Wildlife tourism

Wildlife tourism is an element of many nations’ travel industry centered around observation and interaction with local animal and plant life in their natural habitats.

Nature tourism is based on the idea that the destination and purpose of travel is nature itself. Specialized forms of nature tourism focus on e.g. specific groups of plants or animals.

Nature watching and photography are rapidly expanding into new geographical regions and species.

The Power of Nature is in Your Hands.

Wildlife photography is about capturing a split second when the light and the animal behavior come together to create an emotional image.

The beauty and also the curse of wildlife photography is that one cannot change almighty Nature. One cannot change the weather and the light, where the wild animals want to go, what they want to do, and when special things happen to them.

When that moment comes, we know we have conquered nature. Maybe this is what some people mean when they say “becoming one with Nature.”

Yet one does not need to travel to these grand locations to see wildlife. If you look closer, you will see that it is all around us.

Nature is not always sunshine and rainbows. Yet if you keep looking—enduring rain and wind—miracles can happen.

“The wonderful thing about nature photography is that you are continually humbled and amazed by the delightful surprises that come from it—and horrified and disappointed when it doesn’t work as you predicted.” – Jim Brandenberg.

Sustainable Tourism

Many people do travel. Now, more than ever, human beings are exploring the world around them.

Sustainable tourism is a way of traveling and exploring a destination while respecting its culture, environment, and people. Common sense says that this is simply the definition of travel and that the term ‘sustainable’ is unnecessary.

We should travel in a way that can benefit the people and communities we’re in, and that mitigates negative impacts of travel on the environment. Sustainable travel is about showing we care.

South Africa is a leader in responsible tourism and is a magnet for those who are interested in adventure, wildlife, culture, and history. Its history is complex and poignant, from the San who first inhabited the land to the establishment of Cape Town as a stopover for the Dutch along the spice trade route.

Creating a positive and lasting impact on the environment and community has become an increasingly important factor when visitors plan holidays. As one of the fastest growing industries in the world, and with South Africa being such a diverse melting pot of cultures, heritage sites, tourist attractions and adventure activities, our focus should be towards sharing the stories of change and preservation.

South Africa is home to a large number of sustainable tourism service providers belonging to organizations such as Fair Trade, Green Tourism Active and Responsible Tourism South Africa.

“The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see”

 

Eco-tourism in South Africa’s wine lands

Eco-tourism in South Africa’s wine lands is thriving.

With visitors to the Western Cape increasingly as interested in exploring the wealth of eco-tourism activities on offer as they are in sampling the region’s famous wines.

In fact, these days you don’t even have to taste the wine to enjoy a day in the wine lands. From accommodation, farmer’s markets and literary festivals to rock music festivals, mountain bike trails, and full-moon hikes, eco-tourism is creating huge public awareness around sustainability issues including recycling, energy conservation and minimizing environmental footprints.

Eco-tourism has become key in conserving biological and cultural diversity within a region. Job creation within local communities is one of the positive spin-offs. The high-yield, low-impact tourism model is a good fit in the wine lands, which typically offers highly personal and exclusive experiences to small groups of visitors at a time.

Eco-tourism is broadly defined as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people” (The International Ecotourism Society, or TIES, 1990). The mutually beneficial relationship between conservation, local communities and sustainable travel is at the very core of successful eco-tourism.

Biodiversity and Wine Initiative

In 2008, conservation history was made when the conservation footprint in the wine lands exceeded the vineyard footprint for the first time. What this means is that in less than four years, the wine industry has succeeded in setting more area aside for long-term conservation than is currently planted in the vineyard.

With this achievement, South Africa is leading the world in the conservation of biodiversity in this environment. It also illustrates the industry’s commitment to protecting our unique natural heritage.

Conservancies joint eco-tourism activities

Right now, one of the most exciting emerging trends in eco-tourism in the Western Cape is the way in which wine regions are getting involved by establishing conservancies and developing joint eco-tourism activities, drawing on the network of producers within the same area and pooling their resources.

 

https://www.brandsouthafrica.com/tourism-south-africa/travel/food/wine-ecotourism

http://blog.sa-venues.com/provinces/eco-tourism/

 

What is Fair Trade Tourism?

The aim of Fair Trade Tourism is to make tourism more sustainable by ensuring that the people who contribute their land, resources, labour and knowledge to tourism are the ones who reap the benefits.

FAIR TRADE TOURISM PRINCIPLES

Defining Fair Trade in TourismFair Trade in Tourism is a key aspect of sustainable tourism. It aims to maximize the benefits from tourism for local destination stakeholders through mutually beneficial and equitable partnerships between national and international tourism stakeholders in the destination. It also supports the right of indigenous host communities, whether involved in tourism or not, to participate as equal stakeholders and beneficiaries in the tourism development process.

Fair Trade partnerships between tourism and hospitality investors and local communities

  • Equitable consultation and negotiation taking into account the interests of local     community stakeholders, including tourism enterprises, and indigenous residents not involved in tourism
  • Transparent and accountable business operations through environmental and social audits
  • Employment of local residents (including indigenous people) to provide opportunities for developing their human potential.
  • Training and development at local community level for managerial positions, if appropriate as part of a public, private and civil society partnership.
  • Investors aware of and adhering to relevant regulations, whether derived from local, national, or international regulation, including a regulation that would apply in the tourists’ countries of origin, e.g. on Health and Safety and environmental controls.
  • Anti-corrupt practices

 Fair Trade between tourists and local people

  • Informed and responsible tourists foster a mutually beneficial exchange with local people, respecting their culture
  • Tourists pay a fair market price.
  • Fair and sustainable use of natural resources
  • Investment and research in environmental protection
  • Implementation of measures which enhance the local environment
  • Consultation with the local community
  • Adherence to relevant national and international conventions, such as the
  • Convention on Biological Diversity and regulations, including a regulation that would apply in the tourists’ countries of origin.
  • People charge a fair market price

http://fairtrade.travel/content/page/what-is-fair-trade-tourism

Fair Trade Tourism Principles