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    We're responsible

Sustainable holidays in Ethiopia

Responsible travel and ecotourism promotes the sustainable development of our destinations in Ethiopia by minimising negative impacts and maximising positive ones for both the environments we operate in, and the people living in them. A steadfast commitment to responsible travel is vital to our ethos.

To help us stay true to our sustainability ethos, we work with Travelife. We recently reached the Travelife certification. The Travelife Certification is a recognition of our commitment towards social and environmental sustainability. We are complying to more than 270 criteria related to sustainability management, office operations, working with suppliers and customer communication.

>> EXPLORE TRAVELIFE

 

Sustainability in Action

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FAIR & LOCAL TOURISM APPROACH

At SimienEcoTours we consider everyone involved as part of our family. For achieving this we consider fair working conditions, regular training opportunities and health insurance as major steps that we implemented for our team so far...

But your journey is not all about us. Also other service providers get involved. We are striving towards working with mainly locally owned businesses and our partners at the destinations are in line with our responsible philosophy.

CARBON FRIENDLY TRAVELS

Being based in Ethiopia, we understand that climate change is real because we see its effects every day across our destinations. Simply put, action is needed. Rising to the occasion, we've become one of the first tour operators in Ethiopia to strive for carbon friendly trips. Not just for our offices and staff, but also by offering Carbon Friendly Holidays to our clients and their guests.

How to reduce your carbon footprint?

TREADING LIGHTLY

Treading lightly means reducing our footprint in destinations. This entails anything from turning off idling engines and selecting eco-friendly transportation to using biodegradable cleaning products, properly disposing of waste or recycling when possible.

Additionally, we carefully vet all our suppliers to ensure their practices are in line with our environmental standards while encouraging guests to select eco-friendly accommodation which we can happily arrange.

How can you contribute?

LOCAL CHARITIES

By supporting local charities, enterprises and organisations that contribute to environmental and cultural causes, we're able to maximise the benefits that tourism has on locals and their economy.

Whenever possible, we encourage guests to partake in sustainable tourism activities, shop at fair-trade shops, or dine in restaurants run by vocational institutions that train youths and disadvantaged peoples.

Additionally, every year we donate a part of our company profits to local charity projects, and encourage clients and travellers to do the same.

Get to know our projects

COMMUNITY BASED TOURISM

By actively supporting community-based tourism projects alongside local and international development organisations, SimienEcoTours helps generate revenue in remote and impoverished communities in Ethiopia.

These projects allow visitors to engage in unique and authentic cultural experiences while simultaneously helping to preserve local traditions, improve welfare and support environmental preservation.

See our community tours
sustainable holidays ethiopia

CULTURAL RESPECT

One of the things that makes Ethiopia such a fascinating and exciting place is the boundless opportunities there are for cultural exchange. To celebrate this, we've worked hard to integrate immersive and mutually beneficial cultural experiences in all our tours.

Although similar at first glance, cultures, traditions and customs across Ethiopia can vary substantially. For the most enriching experiences possible, we always encourage guests and clients to keep an open mind and respect local cultures.

OUR SUSTAINABLE POLICIES, GUIDELINES & LABELS

Here are some resources to help become better-informed about responsible travel and why it's such an important part of what we do at SimienEcoTours.

See documents & guidelines