Sustainable Tourism

As a business with its beliefs founded upon the welfare of birds and the well-being of the environment, it goes without saying that we care passionately about the world, its wild places and its wildlife. We do our best to operate all of our tours in an environmentally responsible manner – not just by our behaviour and actions in the field, but by working with conservation-minded local agents as well as local services such as guides, eco-lodges and local produce in the places we visit.

It is an inescapable fact that air travel is a major cause of climate change. We take the issues of climate care seriously and encourage all our travellers to negate their share of the damaging CO2 emissions created by their flights by making a donation in proportion to the length of their journey. Unlike some companies however this is not mandatory as we prefer to give you the freedom to make a personal decision how much to give, and whom to give it to. We will be more than happy to suggest appropriate organisations.

Many of our tours take place in countries where the whole idea of conservation is in its infancy and we must take care to be seen to act responsibly, especially by local people. We do our utmost to minimise disturbance to the birds and wildlife that we take groups to see.

We believe not enough emphasis is placed upon the positive aspects of eco-tourism, which can far outweigh the negatives as long as care is taken to minimise our impact. Tourism has a vital role to play in supporting local peoples as well as fostering an enlightened attitude towards wildlife and the environment. Indeed, tourism can be a major factor in saving an area from harm or destruction caused by damaging industrial or agricultural practices, poaching and forest clearance.

In the same way, we believe that our tours to countries such as Iceland and Cyprus, where we are vehemently opposed to whaling and the slaughter of wild birds respectively, serve to publicise and promote the cause of conservation such that these practices may eventually be stopped.

OUR COMMITMENT TO CONSERVATION

• We actively support conservation through sponsorship and donation as well as through our actions, our advertising in wildlife magazines and our support for important fund-raising events such as the British Birdwatching Fair, right down to recycling our household and office waste.
• Many of our leaders have a background of working for conservation bodies such as RSPB, BirdLife International and English Nature, as well as county wildlife trusts. By employing skilled local guides and utilizing eco-friendly lodges on many of our tours – in Bulgaria, Hungary, Sri Lanka, India, Australia, Costa Rica and Brazil to name but a few – we help to support local economies and demonstrate the importance and value of the natural world, as well as to educate and encourage conservation in developing countries where it matters most.
• Simply by taking a flight to our destination, we are contributing towards greenhouse gases and climate change. Many of our customers contribute towards ‘carbon offset’ schemes designed to mitigate the effects of global warming. Our carbon offset contributions will be used to support worthwhile conservation organisations such as Birdlife International and other conservation charities.
• The Global Birdwatching Fair – the world’s largest annual gathering of birdwatching enthusiasts – is a major fund-raiser for conservation, having contributed in excess of one million pounds to selected areas of worldwide ornithological importance identified by BirdLife International and the company that owns New Horizons Wildlife is proud to have been the main conservation sponsor of the fair since 2024.