We tell you a lot about Africa’s luxury lodges, wild adventures and tasty food. But today is World Responsible Tourism Day (which it is every day for us…) and we’ll be switching to matters of the earth. About protecting it. And we don’t mean just hugging a tree.
This year, the World Travel Market, sponsored by BBC World News, is in London and includes three days (6-8 November) of debates and events dedicated to creating a new way of thinking about tourism and developing it further in a greener, more responsible direction. It aims to be the most comprehensive, thought-provoking agenda on responsible tourism on the planet. With pressures mounting from a growth in environmental disasters, a lack of fresh water and increasing poverty… it’s a much needed agenda.
Africa’s most precious tourism resources are our wildlife and landscapes. We need to protect these resources, not only for future generations but for the future of the tourism industry in Africa. While tourism can impact negatively on the environment, through the construction of safari lodges and activities such as game drives and helicopter flips, our goal is to find ways to minimise that impact and ensure that the benefits of tourism for communities and for conservation outweigh any negative effects.
From the wild waters of the Okavango to the dunes of the Namibian desert, from eco-friendly city hotels to private wildlife reserves in the bush, tourism done responsibly can create positive change.
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