Calling out the travel companies failing wildlife

Which travel companies are still failing wildlife?

Our Real Responsible Traveller Report reviews global leaders in the tourism industry on their animal policies and wildlife offers: uncovering the progress the travel industry is making to protect wild animals, and where work is still needed.

Independent researchers collected information from the public websites of each of the travel companies to determine which were selling tickets for harmful experiences at captive wildlife venues.

Our findings about the travel industry

While responsible tourism gains popularity in the travel industry and becomes increasingly important to conscientious travellers, our focus extends to an often overlooked area: animal policies and wildlife practices.

Our report delves into the global leaders of the tourism industry, shedding light on their approach to animal welfare, an aspect frequently absent from broader responsible tourism discussions. While topics like carbon emissions, environmental impact, and cultural sensitivity are crucial, the exploitation of animals often goes unnoticed.

Despite travel companies showcasing their sustainability credentials, many fall short when it comes to responsible practices in captive wildlife entertainment. This perpetuates the exploitation of wild animals in unfavourable conditions globally.

The unfortunate reality is that tourists are often misled into assuming that companies emphasising ethical and sustainable commitments are equally accountable for their impact on the natural world, especially regarding wild animals. Our mission is to bridge this gap in awareness.

The bad news

Many of the world’s leading travel companies are severely failing wildlife. These companies, which are among the most influential businesses in the tourism industry, are still selling harmful and exploitative wildlife experiences.

Travel companies need to take responsibility for fuelling the demand for cruel captive wildlife entertainment. With your help we can end ticket sales to venues where dolphins, elephants, primates, and big cats suffer for profit.

The good news

Airbnb, Booking.com and The Travel Corporation have proactively removed captive wildlife entertainment. Tripadvisor/Viator has removed ticket sales for captive wild animal entertainment but continues to promote exploitative wildlife tourism through images and reviews on their website.

All four of these companies has invited advice from World Animal Protection to improve their commitment to wildlife-friendly tourism by rejecting animal exploitation, and these scores are a testament to the steps these companies have already taken to protect animals.

What World Animal Protection did

Target Klook announced its animal welfare policy. Since the policy's announcement, we've been actively nurturing our relationship with Klook. During their business visit to Thailand, they toured ChangChill, an elephant sanctuary supported by World Animal Protection, accompanied by our Thai staff. This firsthand experience showcased sustainable and cruelty-free tourism practices. Our collaboration will continue as we strive to ensure the removal of all cruel wildlife entertainment attractions from their platform.
Mobilised half a million visitors to our Real Responsible Traveller pages to educate them about companies failing in their responsibility.
Engaged in dialogue with five major global targets including Klook, TUI, and GetYourGuide, maintaining open lines of communication.
Launched our Wildlife Heritage Areas during the campaign, demonstrating the essence of responsible tourism. This initiative garnered support from numerous NGOs and travel operators.
Globally campaigned in our markets, resulting in commitments from over 150 companies to adopt wildlife-friendly practices, a rally attended by over 500 individuals on World Elephant Day, and 60,000 signatures in the UK to halt TUI's harmful practices.

How You Helped

You were a hero for wildlife

Using social media, we asked our supporters to call out the travel companies Klook, GetYourGuide, Trip.com, Traveloka and TUI Musement, who were seriously failing wildlife.

Through collective action, you put a spotlight on these companies and shared the message that they must overhaul their policies regarding the use of wildlife for entertainment purposes.

Klook launched an animal welfare policy

One of your significant achievements involves Klook, a Real Responsible Travel target, announcing its animal welfare policy. This policy marks a pivotal step forward as it pledges to cease the sale of circus-style performances featuring elephants, dolphins, and tigers.

While commendable, it falls short of being entirely wildlife-friendly, as it does not eliminate all cruel wildlife entertainment attractions from its platform (e.g. Seaworld).

How you can keep the momentum going

With our relentless drive to compel TUI to prioritise animal welfare over profits, our focus intensifies on the three remaining global targets: GetYourGuide, Trip.com, and Traveloka.