We, at Dantas Luxury live by the ethos of “travel with a purpose”

It is therefore no coincidence that our strategic partners share our attitudes and aspirations.

We have compiled a brief guide to responsible tourism practices and how to create a positive and lasting impact on the people and places you visit in Africa to help you be the best traveler that you can be.

Often, we find it’s not the traveler’s unwillingness to contribute to responsible tourism practices while on safari in Africa, but rather that they don’t know the ins and outs of what it means to be a responsible traveler.

It is important to note that responsible travel does not only happen during your trip to Africa, but also before and after your holiday. To make it easier to identify how you can be a responsible traveler, you can break up your trip into three phases – before, during and after.

This month we will be sharing insights as part of Phase 1 -Before your trip: Planning your responsible safari to Africa.

Step 01:

The first step to becoming a responsible traveler is to select a responsible tour operator that can help you to explore Africa as ethically as possible. This means that every element of your trip will have been carefully considered to ensure your trip has a positive impact on the environment, wildlife and communities in Africa.

Step 02:

When booking multi-day tours it is important to consider whether the operator you are booking through practices responsible travel. For example, Dantas Luxury does not support activities which exploit members of the community or wildlife interactions. By doing a quick background-check on what your tour will include, you can prevent supporting a corrupt cause and secure your A-grade responsible traveler status. A good example of an activity which has a negative impact on the wildlife of Africa is elephant back-rides and or lion cub interactions.

Step 03:

Being a responsible traveler can be as simple as bringing your own reusable, eco-friendly water bottle with on safari. This will decrease your plastic consumption during your visit to Africa, and in turn, support our fight against single-use plastic in Africa and reduce plastic pollution.

Step 04:

Team up with a local initiative in support of a community or wildlife conservation project. With our strategic partners we support the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre, a South African based organization that focuses on the conservation of rare, vulnerable and endangered species with cheetah conservation as their core focus. To support this worthy cause, a donation of 1% of each booking value goes to the HESC to ensure that everyone who travels with Dantas Luxury leaves a positive impact on Africa.

Step 05:

Purchase consciously, pack consciously. Dantas Luxury supports the use of eco-friendly biodegradable self-care products while on safari in Africa. Because of the limited infrastructure in some parts of Africa, water resources are limited and thus some products can be harmful to the water supply.

Step 06:

Book your stay at eco-friendly lodges who have progressed to using environmentally friendly amenities in their rooms, have implemented energy and water saving systems on the property and recycle all their waste. We choose eco-sensitive properties that have a limited impact on their direct environment and encourages guests to be aware of their consumption of natural resources.

Next- Phase 2 – How to be a Responsible Traveler During your trip