The tourism industry is veering more and more toward sustainability, with many safaris offering tailor-made eco-tourism experiences, where guests are encouraged to contribute to the long-term sustainability of Africa’s environment, wildlife conservation and local community upliftment.

Wendy Rutherfoord, Director at Gondwana Game Reserve near Mossel Bay, says: “Sustainability and tourism, particularly safari tourism, have almost become synonymous. Safari properties are contributing to conservation by sustainably preserving open tracts of land in South Africa and Africa through eco-tourism.”

Many properties take their conservation responsibilities even further. Gondwana does this through its non-profit organisation, The Gondwana Conservation Foundation, which has several active projects, including anti-poaching training, wattle eradication and cheetah rewilding (reintroduction). In addition, Gondwana offers extended student programmes.

Emily Leuner, GM of Tintswalo Safari Lodge, and Katrina Russell, Marketing Co-ordinator at Sanctuary Retreats, have both noticed an increase in travellers looking to travel sustainably, with conservation and communities at the forefront of their trip.

“We also appreciate guests’ desire to get involved in African conservation while on safari, and offer a three- and five-night conservation itinerary at out Tented Eco Camp,” adds Rutherfoord.

Gondwana Game Reserve’s conservation tourism experience caters for individual travellers, families and groups. Guests are afforded the opportunity to participate in wildlife and veld management, learning important bush skills and interpretation, while enjoying a behind-the-scenes view of the Big Five game reserve.

The research and findings from the programme are fed back to Gondwana’s conservation department to assist in decision-making, enhancing the reserve management plan. The itinerary includes game drives, bush walks, and relaxation time.

CEO of Thornybush Luxury Game Lodge Collection, Nic Griffin, explains that it has chosen to focus on the enjoyment of sharing its wildlife experiences with visitors.

Griffin elaborates: “This is done with a singular dynamic, that of an educational and visible understanding shared with guests on the brilliance of our wildlife, its diversity and challenges, topped by a photographic appeal to share the memory, paired with comfortable accommodation and great cuisine.”

Ghost Mountain Inn & Safaris in Mkuze, KwaZulu Natal, has integrated sustainability into its safari offerings, as Marketing Manager, Adele Oelofse explains. “We offer cultural safaris that include a homestead visit with a local family. Furthermore, we can tailor this according to the level of interest of the visitor, for example adding on a local food and beer tasting.” This is Ghost Mountain Inn’s most popular safari inclusion yet.

In addition, the inn organises crafting workshops and interactions for interested guests. Oelofse says they have even facilitated sangoma visits for pediatric nurses to engage on healing matters.

“The experience is real and depends on what’s happening in the community at the time, and spreads tourism benefits to our neighbours and local community,” adds Oelofse.

Leuner says that it has always been part of Tintswalo’s culture and mission to engage and work with local communities by raising conservation and environmental awareness through its educational campaigns, training workshops and participation in environmental and rhino campaigns.

Rhinos are being poached at a rapid rate and, for this reason, Tintswalo recognises the need to apply a long-term plan and work in a multi-layered way to address the problem systematically. This includes educating local schoolchildren on the crisis, informing local communities on the relationship between job protection and the decline of the rhino, increasing international awareness of the plight of the rhino and gaining international recognition for the Manyeleti and Mpumalanga parks.

Tintswalo Safari Lodge has brought in over 100 police officers from Mahala Police Station to be included in the programme. To date, nine arrests of poachers have been made.

A commitment to conservation and responsible tourism has been an integral part of the construction of Sanctuary Retreats properties and its daily operations ever since the opening of its first camp in Kenya’s Masai Mara in 1999. Sanctuary Retreat’s goal is to identify and sponsor long-term, viable and self-sustaining projects, with the support of its staff and visitors.

Sanctuary Retreats has a number of on-going sustainable tourism projects across parts of Africa, explains Russell.  Sanctuary Kusini in the Serengeti National Park supports the Serengeti Cheetah Project Sanctuary. The camp’s location, directly in the path of the seasonal cheetah movement, makes it ideal to help track this African cat.

The lodge operates dedicated game drives at Sanctuary Kusini, with the specific purpose of finding and identifying cheetah. Once an animal has been spotted, guests are encouraged to photograph the cheetah, and leave copies of their sightings, which are passed on to the research team. Feedback is then provided when possible to Sanctuary Kusini guests on cheetahs observed. Since the programme’s launch in 2009, guests have submitted 50 usable sightings, equating to 32% of all recorded sightings by the project.

In 1982, Sanctuary Retreats Philanthropy formalised its long history of collaboration with Kenya’s local Maasai communities. Guests at Sanctuary Olonana are encouraged to engage and participate with the Sanctuary Retreats Masai Mara Conservation Programme, visiting local schools as well as taking part in local customs, or shopping for an authentic craft from a women’s micro-enterprise bead-making group.