1 / 969 08 40-5 |