How we Impact the community and wildlife conservation

Responsible Travel

At Soet African Expedition we aim to travel responsibly and tread lightly, leaving a positive imprint on the world. While the effects of climate change, plastic pollution, and global poverty represent huge challenges, we are fully committed to being proactively responsible both in the workplace and the destinations we visit.

We are on an evolving journey towards becoming a more Responsible Business in every way. Over the past 2 years, we have taken the time to understand what is important to both our guests and our people, using this insight to create our Responsible Travel strategy. The list of what we want to do is long and it will be a journey to get there, but we are committed to taking action and moving forwards.

It Starts with Community

Community is at the heart of our Responsible Travel strategy. For us, that means giving back to the communities in the destinations where we send our guests on their holidays. From working with locally owned properties to offering community-based experiences in all corners of the world, our aim is to create trips that support local communities at every level. Just as importantly, this community focus means ensuring we are raising the bar on Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging within our company and the partners we work with.

Protecting and Empowering People

In recent months we have taken big steps forward in protecting and empowering people, specifically by focusing on Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. There is still a way to go, but we have started an open and honest conversation internally as a first step. Already, small but steady actions have started to change mindsets, getting our teams thinking differently. We are also changing our marketing, making it more inclusive and representative of our guests, our people, and the wonderfully diverse world in which we live.

In line with these commitments, we are making progress through real actions. We are investing in the development of our future leaders from under-represented groups. We have also started to tap into different recruiting channels across each of our offices, to continue to share our passion for travel with as many people as possible.

We are also committed to ensuring that we are not engaged or complicit in the exploitation of people through forced labour, servitude, child labour or trafficking, in accordance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Protecting the Environment and Wildlife

At Soet African Expedition, we are looking to the future and are continually searching for sustainable ways to minimise our impact on the planet and offset carbon emissions. Our partnership aligns with our goal of protecting the environment and wildlife, by supporting their mission to accelerate tropical reforestation. Instead of carbon offsetting through other means, we have decided to donate directly to Tree Sisters who plant trees on our behalf to offset emissions for every trip booked and for our staff travel. Through the protection and reforestation of tropical forests and mangroves, which are known to be excellent carbon absorbers, Tree Sisters focuses on increasing green cover globally. In parallel, they also have a mission to educate and empower women in local communities by working with female-led organisations.

These things will take time, which is why our Responsible Travel strategy is rooted in a long-term action plan to create change, which will evolve over several years.