Kruger & Swaziland safari, tailormade

Mkhaya Game Reserve is Swaziland’s Refuge for Endangered Species. It is entirely staffed by Swazis from local villages, and also runs a very effective anti-poaching unit. It is an excellent conservation project backed by the local people. All clients are advised about how to travel respectfully with a guide to responsible travel, and the company backs a charity which promotes poverty alleviation and conservation in areas affected by tourism.

The company that organies this holiday is a multi award-winning responsible travel company. They try to ensure that nothing they do at home (in UK) or abroad compromises the environment or wildlife or exploits people. They believe in ensuring that travellers are well-informed, as an informed traveller tend to be a more respectful and sensitive traveller. They also believe in giving back to the country, people wildlife and environments which are affected by tourism.

In terms of information, all travellers are given guidelines on travelling with respect, which includes advice on cultural aspects of your travels as well as protecting the environment. For any community-owned or run project, they also have an community tourism information sheet for travellers to help explain how to get the best from the experience, and what to expect (good and bad). For trekkers, the company have a porter policy in place, a copy of which is given to clients. They are also about to bring out a responsible wildlife viewing guide too (May 09). For anything more specific, eg rules about visiting gorillas, this information is also given to clients. In addition, they offer more information about the native people and cultures in a destination country, which all adds to a traveller being more aware.

The company works with partners on the ground in each destination, and only uses local guides. They also primarily promote locally-owned services (hotels etc). They have eco-rated about 300 properties worldwide which they work with closely, so they are very clear which accommodations have good environmental and social responsibility credentials. This information is used to ensure that any traveller wanting to ensure they are really making a difference, can choose between one property and another on eco-issues. They also promote community-owned projects and services where applicable and possible. Indeed they were instrumental in setting up two community-owned ventures in Tanzania and Peru.

The company backs a charity with funds and administration. This is a registered UK charity whose principle aim is to relieve the poverty of indigenous communities in areas outside of the UK which are affected by tourism. The charity backs poverty alleviation, education, cultural preservation and conservation projects within these regions. It has backed schools, clinics, micro-business projects and more. They are currently raising funds for 9 different grassroots projects in nine different counties, which travellers are encouraged to donate to if they would like to give something back. Every person that travels with this company automatically has their flights carbon offset. This is done through The Travel Forest, a project of registered charity, the charity foundation. The Travel Forest plants indigenous trees to offset the carbon emissions produced when you fly on holiday. Whilst this is the primary motivation for planting the trees, the project also works as a poverty alleviation scheme and also aims to combat environmental degradation

The UK head office has a good policy of recycling, reducing and re-using (electricity, paper, plastic etc). They also buy only fair trade goods such as tea, coffee, and use biodegradable detergents etc. They also make a point of buying only top eco-rated equipment (eg monitors).