3 Simple Ways Tour Operators Can Support World Wildlife Day
World Wildlife Day is celebrated on April 3 every year to bring attention to how important it is to watch and protect the world’s wildlife. This day is important for everyone who lives on this planet, not just for the animals who live here.
The people who run tourism businesses do a lot to protect the planet and its natural resources. By how they affect communities, they can work to improve the environment and give people in those communities the tools they need to take care of the environment. Here are three easy ways for tourism businesses to support World Wildlife Day and help them reach their goal.
Promote Sustainable Tourism
Sustainable tourism is defined as “tourism that conserves and protects natural and cultural resources, respects local cultures and traditions, and helps local communities.” World Wildlife Day (WWD) is a great time to promote tourism that is good for both people and wildlife.
Travel companies, especially in developing countries, are starting to use more and more sustainable tourism practices. Even though it’s hard to measure how well sustainable tourism practices work, it’s clear that they have a positive effect on local communities. This can be seen in terms of economic value added (EVA), jobs created, and the potential for growth.
Radical Storage says there are several reasons why people should look for eco-friendly places to stay or travel. Polled travelers said that 46% of them had stayed in places that were good for the environment in the past year. Some of the reasons people give for going to these places are the following:
- They want to have less of an impact on the environment (31%), and they think that green homes are better for the neighborhood (24%).
- They wanted a trip that was more connected to the place they were visiting (21%).
- 31% of the people who said they hadn’t stayed in sustainable lodging in the last year said they didn’t know it was an option, and 29% said they didn’t know where to look.
These numbers show that more needs to be done to make it easier for people interested in ecotourism to visit these areas. Tourism businesses can help support World Wildlife Day by putting these environmentally friendly practices into place:
- Putting in place policies that are good for the environment, like reducing plastic waste and keeping wildlife habitats safe. Getting travelers to use reusable water bottles instead of single-use plastic bottles will help cut down on waste.
- Teaching people how important it is to keep nature and asking them to help protect it like using less single-use plastics. Marine animals and birds are often hurt by plastic pollution, which makes them easier targets for whales, sea turtles, fish, and seabirds. One study, for example, found that one out of every ten seabirds had eaten plastic trash. By teaching customers how their actions can help marine life, operators can get them to use less single-use plastics and support conservation efforts at the same time.
Education and awareness
World Wildlife Day is a great time for tourism businesses to teach their guests about how important it is to protect wildlife. The best way to do this is to teach people about what happens when people kill animals, destroy their habitats, pollute the environment, etc. It also shows people how important it is to protect wildlife in all parts of their lives.
Tourism operators can tell people about endangered species and what is being done to protect them to make people realize how important conservation is. One business in Thailand, for example, gave tourists a safari ride with a professional guide who talked about how important it was to protect elephants and other animals. The owner also gave visitors educational materials to help them learn about how many animals are in danger of going extinct.
Tourism businesses can also offer hands-on activities theme that teach people why it’s important to take care of our environment. In Australia, one person has set up an educational exhibit where people can touch reptiles and learn about where they live. People can also take part in workshops that teach them how to care for animals at home or at school.
Guided tours are also a great way to teach visitors about biodiversity and conservation. For instance, travel agencies with access rights can offer guided tours in national parks, zoo reserves, and other protected areas. Guests will be able to see where animals live in their natural habitats on these tours. Then they might be moved to do something about it!
Supporting Conservation Efforts
The goal of conservation is to protect biodiversity and make sure that the world’s resources are used in a sustainable way. Conservation efforts can be helped by people in the tourism industry who get their customers involved in these efforts.
Tourism businesses can make a big difference in protecting wild places by helping with the following:
- They gave money to groups that work to protect the environment. Not many people know that tourism businesses can give money to conservation groups. Say, for instance, you own a hotel and want to help wild animals. If that’s the case, you can give your time and money to help save and protect them. You might also be able to meet some of them while you’re staying at your hotel.
- You can also try to get people from other countries to visit your group. This will help them realize how important it is to protect these animals and the places they live. And since they are probably going to stay in this country anyway, they might as well find out more about these wild animals so they don’t hurt them by accident when they go to their country.
- They can also work with local conservation groups to help them with their projects. Hotels and restaurants in Hawaii, for example, help the state protect its native wildlife. This includes giving money to the Honolulu Zoo and holding fundraisers for the zoo to help with its conservation efforts. The same is true for many other states, like North Carolina and Oregon, where hotels and restaurants have teamed up with the National Park Service (NPS) to help protect their natural habitats.
