3 Core Values for Impact-Driven Travel Presented by Above Safaris

Travel changes us. It gives us the rare opportunity to experience new environments, challenge our perspectives, and create meaningful connections with people from vastly different backgrounds. These connections lead us to engage with and embrace local communities, creating a travel experience that benefits us and the communities we explore.

Above Safaris exists to change travel. We believe travel should bring unique and life-changing experiences with real impact. So we create tailor-made adventures in Tanzania that are grounded in responsibility, sustainability, and community innovation. We see these three core values as the key to changing travel for good, enabling travelers to impact community development through their ethical travel.

Traveling responsibly means going beyond your travel experience. It means taking responsibility for your footprint on the land and your impact on the communities you visit.

Tourism always affects local people. When you travel responsibly, you have the power to create new opportunities in communities giving local people the chance to benefit from travel. In practice, this means when you trek Kilimanjaro with Above Safaris, your guides, porters, and cooks are local members of the community who are paid fair wages and have the opportunity to advance in their jobs.

Responsible travel also puts conservation efforts at the forefront of travel. At Above Safaris, we promote responsibility by supporting efforts to conserve Tanzanian land and wildlife for future generations. So when you join a safari with us, your tourism dollars are supporting efforts to stop poaching and conserve the natural habitats that support millions of animals in Tanzania.

Tourism affects natural resources, community well-being, and local economies. Sustainability must be at the center of tourism—not only for the industry to survive, but also for local communities to thrive.

Sustainable tourism means re-focusing and customizing. Environmental, economic, and social indicators need to be considered for the good of local communities, as well as travelers.

Our commitment to sustainability has led Above Safaris to support local businesses and entrepreneurs. We buy locally and form partnerships that are supportive and fair. We only work with companies that are committed to environmental sustainability and responsible business practices.

That means when you book a Great Migration Safari with Above Safaris, your luxurious tented lodge overlooking the plains of Serengeti will be committed to sustainable practices like using solar energy and conserving water.

Local communities are the key to solving whatever complex issues come their way. Supporting community innovation means funding local ideas—ideas that are inclusive, collaborative, and resourceful.

Community innovation is at the heart of Above Safaris. We believe that local Tanzanian communities have the potential to solve challenges in Tanzania with their own innovative ideas. We seek out the innovators—the changemakers in their own communities—and work to support and promote their ideas.

Whether you’re experiencing the Maasai herdsman way of life, exploring a coffee plantation, or diving into the Tanzanian budding art scene, you will support community innovation in Tanzania. Your cultural excursion enables local innovators to share their communities and culture with visitors and helps us to leverage our connections and resources to ignite the growth of innovation throughout the country.

70% of Tanzanians live on less than $2 per day, while 83% of Tanzanians are vulnerably employed—facing low and unstable wages, no benefits, and poor working conditions. Yet, Tanzania attracts over 1.4 million international travelers each year.

At Above Safaris, we see travel as a key to unlocking the potential of Tanzania. When you travel Above, you support responsibility, sustainability, and community innovation because the toughest and most urgent challenges are best solved by local communities. You adventure alongside us. Changing travel, for good.

See how we can craft a tailor-made adventure that is designed to fit you. Your budget, your time frame, and your incredible vacation.

Interested in exploring our featured trips? From a relaxing Yoga Retreat to an Active Adventure, to your dream Honeymoon, Tanzania offers something extraordinary for everyone—no matter what adventure means to you.

FROM THE EDITOR
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