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Traveler's Legacy Program

Traveler's Philanthropy

In all regions of the world, a voluntary movement called "traveler's philanthropy" is emerging. Simply put, traveler's philanthropy is a three-way partnership between the travel provider, the travel host, and you, the traveler. The essence of traveler's philanthropy is that the communities to which we travel both need and deserve our support.

The African Conservancy Traveler's Legacy Program was developed on the assumption that the African Conservancy, its hospitality provider partners in Zambia, and its traveling members all share a common goal: the conservation and re-habilitation of the African wilderness. Specifically, our practical goal is to improve the quality of life for humans and wildlife sharing the National Parks, Game Management Areas, and the towns and villages we visit on African Conservancy tours.

The Role of the African Conservancy

The African Conservancy allocates a portion of each traveler's tour cost to charitable environmental or socio-economic projects initiated by hospitality providers and/or the local business community. The amount donated per traveler is calculated on a per bed night basis (e.g., $20.00 per bed night, 14-night tour would result in a $280.00 donation), which varies from year to year.

The Role of our Tourism Partners

Tourism partners are directly involved with the funding, management, and operations of the projects supported by the Traveler's Legacy program. Tourism partners are selected and evaluated annually on the basis of four areas of performance:

• Quality of Services -- lodging, food, service and guiding.
• Environmental-Consciousness -- trash disposal and use of pollutants, for example.
• Labor Distribution -- positive ratio of local vs. foreign staff.
• Community Involvement -- active in the protection of the habitat in which they operate, and in the socio-economic development of the communities that surround them.

The Role of the Traveler

Because the Traveler's Legacy program is intended to engage the traveler in the welfare of the destinations visited, the traveler will ultimately select to which project his/her funding will be allocated. At each destination, the hospitality providers will demonstrate the need, effectiveness, and efficiency of their project through interpretation. This is one of the many things that makes the program so special.

Travelers will select their project upon their return home, and will be kept informed of project developments at regular intervals.