Category: Responsible Tourism
The responsibility highlighted in the term “responsible tourism” is a powerful concept. It invites you to continuously think about your actions, consider their immediate and far-reaching implications. In our interpretation we follow the 2022 Responsible Tourism Charter that defines it as:
(1) Recognises global environmental issues that require local action
(2) Sets goals, measures and reports efforts to minimise negative economic, environmental, and social impacts
(3) Generates greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the well-being of host communities
(4) Involves local people in decisions that affect their communities
(5) Makes positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage
(6) Addresses biodiversity loss and is nature-positive
(7) Provides inclusive employment irrespective of ability, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation
(8) Provides more enjoyable experiences for all through more meaningful connections with locals and a greater understanding of context/issues
(9) Offers culturally sensitive experiences engendering respect between tourists and hosts, and building local pride and confidence
To these we add:
(10) Promotes animal welfare
Our Stories:
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Which Nations are Most Common Among Visitors to Uganda and Rwanda?
Top 10 Countries Among Our Tourists in Uganda and Rwanda To answer the title question we of course tried to obtain national statistics — but ultimately failed to get something comprehensive and fresh enough. As a proxy we dove into the stats of our own trips and accommodation in Uganda and Rwanda in the pre-Covid…
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SABA Episode #6 — Gifts for Kids, Begging & Smart Giving
The sixth episode of our SEE AFRICA BREATHE AFRICA podcast explores one of the trickiest questions we get from travellers: What should I bring for children I will meet? I already contributed some ideas to Miha’s article about the issue (swaying him away from his more ambiguous first draft) but since I couldn’t make it…
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Is It Right to Come with Gifts for Children?
No and yes and no. On the one hand, there is some serious danger that you will contribute to the culture of begging that can be quite annoying. At my Ugandan home, Lake Bunyonyi, it’s almost like children learn “Give me money!” before “Mama”. At my Rwandan home, Musanze, we have a startlingly common problem…
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Why is Akagera National Park So Expensive — And Where Does My Money Go?
OK, let’s talk about money … Safaris are probably not the cheapest holiday option. As well as your flights, accommodation, food and transport, you might also have game drives, park fees, and additional activities to budget for. There is also a whole mixed-bag of options when it comes to planning a safari. Whereas private reserves…
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We Are in Columbus Travel, Again
In the latest edition of Columbus Travel, a Dutch travel magazine, we get a beautiful photo spread promoting our way of doing ecotourism. The story is focused on Rwanda, while four years ago we were featured in the same magazine with Ugandan locations and activities. The text goes like this, according to Google Translate: Gorillas…
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A Decade of Successes (and Personal Milestones) in Akagera National Park, Rwanda
Named for the Akagera river which winds from south to north — in and out of Rwanda and Tanzania along the eastern border of the park — Akagera National Park lies in the warmer, drier, lower-lying east of Rwanda. Although it hosts the Big Five again, its real advantage is in the spectacular scenery and…
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We Are In the Washington Post
We interrupt our regular programming because having an article about us published in the Washington Post is a big deal. It had taken many years to make something like this happen! Henry Wismayer, the article author, has been to our region several times. He even met Marcus Westberg here, our photographer who would become his…
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We Have Been Written About
This is an honour. One of the most prominent men in the responsible travel movement, the author of the Responsible Tourism book, has written about us. In his article for Travel Tomorrow Harold Goodwin highlights the storytelling aspect of our work and quotes Mari’s recent blog extensively. It is worth noting that Goodwin’s piece points…
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To Fly or Not to Fly? Let’s Talk Responsible Tourism!
Ecotourism & Sustainable Tourism In recent years there has been — rightly so — a lot of attention devoted to ecotourism or sustainable tourism. While ecotourism clearly focuses on being ecological, or not harming the environment, the term sustainable tourism is a bit more encompassing. Sustainable seems to be the buzzword of the last decade;…
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