Responsible tourism in South Africa
Our South Africa Holidays
South Africa safari holiday, 14 days
Award winning safari in South Africa
Luxury Kruger and Mauritius Holiday
South Africa's Kruger National Park, plus time in Mauritius
South Africa holiday, Cape Town to Kruger
Cape Town, Kruger and Victoria Falls
Self drive South Africa holiday
Explore Cape Town, the Winelands and the Garden Route
Ten day wildlife safari, South Africa
Award winning wildlife safaris in South Africa
Cape Town to Victoria Falls small group lodge tour
Classic route lodge safari to Namibia, Botswana & Zimbabwe
South Africa safari and Mauritius beach holiday
This luxury itinerary combines a wildlife safari with relaxation time on the beach
Kwa-Zulu Natal tailor made tour, South Africa
Discover Kwa-Zulu Natal with a qualified botanist
South Africa & Mauritius holiday
Africa and the Indian Ocean. Cape Town, Safari and Mauritius
Cape Town and the Garden Route tour
Travel along the dramatic coastline at the bottom of South Africa
Cape Town to Vic Falls holiday in Southern Africa
A spectacular and diverse African journey
Kruger, coast and cape holiday in Southern Africa
African wildlife, friendly locals and relaxing beaches
Vic Falls to Johannesburg tour, Southern Africa
Soak up the sights and sounds on this African adventure
Endangered wildlife conservation in South Africa
Award-winning, Fair Trade certified wildlife conservation!
Family luxury safari & beach holiday, South Africa & Mozambique
Combine a wildlife safari in South Africa with beach time.
Volunteering with Elephants in South Africa
Study and care for elephants in South Africa
South Africa endangered wildlife conservation
Assist with protecting endangered species in South Africa
South African safaris for families with teenagers
Visit the famous Kruger National Park and Zulu villages
Victoria Falls to Cape Town small group holiday
Explore the best of Southern Africa's wildlife and nature.
Shark conservation in South Africa
Conserve sharks, whales and penguins in South Africa
The great white shark conservation project in South Africa
Encounter iconic Great White Sharks in South Africa!
Walking safari in South Africa
Walking safaris and game drives in South Africa
Cape to Windhoek Namibia Desert tour
Lodge safari from Cape Town to Namibia, Sossusvlei Etosha
Teaching assistant volunteering in South Africa
Help disadvantaged kids to learn English in South Africa
Southern Africa overland holiday
Discover southern Africa from Kruger to the Okavango Delta
South Africa holiday, Cape escape
South Africa's highlights: Beaches, winelands and wildlife.
South Africa wildlife volunteering holiday
Conservation & animal care in a South African Big 5 Reserve
Three Reserve safari in South Africa
Best value, 10 days high quality stunning big game safari
Kwazulu Natal safari and beach holiday, South Africa
South Africa's Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park & Elephant Coast
Kruger & coast holiday in South Africa
Explore the incredible Southern Africa
Wildlife & environment
Hunts, shoots & leaves
It is upsetting to contemplate that the animal you have just spotted, photographed and will remember forever, might then be hunted by humans. However, hunting is a big way of life in South Africa, and very often it plays an incredibly important part in conservation strategies. It is also likely that when you go back to your safari lodge, there will be zebra or springbok on the menu.While we don't like the idea of hunting, at Responsible Travel we are not against it entirely. We do believe that well-managed hunting has its place, as it encourages the protection of large swathes of land and generates a huge income. To be truly sustainable, there must be strictly enforced quotas which have been recommended by independent experts, and not by the reserve owners or tour operators themselves. These quotas must ensure viable populations, and there must be considerable reinvestment in community projects and conservation.
Canned hunting, however, when animals are reared simply for the purpose of being hunted, is far from responsible and to be avoided at all costs. It does nothing for the environment - or for local people. There are several canned hunting reserves in South Africa, and tourists should also be wary of the fact that some of these are also in the market for conservation volunteers. Unwittingly, tourists turn up to count, care for and monitor animals, unaware that elsewhere on this massive, privately owned piece of land, the animals are then being hunted - for a fee of tens of thousands of pounds.


See articles National Geographic and The Guardian
Jeremy Smith, co-author of Clean Breaks by Rough Guides and founder of the Fair Game tourism initiative - supporting efforts to address the poaching crisis threatening much of our most endangered wildlife: "Real walking safaris in the bush with an armed guide to protect you in the wilds are an incredible experience. But stay clear of any trips that offer the opportunity to walk with and pet animals in small private locations where there are semi domesticated lions or other animals wandering around. You can even walk with a tiger, which isn't native to South Africa! Some of these organisations say they are aiding conservation through research, but their claims are mostly dubious. Most of all though, it promotes the wrong relationship between us and wild animals."
Anne Smellie is a Wildlife Volunteering Expert with our Supplier Oyster Worldwide. She shares her tips on choosing the right volunteer placement, and avoiding canned hunting reserves:
"Do your research. There are lots of issues with wildlife volunteering and it's so important to establish that you're going somewhere that volunteers are actually needed, where it's actually benefitting the animals and not just a money spinner. You must ask questions about the purpose of the park where you're planning on volunteering. Why are volunteers needed? Is this a job that local people could be paid to do? It's so important. There are so many heartbroken volunteers who haven't been doing what they thought they were there for. Ask your operator if they have visited the project, and what their experience was. Ask to speak to other volunteers that have taken part. The projects that are valuable will be the ones who are getting the operators down to experience it - they'll be happy to promote what they're doing."
People & culture
Township Tourism
Township tourism is controversial. In slums, favelas and townships around the world, these kinds of tours have gained a reputation as "drive-by-shooting" trips. Sounds horrific, but actually, that is what they are - inviting tourists to drive through and shoot photos of some of the world's most deprived people, without giving anything in return.However, South Africa's townships are home to many millions of its residents, including representatives from all its cultures, and provide an important way for visitors to the country to get a real insight into modern South Africa. More importantly, they are an opportunity for some of the country's poorest people to promote their heritage, generate an income for themselves and their families, and develop much-needed community initiatives. So we highly recommend including a township tour - or two - onto your itinerary, as long as you do it right.
What you can do:
There are many excellent providers, but to ensure you pick the right one, you need to ask some questions. Are the guides from the township? Is a portion of the fee being returned to the community, either to the individuals involved or to local projects? Where will you stop off on the way? And is there an opportunity to spend money? Local craft stalls, shebeens and food stands are all a great way to give back - ensuring your money goes directly to local entrepreneurs. Some of the local guides may have been deprived of education in the past, and so this exchange between host and guest has sometimes been pivotal for building self-development and self-belief.


There is also a strong township tourism movement in the KwaZulu-Natal region. Durban's Umlazi township is South Africa's second largest, has a population of more than 800,000 and is developing fast with investment in schools, infrastructure and housing. Throughout Zululand, there are many opportunities for visitors to stay in a traditional Zulu homestead or 'Umuzi'. From early 2014, the famous Hop on Hop Off red bus tours of Cape Town will include the township of Langa on their route, in an effort to entice those who wouldn't normally think outside the bus to jump off when they smell the wonderful street food sizzling, and hear the music calling. This is the result of an ongoing development of social enterprise initiatives within Langa based around jazz, heritage, arts, culture and food. Watch this happening space.
"The goal of Unthando South Africa is to create a family of people from all around the world with the aim of generating income and other forms of assistance for innovative grassroots projects in the townships of Cape Town as well as other parts of South Africa. The South African government is cutting back on social spending tremendously which has put huge pressure on the capability of projects to perform their work - therefore it has become critical to assist these projects in any way we can. For example, Neighbourhood Old Age Homes is the only organisation catering for the needs of the elderly in a township of a million people in Khayelitsha, and Learn to Earn gives unemployed people the opportunity to learn skills. It is about giving a hand up not a hand out - and it is imperative that they acquire funding".
Learn more about Uthando in this video:
"A township tour can be one of the most eye-opening and privileged experiences you can have in South Africa. However you must pick who you go with very carefully, otherwise it's just voyeurism and no-one, least of all the township residents, benefit from your visit. Go with a guide who still lives there, and visit projects, shops or restaurants run by local residents so a range of people get a chance at earning something from your presence in their community."
Sally Petersen, from Cape Town-based AWOL Tours:
"Doing a walking or cycling tour through a township is a much better way to interact with the local people. It's not as intimidating - local people walk and use bicycles so it's a mode of transport they can relate to. If you're in a bus, taking photos from the window, you're really alienated from people and they just see you as an outsider. You should also ask which community you're going to and what you'll be doing there. Some tours don't include any stop offs at all, they just go straight through the township."
Fair Trade Tourism
South Africa has been the first country in the world to embrace the principles of Fair Trade into its tourism industry. The holidays which have been certified as Fair Trade range from five star hotels in Cape Town to township tours in Port Elizabeth. A certification scheme, Fair Trade Tourism guarantees fair wages and working conditions, fair sourcing of produce and fair distribution of benefits - and, of course, a respect for human rights. Although Fair Trade Tourism may not be seen by eco purists as the most environmentally stringent of certification schemes, with the focus being more on people - you really can't extract the former from the latter.People are integral to a fair and fine form of tourism here, not only in terms of creating a decent living wage but also because the only way you preserve the wildlife and habitat is by ensuring that the community is invested in their survival. Common sense and totally fair.
There are many other green certification schemes in South Africa as well, but the good news is that this is one of the few countries in the world to have a National Minimum Standard for Responsible Tourism (NMSRT) which they must all adhere to. What a different tourism industry we would have if other governments followed suit, with guidelines like this South African one: "Tourism can and should deliver income to poor households, particularly those situated in rural parts of our country". Fair enough.
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