Go on a Fair Trade Holiday

Are you thinking of where to go on holiday next? Well, South Africa is a given, but where to go in South Africa? Let us give you some tips of already packaged Fair Trade Holidays.

You going on a Fair Trade Holiday will benefit the people working in tourism in South Africa. How?

Unfortunately many establishments in South Africa pay very little wage and the employees are often not contracted, which leaves them unprotected and very vulnerable under their employer. At a FTTSA-certified establishment, the employees are ensured to receive a fair pay for their work and they work under fair conditions, meaning e.g. that all employees have a contract, they are treated equally and have the right to training, well many of the criteria you and I probably take for granted as an employee.

There are more benefits involved in a Fair Trade Holiday. A tour operator selling a Fair Trade certified package guarantees to pay the establishment before the guest arrives and the tour operator have long term contracts with the lodge, which brings a lot of security, especially for smaller establishments, having a hard time recover from a last minute cancellation or breach of a short term contact.

In addition to this, a part of your payment for the holiday will end up in a development fund which will be used for development projects across South Africa.

There are currently 14 Fair Trade Tourism certified holiday packages on the market in various source markets. 8 European tour operators and 6 South African tour operators are selling Fair Trade Tourism certified packages.

SWITZERLAND

Imagine Reisen (4 packages)

Kuoni (1 package)

Dreamtime (1 package)

GERMANY

SKR (1 package)

Kuoni (1 package)

Baobab (4 packages)

NETHERLANDS

Travelunique (1 package)

TUI (1 package)

SOUTH AFRICA

So book your next Fair Trade Holiday and explore wonderful South Africa!

To read more about the development fund you can read a previous blog post here. For more information about certification standards required for staff and other functions at an establishment, click here.

About Fair Trade Tourism

Fair Trade tourism ensures good wages and working conditions for staff, a fair share of the tourism bucks to local communities and respect for human rights, culture and the environment. In other words: tourism that is good for people and the environment. How it works: Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) certifies tourism businesses (like hotels, activities and attractions) against a set of standards linked to global Fair Trade criteria. Those that qualify get to carry the FTTSA logo. So every time you stay at a hotel, or go on a tour, that carries the FTTSA logo you will not only have a great experience – you will also be doing a good thing for South Africa and South Africans at the same time. That’s what we call a win-win situation! What kind of places are Fair Trade? Any kind of tourism business can become FTTSA-certified: from backpackers to 5-star lodges; township tours and whale watching cruises to adrenalin-filled activities and botanical gardens. In addition to being fab holiday places and activities, they all do a whole lot of amazing things for people and the environment. You can read all about this on our website (www.fairtourismsa.org.za). Doing something good has never felt this great!

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