We at Vacanza Adventure Safaris are committed to responsible travel with great priority to conservation and community initiatives. We believe that our travel business relies on healthy ecosystems and resilient communities for their product offerings and sustainable tourism is essential to our survival, the environment and the local communities.

Sustainability

Sustainability is the heart of our business operations. We believe that travel should be good for you, the places and people that you visit, and the planet and there is no future for tourism without sustainability. The pandemic gave us the impetus to rethink and better understand the meaning of sustainability in travel and we are taking the following measures to care for our environment;

• All our safari trips are designed to support local communities and preserve nature which helps you get closer to both.
• We encourage our clients to take steps in reducing their waste
• Purchasing from more sustainable suppliers
• Long-term commitment to the conservation initiatives in Uganda
• Restructured our itineraries to rely less on fossil fuels
• Encourage water conservation
• We ensure their supply chains support their local economies
• We purchase organic food from the local communities
• Buy products locally
• Transparently informing our guests about the commitment to sustainable development, and motivating them to act considerately

Responsible Travel Tips for or guests

Treating local people and places with respect is the right thing to do, and opens up possibilities for more authentic travel. We encourage our clients to undertake the following measures to help us our sustainable tourism goals.

• Be considerate of the communities and environment you visit.
• Support the local economy. Buy locally made souvenirs from the craft shops
• Don’t litter.
• Recycle paper, plastic and glass.
• We do not encourage our guests to give pens, candy or other gifts to local children by the roadside as this fosters a begging economy. We arrange planned for those who wish to donate to visit local schools thus ensuring the gifts are distributed fairly and properly.
• Buy Organic Food
• Buy Minimally Packaged Goods and consider carrying your own shopping bag to avoid contributing to the plastic problem in the host countries.
• Reduce energy consumption. Unplug Unused Electronics, turn off your lights when you leave your hotel room
• Conserve water.
• Always ask before taking photographs. If someone says no, respect their wishes.
• Educate yourself about the place you are visiting, the people, their cultures and their beliefs.
• Travel off season if you can to avoid mass tourism. You are also likely to get better prices.
• Respect cultural differences – and learn from it! People in different places do things differently – don’t try to change them – enjoy it.
• Dress respectively. Cover up away from the beach. Cover your head in religious places. Notice local dress codes and adhere to them.

ECO TOURISM

Eco tourism is the new shift towards responsible travel in Africa highly focused on environmental conservation and sustainable tourism development. Ecotourism is about uniting conservation, communities, and sustainable travel .It is a form of travel that involves travelling to natural areas with the objectives of learning, participating in activities that seek to minimize negative impacts to the environment, protecting and empowering the host communities socially and economically. We are committed to this form of tourism as it enables travellers, to make an impact on the environment and culture of the places they are visiting.

Our specialized safaris prioritize conservation activities such as Gorilla Tracking, Chimpanzee tracking, Bird Watching, Community walks, nature guides walks, Mountaineering, canoeing, game drives, nature photography, boat cruises, butterfly watching all of which are aimed at transforming and broadening the visitor’s view towards nature and local communities and the role they can play in conservation.

We prefer small group tours and tailor made safaris that take you to eco-friendly locations and lodges .You will be escorted by local guides that have been trained to interpret the cultural and environmental resources. Our focus is on community integration, local cultures, wilderness adventures, volunteering, personal growth and learning new ways to live on our vulnerable planet.

Ecotourism benefits

• Promotes awareness on conservation
• Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect.
• Provide positive experiences for both visitors and local hosts.
• Minimize physical, behavioral, social, and psychological impacts of tourism
• Creates employment opportunities for the local people working as local guides and hotel staff in the national parks
• Deliver memorable interpretative experiences to visitors that help raise sensitivity to host countries’ political, environmental, and social climates.
• Increased household income from the sale of handcrafts and food items
• Design, construct and operate low-impact facilities.
• Recognize the rights and spiritual beliefs of the Indigenous People in your community and work in partnership with them to create empowerment.
• Leads to development of social infrastructure like schools, libraries, health care Institutions through involving the local people in participatory planning programs and channelling tourism income to community projects.
• Improvement in local community access and appreciation for tourism and conservation.