WHO ARE WE
At Conservation Through Tourism, we believe in the transformative power of ethical travel to protect our planet’s most vulnerable ecosystems. Our journey is deeply rooted in a passion for conservation, a love for wild spaces, and a commitment to ensuring that tourism benefits nature, communities, and future generations.
Our story begins in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, where founder Carel Verhoef grew up surrounded by the wonders—and challenges—of Africa’s wildlife. Living in remote camps, elephants became a daily presence, and conservation challenges like balancing elephant populations with ecosystem sustainability became a part of life. These early experiences shaped Carel’s understanding of conservation as a complex, interdependent system that must benefit not just wildlife, but also the people who share their landscapes.
Drawn to Tanzania by its vast, unfenced ecosystems, Carel found a landscape where wildlife could move freely across ancient migratory routes—a rare and precious reality. This was where his passion for conserving wild spaces, rather than focusing on individual species, truly took root.
At the heart of our work is a fundamental belief: for conservation to succeed, the land must have value for everyone—governments, communities, and investors alike. Conservation Through Tourism is driven by this principle, working to create sustainable solutions that protect biodiversity while providing economic and social benefits to the people who depend on it.
Behind every success story is a dedicated team of conservationists, administrators, guides, and community leaders who bring our vision to life. We are proud to collaborate with local partners, global conservation organisations, and ambassadors who share our commitment to preserving wild spaces.
We hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards in all aspects of our work:
We offer something truly unique:
Conservation Through Tourism aligns with long-term biodiversity goals by promoting sustainable land use, reducing human-wildlife conflict, and supporting communities to protect their natural heritage.
Conservation Through Tourism (CTT) actively contributes to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by linking conservation efforts with sustainable tourism and community engagement. Our work is deeply rooted in practical conservation actions, including human-elephant conflict (HEC) mitigation, promoting open wildlife corridors, and creating awareness through impactful media. Here’s how our efforts align directly with the SDGs:
Through sustainable tourism, we provide economic opportunities to local communities, offering jobs, training to local communities. Our conservation initiatives mitigate human-elephant conflict, reducing the destruction of crops and property, which directly impacts local farmers’ livelihoods. By keeping elephants out of farms and supporting sustainable land use, we help preserve community resources and reduce poverty.
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Human-elephant conflict often leads to significant crop losses, threatening food security for local communities. By responding to elephant conflict at night we help communities protect their crops and livelihoods.
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This SDG is to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. We need to be conscious of health and disaster awareness. As the 2020 pandemic showed us, good health is vital for sustainable development and for conservation.
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Education is at the heart of our conservation efforts, including adult education through awareness, exposure and training. We raise awareness about the importance of protecting natural ecosystems and provide hands-on learning experiences for travelers,
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Tourism can empower women, particularly through the provision of direct jobs and income-generation hospitality related services. Gender equality is not just a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
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Elephants require significant amounts of water, yet water resources are often diverted from protected areas for agricultural use. Using thermal drones, we can assist elephants safely to water resources and safely back to the park at night. Our conservation efforts include advocating for balanced water sharing to ensure wildlife and human needs are met.
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As a sector, which is energy intensive, tourism can accelerate the shift towards increased renewable energy shares in the global energy mix in the challenge to ensure access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy for all.
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Tourism provides significant economic opportunities, and our operations prioritise fair employment, local sourcing, and creating jobs that support conservation efforts. Our camps also offer indirect benefits by encouraging tourism to remote areas, boosting local economies.
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Tourism development relies on good public and private infrastructure. The sector can influence public policy to build resilient infrastructure. Making use of renewable energies and fostering innovation.
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Tourism can be a powerful tool for reducing inequalities if it engages local populations and all key stakeholders in its development. Tourism can contribute to rural development by giving people the opportunity to prosper in their place of origin. Tourism is an effective means for economic integration and diversification.
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Our projects are developed in some of the poorest and most remote areas of Africa. We are reducing inequalities and creating sustainable development based on coexistence with Nature
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Using aerial surveillance with thermal drone technology, we support rural communities to remain sustainable by protecting villages and crops, whilst contributing to biodiversity & conservation initiatives.
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Our camps operate with a “less-is-more” ethos, embracing practices that are nearly carbon-neutral. We implement sustainable practices in all aspects of our operations, from reducing waste and energy use at our camps to encouraging eco-conscious behaviors among travelers. We prioritize local, fresh ingredients. Additionally, our open-source approach to HEC solutions ensures that others can replicate successful methods.
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Our projects spotlight the impacts of climate change, such as shrinking glaciers in the Rwenzori Mountains, and promote conservation efforts that build resilience. By maintaining open wildlife corridors, we ensure ecosystems remain intact and capable of adapting to changing climates. Tourism can either harm or help the fight against climate change. We work to minimize our carbon footprint
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Through our marine conservation efforts, including the Kilimanjaro to Coast (K2C) project, we support marine marine conservation projects that protect coastal ecosystems and address issues like overfishing, coral reef degradation, and habitat destruction in coastal areas.
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Protecting terrestrial ecosystems is at the core of our mission. Since natural ecosystems and biodiversity, including beaches, coral reefs, mountains, rivers and lakes, are prime tourism assets, their preservation offers great opportunities.Nature-based tourism is one of the sector’s fastest-growing segments. By advocating for wildlife corridors and addressing human-wildlife conflict, we ensure that habitats remain viable for species like elephants, rhinos, and others.
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As tourism revolves around billions of encounters between people of diverse cultural backgrounds, the sector can foster multicultural and inter-faith tolerance and understanding, laying the foundation for more peaceful societies.
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We recognise that collaboration amplifies impact. By working with NGOs, researchers, governments, and private-sector partners, and international organisations, we pool resources and expertise to tackle conservation challenges effectively. A shared commitment to conservation will improve the long term results for conservation.
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At Conservation Through Tourism, we understand that conservation cannot exist in isolation. While these examples highlight our most direct contributions, tourism is uniquely positioned to touch all 17 SDGs. Our holistic approach to conservation, education, and community development ensures that the benefits of our work ripple across multiple goals, creating a sustainable and inclusive future for all. Our work is intertwined with community well-being, biodiversity preservation, and sustainable development. By addressing challenges like human-elephant conflict, climate change, and habitat loss, we actively contribute to multiple SDGs, creating a ripple effect that benefits people, wildlife, and the planet.
Our efforts are not just a commitment to conservation but a way of life—rooted in practicality, responsibility, and a vision for a sustainable future.
By choosing Conservation Through Tourism, you are not only embarking on a transformative journey but also contributing to global efforts to achieve the SDGs. Together, we can protect our planet and create a legacy of hope and sustainability for generations to come.
Our goal is to stimulate tourism in remote places that need protection. We do this by filming the experiences and distributing the content globally.
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