Some people talk sustainable tourism, but Singita Game Reserves, the luxury African lodge group, has put its policy into print. An almost 70-page, beautifully assembled and illustrated booklet is now available that lays out Singita’s view of its role in conservation, ecotourism, and community support. The second half of the booklet deals with how each property – in Kruger Park, Grumeti, Pamushana, and Sabi Sand – is putting this philosophy into effect, whether it is through wildlife research, reducing their carbon footprint, sending staff members to cooking school or local children to secondary school, developing small businesses amongst the local community, feeding malnourished children. The list goes on. If other properties want to see if they are on the right track, they could do worse than consult Singita’s manifesto. If you want to read more about it (in book form or eco-friendly PDF format), contact JG Black Book of Travel, 350 Seventh Ave., Suite 1104, New York, N.Y. 10001. Or email info@jgblackbook.com. There are also sustainability fact sheets on Singita’s website. Good idea!
There’s a bit of irony in printing a book as opposed to doing an e-book and eliminating the paper use. I’d love to read the case studies, especially grumeti and pamushana.