Established in 2003, Wild Asia is a social enterprise sensitive to the connections between natural areas and communities reliant upon them. Fundamental to its growth has been the equally sociable building of partnerships with businesses that share similar social and environmental sensitivities.
“Our ultimate goal is to promote sustainable practices that will minimise adverse impacts on the environment, ensure that local communities are engaged and that local cultures are respected.”
- Wild Asia
Responsible Tourism Initiative
In addition to several other programs and initiatives – focusing on sustainable agriculture; the establishment or enhancement of ‘natural corridors’ where wildlife can live and move with minimal human interference; and direct financial support (amounting to 25% of Wild Asia’s annual profits!) to causes in Asia, for example, through seed grants – Wild Asia directs a far-reaching Responsible Tourism initiative (RTI) which:
“aims to promote the best practices of sustainable tourism in Asia. Our goal is to demonstrate that there are clear financial incentives for doing the right thing. The reward for tourism operators is simple; we offer them unique marketing opportunities to reach out to a growing global market for responsible tourism. The reward for travelers – ecologically and socially sound tourism – is just as important, because they make choices with their conscience and their budget alike.”
For travellers, there are clearly presented responsible tourism guidelines and an interactive responsible tourism map spotlighting tourism practitioners in Southeast Asia committed to responsible tourism. (Far from compendious, the map is more of a demonstration of how little is out there right now, something sure to change in the years ahead.) Complementing both is a professional Wild Asia travel team using the organisation’s intimate knowledge of the region to help ethical travellers “maximise the spread of the ‘tourism dollar’. This is important in supporting the local economies of the communities you visit and will also be an excellent way to discover the real Asia (minus the gloss and hype).”
Responsible Tourism Award
As if not already busy enough, Wild Asia is the force behind the Responsible Tourism Award (RTA), established in 2003 and now an annual occurrence. Billed as the first pan-Asian award for excellence in responsible tourism, the RTA recognises tourism accommodations in Asia that are making a difference.
Although submissions for this year’s RTA are now closed, the award presentation will be hosted in Kuala Lumpur from 27-30 October in association with the international CSR Asia Summit. The CSR Asia Summit is another annual event focusing on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the Asia-Pacific Region. The 2008 Summit welcomed 300 people from 27 countries and regions to discuss CSR issues in Asia.
In conjunction with the awards, Wild Asia will lead its annual ‘RT in Action’ two-day training workshop on 29-30 October 2009. It is designed as a way to bring tourism professionals – property owners, managers and tourism professionals, as well as media – up to snuff on sustainable principles in tourism using case studies from the region.
“By sharing the winners’ best practices, and demonstrating how easy and beneficial responsible tourism is to implement, we hope other operators will be inspired to take the first steps to change,”
- Wild Asia.
Further information
- This is an abridged version of an article written on the whl.travel blog.
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