Responsible Tourism

It's all about giving something back

Acting responsibly in the way that we operate our holidays is very important to our group of specialist companies and has been since our inception in 1992. Not only is it important to us, but we have a mission that cuts across every aspect of our holidays and every division within our company - and it is this...

To preserve the natural environment and mimimise any negative impact on local cultures through education, conservation, sustainable development and socially responsible practices.

Responsible Tourism is not a new phenomenon for us. We have been actively involved in wildlife conservation and community projects since we started back in 1992. We have always approached our business from a Responsible Tourism perspective and endeavour only to use ground agents and lodges who share our philosophy. The recent rise in global awareness regarding world climate and associated problems has brought all these issues to the forefront of everyone's mind - and rightly so.

Throughout the year we seek out and support conservation organisations and community based projects.

Over the years we have provided tens of thousands of pounds of charitable support to make the lives of less fortunate people better.

Wildlife Worldwide, and all the companies within the Worldwide Group, adhere to a common Responsible Tourism policy (Click Here for pdf download). We have always tried to approach our business from a Responsible Tourism perspective and as we learn more and get better at doing what we do, it continuously evolves.

For many years we have had a wonderful relationship and close association with David Shepherd and the The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (Click here for more details). We have supported them in numerous ways and as such have raised (and continue to raise) considerable sums of money for the Foundation.

The Galapagos Conservation Trust was one of the key benefactors of our Festival of Wildlife in the Galapagos Islands in 2005.

Horny@50 is a remarkable organization set up to preserve the critically endangered rhinos. We have played an important part in helping Horny@50 translocate Black Rhinos into Zambia's North Luangwa National Park, and now we are helping them to preserve the One-horned Rhinoceros in India's Kaziranga National Park.

Raincoast Conservation has brought awareness to the world of the plight of the Great Bear Rainforest on British Columbia's central and north-west coast. Through our Festival of Wildlife in 2007 and other collaborations spawned during the event we have benefitted this area significantly.

This year's Festival of Wildlife took us to the wildlife rich destination of Madagascar. Here we were fortunate to be working with two key conservation organisations; Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, who carry on the much needed work of their great founder with a strong Madagascan programme. The other, less prominent organization was Association Mitsinjo - a small Malagasy NGO working tirelessly to regenerate the ever decreasing Madagascan rainforest whilst conserving the wildlife within it. This trip alone raised over £14,000 for these organizations and the Madagascar projects of Wildlife Conservation Society.

We support two schools in Zambia's Luangwa Valley with a passion. Over the years we have helped Yosefe Primary School build a comprehensive library for the school and the surrounding community, and more recently we have secured funding for the construction of a new classroom block. At Mkasanga School to the north, we have secured funding for a whole range of classroom facilities that we in our country take for granted - desks, chairs, blackboards and even windows.

Climate Care is the organisation through whom we offer people the opportunity to offset their carbon emissions. We were one of the first travel companies in the UK to provide this facility. Climate Care is a company which is able to offset the carbon created by your air journey by investing your money into very tangible, worthwhile global projects, some of which will also significantly improve the lives of local people. Click here to view Wildlife Worldwide's Climate care certificate.

We were also highly commended by the 2006 First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards for the 'Best for Conservation of Endangered Species' category.

For more information about these and other Wildlife Worldwide RT aspects please call Mel on 01962 737642.