The Real Responsible Traveller

While responsible tourism gains popularity in the travel industry and becomes increasingly important to conscientious travelers, 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 unfavorable conditions globally.

The unfortunate reality is that tourists are often misled into assuming that companies emphasizing 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, who are among the most influential businesses in the tourism industry, are still selling harmful exploitative wildlife experiences.

Travel companies need to take responsibility for fuelling 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 wildlife-friendly tourism by rejecting animal exploitation and these scores are a testament to the steps these companies have already taken to protect animals.

You can be a hero for wildlife

To be a hero all we ask you to do is select one of the travel companies below, still seriously failing wildlife, and call them out using a social media post we have prepared for you.

Collectively your action can help focus attention on the travel companies and hopefully convince them to change their policies on wildlife being used for entertainment.