Fair Trade Tourism : Asilia Raises the Responsible Tourism Standards Bar!

By Britta Foulis

Fair Trade Tourismis a non-profit organisation promoting best-practice responsible tourism in Africa. Often referred to as FTTZ, the organisation has recognized the work that we do and we are thrilled to be rated as “The Most Committed Safari Group to Responsible Tourism Standards in Africa.”

Fair Trade Tourism’s certification standard (the first in Africa to be recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council) requires compliance with over 230 criteria relating to environmental, socio-cultural, and economic best practice. The following words from Fair Trade Tourism’s MD, Jane Edge, reinforced our strong belief in doing good wherever possible and always thinking of how we can operate in the most sustainable and environmentally-friendly manner at all times. ‘

’We congratulate Asilia for being, in our view, the safari company in Africa most committed to advancing best-practice tourism standards. The fact that nearly half their safari camps are certified at the highest global level is a testament to their commitment and transparency.”

Some of our initiatives that Fair Trade Tourism saw as being a testament to our commitment were the following;“In the past six months alone, Asiliahas awarded 38 scholarships to children in the local communities where they operate, donated US$72,000 to conservation projects in the areas surrounding theircamps, removed plastic straws from all of their camps, and their all-female staff camp, Dunia Camp, is sitting at number 2 on Trip Advisor.”

We asked our CEO and co-founder, Jeroen Harderwijk, about his thoughts on being awarded this incredibly rewarding accolade. This is what he had to say; “We are extremely proud to be singled out by Fair Trade Tourism as a leading responsible tourism company in Africa. Asilia Africa, and with us many other responsible tourism companies in Africa, can make a real difference on the continent. Making a positive impact is integrated into all of Asilia’s management routines. The great benefit of certification schemes like Fair Trade is that they help everyone to focus on the things that matter, and to internally and externally benchmark performance so that together we can continue to raise the bar’’.