Taking Responsibility
Taking Responsibility
Opinion Column Edition 28: Summer 2004
More than ever, it is important for companies to have stated responsible travel guidlines. But what can we all do to ensure our safari has the most positive impact on local communities and the environment?
Justin Francis comments on how responsible tourism can be more than something that operators think about.
For me, travelling to Africa is not just another holiday. I've got wonderful memories from many holiday destinations, but there is something vital, spiritual and life-affirming about Africa. The memories, smells and sights of Africa hold you forever. The traveller cannot escape the scale and majesty of Africa's wildlife and nature, or the spirit, pride and sheer good humour of its wonderful people. However visitors can also not escape the poverty of many of its people or the threats to its environments and wildlife.
Far from home and in unfamiliar settings, tourists often feel faced with impossibly big environmental and social problems. It can seem too hard to know what to do about these issues and we sometimes push them to the back of our minds, leaving us with a slightly uncomfortable feeling that we might have done more.
Responsible travel is a different way of travelling that suits life's enthusiasts and adventurers, as well as those who want to make a difference. It's about holidays that focus on improving the benefits for local people and wildlife, but it's about far more than that. Responsible travel provides deeper travel experiences that bring you closer to nature and local people.
The good news is that Africa is bubbling with tourism companies and lodges run by people with a passion for more authentic holidays and for doing something positive for the environment and local communities. This is one of Africa's brightest points. For example, why not abandon the minibus and spend a little time walking with the Maasai to watch wildlife on their land adjoining national parks in Kenya and Tanzania? They're the most charismatic and knowledgeable of guides and will earn a good wage from your trip. I'll certainly never forget the tracking lessons or a spear-throwing contest that I took part in with Maasai guides Amos and William outside the Masai Mara, or a long conversation about women and marriage with Moses while surrounded by migrating wildebeest gently moving around us in the evening light.
In South Africa you can take a diversion from Kruger Park and visit a local mission for homeless children, or discover more about local people on a township tour. In Zambia the highlight of one of my trips - in addition to the stunning wildlife of South Luangwa - was helping out with an English lesson at a local village school partly supported by operator Robin Pope Safaris.
In The Gambia it's easy to escape being cocooned in a large all-inclusive resort (with up to 80% of the cost of your holiday remaining in the UK) and stay in a beautiful, luxurious eco-lodge designed after a traditional African village, minimising environmental impacts and benefiting local people.
Tips for responsible travel
If you're travelling with a tour operator, ask to see their written policy for responsible travel. Don't accept "we do loads of that kind of stuff" as an answer: if it's not written down, they are not accountable and are probably not taking it seriously. There are plenty of great operators that do have good policies.
Read a guidebook about local cultures and always travel with respect. Your welcome will be warmer if you learn a few words of the local language - ask your guide to teach you basic expressions and you'll be amazed at the response.
Think local when you travel in Africa. Whenever you can, buy locally made products and crafts, use local services and ask your tour company or lodge if they buy their food locally - many fly in food when they could help set up and support micro food production schemes in the community.
On game drives ask your guide or driver about park regulations regarding proximity to wildlife and straying from official tracks. Support your driver if others in your group put pressure on him or her to get closer to game, linger in the park after nightfall or break the speed limit in order to rush to a new sighting.
In some African reserves, research has identified seven unofficial vehicle tracks for every official one, creating widespread environmental damage. Wildlife documentaries and game drives have ensured that we've become very good at looking at nature, but we've forgotten how simply to be in nature. Rather than haring around trying to see it all, try spending time in just one place, watching the ebb and flow of wildlife during the day - you'll learn more about the game, see things you would otherwise miss and create less disturbance.
Before you leave home, remove any excess packaging which might be very hard to recycle in developing countries. Always ask permission before you photograph local people and don't make promises about sending them a copy if you can't keep them. Remember when haggling about the price of photos or crafts that what might be a small amount to you can be very significant to local people. Travelling to visit tribal communities is fraught with difficulties for even the most responsible traveller. The best advice is to be extremely sensitive to local people's reactions to your visit at all times and to be prepared to make changes to your itinerary. Critically, you should be confident that the community you're visiting has extended an invitation to tourists. You should either travel with a local tour company with a proven track record or hire a guide from the local community, to ensure that you benefit from their knowledge of what is or is not appropriate. Remember that some parts of Africa have different attitudes towards time to ours. This doesn't make them inferior to us - just different. Cultivate the habit of asking questions, rather than the Western habit of knowing all the answers. Many Africans have more to teach us about humility, endeavour, community and living in the moment than we have to teach them.
Justin Francis is a trustee of The Travel Foundation and co-founder of responsibletravel.com - the leading eco- and responsible travel agent.
Opinion Column Edition 28: Summer 2004
More than ever, it is important for companies to have stated responsible travel guidlines. But what can we all do to ensure our safari has the most positive impact on local communities and the environment?
Justin Francis comments on how responsible tourism can be more than something that operators think about.
For me, travelling to Africa is not just another holiday. I've got wonderful memories from many holiday destinations, but there is something vital, spiritual and life-affirming about Africa. The memories, smells and sights of Africa hold you forever. The traveller cannot escape the scale and majesty of Africa's wildlife and nature, or the spirit, pride and sheer good humour of its wonderful people. However visitors can also not escape the poverty of many of its people or the threats to its environments and wildlife.
Far from home and in unfamiliar settings, tourists often feel faced with impossibly big environmental and social problems. It can seem too hard to know what to do about these issues and we sometimes push them to the back of our minds, leaving us with a slightly uncomfortable feeling that we might have done more.
Responsible travel is a different way of travelling that suits life's enthusiasts and adventurers, as well as those who want to make a difference. It's about holidays that focus on improving the benefits for local people and wildlife, but it's about far more than that. Responsible travel provides deeper travel experiences that bring you closer to nature and local people.
The good news is that Africa is bubbling with tourism companies and lodges run by people with a passion for more authentic holidays and for doing something positive for the environment and local communities. This is one of Africa's brightest points. For example, why not abandon the minibus and spend a little time walking with the Maasai to watch wildlife on their land adjoining national parks in Kenya and Tanzania? They're the most charismatic and knowledgeable of guides and will earn a good wage from your trip. I'll certainly never forget the tracking lessons or a spear-throwing contest that I took part in with Maasai guides Amos and William outside the Masai Mara, or a long conversation about women and marriage with Moses while surrounded by migrating wildebeest gently moving around us in the evening light.
In South Africa you can take a diversion from Kruger Park and visit a local mission for homeless children, or discover more about local people on a township tour. In Zambia the highlight of one of my trips - in addition to the stunning wildlife of South Luangwa - was helping out with an English lesson at a local village school partly supported by operator Robin Pope Safaris.
In The Gambia it's easy to escape being cocooned in a large all-inclusive resort (with up to 80% of the cost of your holiday remaining in the UK) and stay in a beautiful, luxurious eco-lodge designed after a traditional African village, minimising environmental impacts and benefiting local people.
Tips for responsible travel
If you're travelling with a tour operator, ask to see their written policy for responsible travel. Don't accept "we do loads of that kind of stuff" as an answer: if it's not written down, they are not accountable and are probably not taking it seriously. There are plenty of great operators that do have good policies.
Read a guidebook about local cultures and always travel with respect. Your welcome will be warmer if you learn a few words of the local language - ask your guide to teach you basic expressions and you'll be amazed at the response.
Think local when you travel in Africa. Whenever you can, buy locally made products and crafts, use local services and ask your tour company or lodge if they buy their food locally - many fly in food when they could help set up and support micro food production schemes in the community.
On game drives ask your guide or driver about park regulations regarding proximity to wildlife and straying from official tracks. Support your driver if others in your group put pressure on him or her to get closer to game, linger in the park after nightfall or break the speed limit in order to rush to a new sighting.
In some African reserves, research has identified seven unofficial vehicle tracks for every official one, creating widespread environmental damage. Wildlife documentaries and game drives have ensured that we've become very good at looking at nature, but we've forgotten how simply to be in nature. Rather than haring around trying to see it all, try spending time in just one place, watching the ebb and flow of wildlife during the day - you'll learn more about the game, see things you would otherwise miss and create less disturbance.
Before you leave home, remove any excess packaging which might be very hard to recycle in developing countries. Always ask permission before you photograph local people and don't make promises about sending them a copy if you can't keep them. Remember when haggling about the price of photos or crafts that what might be a small amount to you can be very significant to local people. Travelling to visit tribal communities is fraught with difficulties for even the most responsible traveller. The best advice is to be extremely sensitive to local people's reactions to your visit at all times and to be prepared to make changes to your itinerary. Critically, you should be confident that the community you're visiting has extended an invitation to tourists. You should either travel with a local tour company with a proven track record or hire a guide from the local community, to ensure that you benefit from their knowledge of what is or is not appropriate. Remember that some parts of Africa have different attitudes towards time to ours. This doesn't make them inferior to us - just different. Cultivate the habit of asking questions, rather than the Western habit of knowing all the answers. Many Africans have more to teach us about humility, endeavour, community and living in the moment than we have to teach them.
Justin Francis is a trustee of The Travel Foundation and co-founder of responsibletravel.com - the leading eco- and responsible travel agent.