Msafiri Tours
Msafiri was founded in 2002 and became a registered company in Uganda in November 2004 Registration Number: 67490. Msafiri is a specialist company. We don’t produce large catalogues and use numbers to describe our trips. We focus on the client and their individual dream of Africa to build personalised itineraries. Msafiri was established as an alternative tour company specifically to deliver an enriching African travel experience for people that also
- Care about the needs of the local people in developing countries in Africa
- Care about preserving the environment and natural resources
- Care about respecting local customs and practices
- Want more than the average package deal
Msafiri is committed to providing opportunities for every one involved, both the visitors and the locals, to benefit from the experience. This means focusing on a range of worthwhile activities whilst at the same time conserving the environment and respectfully interacting with the culture of people in the villages.
Most tour companies offer safaris in Africa that involve arriving at the airport, getting into a 4-wheel drive vehicle and travelling long distances along bad roads to try and find the "Big Five" animals). The holidaymaker takes as many photos as possible and then gets back on the plane and heads home. Msafiri believes this is little different from a visit to a zoo!
Msafiri has successfully realised the vision to change all this by taking visitors to places that represent the real Africa and give them an experience that they will remember for the rest of their life whilst helping to improve the livelihood of the local people.
Member since: 19 Oct 2011
How the minimum criteria of the responsible travel standard was met...
Economic responsibility
Our volunteers put money directly into the local economy by living and working in Uganda. The money they pay to Msafiri is spent in Uganda and we always work with locally owned businesses where possible. We make donations to local charities and projects in places where we work and we encourage our volunteers to undertake fundraising to support the projects they will work / have worked with in Uganda.We are very aware of the potential for environmental impact and we are pro-actively trying to minimize this in Uganda, in order ensure a healthy Uganda for future visitors.
Environmental responsibility
Active recycling – we recycle as much of our office waste as possible. Use of recycled products – where possible we use paper, envelopes and other supplies that are made from a recycled or sustainable source. Printing – our brochures are printed using an environmentally friendly wax printer. Where possible we encourage customers to use our website rather than requesting a brochure.
Social responsibility
We employ local people directly wherever possible in our work in Africa, e.g. local tour guides, local bus drivers, etc. We supporting local tourism initiatives, where available like cultural tourism groups, cultural music and dance troupes etc , like Ndere troupe where we always take our clients and the Bwindi conservation project which we contribute to when ever we take people out there. We encourage our visitors to purchase locally manufactured products and buy gifts and crafts from local crafts shops and markets in areas where we operate. We always take them for example to the Buganda Road crafts market to buy items made locally by Ugandan artisans.
