The travel industry has a huge supply chain control problem, the same way that other industries such as food or fashion have. Nowadays, every travel agency and modern booking platform claims to be sustainable, but are they? “We know our local partners”, they say. And “travellers would report if there was an issue.” The reality is a very different one: Cost pressure, lack of awareness, and structural problems of primarily profit-driven business models.
Local tourism workers and communities are being exploited in a way that reminds of slave labor and colonialism, while well-intended travellers are completely unaware.
In this article, I will share with you the personal story of a porter who was left behind to die while working on Kilimanjaro. Using Kilimanjaro as case study, you will learn why sustainable tourism without independent on-site audits does not work. We will be making the case for credible (UN GSTC accredited) responsible travel certifications as the only way to sustainably promote socially and environmentally responsible tourism.
Simply left behind to die
“I got sick and fainted,” my tour guide Joseph told me when I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa back in 2015. “It was snowing.” Joseph was working as a porter at the time, carrying the heavy backpacks, tents, and cooking items for the foreign travelers. He had gotten wet overnight on the mountain because the porter accommodation tent where he slept was leaking rain water.
Surely, they’d have given him dry clothes?—No, “keep working!”, his boss had told him in the morning, when Joseph was all feverish and could barely feel his body.
“And what did they [the guides employed by the local company that he was working for] do?” I wanted to know.
“Nothing, they kept walking,“ and left Joseph behind, knowing that he’d freeze to death.
Joseph was lucky. Tourists found him and saved his life. But not everyone is that lucky.
Researching for my Kilimanjaro climb, I had already become aware of the exploitation of porters on Mount Kilimanjaro: Porters are not getting paid, fed or equipped well, and sometimes not assisted with descent when they fall sick or have an accident. “Not assisted with descent”—that’s the politically correct way of expressing it. It hadn’t seemed to be such a big deal to me. Hearing Joseph’s story made that misery real and human to me. Workers are literally dying on that mountain!
Bully-boy tactics and misleading content
Back home, I got intrigued to find out more. The company responsible for Joseph’s near-death has hundreds of 5-star reviews on TripAdvisor, despite the exploitation of human life they participate in. We travellers clearly don’t get to see these local realities!
STOP!!! My heart was shouting after I’d returned from Kilimanjaro. I have to publish Joseph’s story and let the world know!
“Be careful”, I was told, “that company might sue you.” But I didn’t care.
“Those people kill for money,” a few Tanzanians were convinced. I got goosebumps. Whether true or not, just hearing such comments gave me a healthy respect. Local realities were clearly far more complex than I had appreciated. Living in Switzerland, I had the luxury that I didn’t need to worry about my own safety. “Let them come and sue me!” The thought of provoking them crossed my mind. Then at least I’d have proof of their bully boy tactics.
“Your guide might get into trouble,” I was brought back to reality. “Please understand that local realities are complex and you might do more harm than good. We’re living in a different cultural environment here,” I was reminded. Different cultural environment—that’s the politically correct wording for bribery.
I found myself in a catch. Those bully boy tactics had worked. Of course I didn’t want my guide to get into trouble! And so I toned down my story, removed sensitive information from the book I was about to write (Kilimanjaro Uncovered, 2016), and set out on a mission to find a better way to make a difference.
How the industry really works
Over the past years, I’ve made my way into the travel industry: I attended big travel conferences, interviewed hundreds of local travel companies in Africa and globally, connected with leaders in sustainable travel, and soaked up all information like a child learning to walk – eager and confident, unaware of how much I still had to learn, shamelessly exposing myself next to the big boys, and stumbling forward to learn quickly.
Armed with my newly acquired expertise, I’ve come to meet many representatives of traditional travel agencies and modern booking platforms. The conversations usually follow a very similar pattern:
Everyone claims to be sustainable
“Sustainability is very important to us. We are leaders in this field,” they all say. “We support a charity, and”—as for the most committed ones—“we are buying carbon credits.”
“And how do you screen your local partners and ensure that they’re having sustainable practices?” I ask.
“Oh, we know all our local partners personally and meet them locally every year,” they assure me.
“OK, but how do you know they’re operating sustainably? Even if they have the best intentions, how would the company managers that you meet even know what their own guides are doing out in the field?”
“That’s not a problem,” they assure me again, “because then our clients would report it back to us. We never have any complaints.”
Travellers don’t get to see the reality
“It’s true that travellers can see obvious things such as whether guides are collecting waste,” I agree. Then I usually share the example of Kilimanjaro: “Travellers may see the clothes that porters are wearing, but we don’t see that they have to bribe their guide to get the work opportunity and how much of their promised pay they really get. We don’t see how they sleep and what they eat; we don’t feel whether their blankets are keeping them warm overnight; and we don’t see whether they’re given medical treatment when they have a work accident.”
“That’s true,” they admit. “But travellers are nowadays also speaking and interacting a lot with their crew.”
“Yes, just that the people at the bottom of the pyramid don’t speak English, and those who do would be far too scared to lose their jobs to speak the truth.” By this point, my counterparts realize that there might be a far bigger issue than they had even been aware of themselves.
Importance of independent sustainable travel audits
“You are right that there’s an issue and we cannot be sure about the sustainable travel practices of our local partners,” international travel companies would usually agree with me by that point. “But it’s not possible to better monitor what’s really happening locally.”
“That’s why I’ve come to believe that we need independent audits,” I would make my point.
“Yes, but there’s no good audit schemes,” they would say. “How would you even audit something like that?”
That’s when I’m sharing the example of the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP), a local non-profit organization in Tanzania that independently monitors porter treatment practices on Kilimanjaro: “Any local company can join them. They have an anonymous porter on every single climb of their partner companies who reports back to KPAP how it really was. It’s very easy to know who the ethical climb operators are—those cooperating with KPAP.”
“That’s interesting.” By that point, my counterparts—established players in the travel industry— usually start to realize that there’s also a thing or two that they might be able to learn from me—a young startup founder who’s relatively new in the industry. “That’s perhaps working for Kilimanjaro, but there’s no good global scheme yet,” they conclude what might have been true 10 years ago.
“Actually, there is. Have you heard of Travelife?”
Blank stares.
“Travelife is the most comprehensive responsible travel certification scheme that I’m aware of, and that’s not just me saying, they’re also accredited by the UN Global Sustainable Tourism Council,” I’m enthusiastically sharing what I know, “and they operate globally on all continents.”
“But how would they know what’s happening locally? Isn’t that just greenwashing?” They’re raising a fair question.
“No. When Travelife Partner companies want to become certified, they have to prove their commitment through independent on-site audits.” My conversation partners are taking out their notepads, while I’m hiding my amazement that supposedly leading sustainable travel companies have never heard about them before. “Of course it’s still early days, and these labels still need to become better known amongst travellers, but I expect that Travelife will become the equivalent of Fair Trade in tourism.”
The real reason why travel companies aren’t sourcing sustainable suppliers
Now we’re talking!
“You see, the problem is that our clientele doesn’t demand this yet,” my counterparts start to open up their real challenges. “So far, it’s only a niche of travellers who would be happy to pay a premium for sustainable travel.”
I can sense that my counterparts sincerely care about sustainability and only have the best of intentions. After all, most of us have chosen to work in the tourism industry because we have seen with our own eyes what a powerful tool travel can be to foster tolerance and mutual understanding, bridge cultural barriers and create lasting world peace. We want to do good.
However, implementing sustainability in an established business is far from easy. By definition, sustainability doesn’t only mean environmental protection and social responsibility. It also means economic and financial viability. And combining both isn’t easy.
In my next article, I’ll explain why it’s so difficult for established travel companies to move to a more sustainable business model. I will also show a possible solution, and what all of us can do to contribute to a more sustainable travel future.
Your opinion matters
I would love to start a discussion about the importance of sustainable travel certifications and hear your thoughts. Do you agree that independent on-site audits are the only way to sustainably promote social & environmental responsibility in tourism?
