Light Steps ~ Sustainable Tourism

Responsible Travel Commitment

Cape Insights upholds the philosophy of ‘Giving Back’.
Because we believe that each step we take matters and in order to offset your impact, we make a voluntary donation to Food and Trees for Africa calculated on your carbon footprint accumulated by your journey to, from and within South Africa.

ENVIRONMENTAL STEPS
We believe in leaving only our footprints, conserving natural resources & preserving our cultural heritage.
Golden rules in the natural environment include not picking flowers or removing any items, feeding wild animals, littering, or deviating from paths – and in the built environment not wasting water, being ostentatious with possessions, ‘handing out’ randomly or behaving respectfully among other cultures.
We undertake to lighten our impact wherever possible: such as using the internet as our primary communication medium, limiting the size of groups, consciously selecting low impact options, biodegradable materials, recycling paper, and implementing ‘turn it off’ policies with equipment.

ECONOMIC STEPS
We select local initiatives such as family run hotels, owner managed restaurants, support contacts, so as to participate in unlocking the economic potential of the tourism industry.
We endorse the South Africa Sustainability Seafood Initiative abiding by their approved seafood guidelines when making selections on clients’ behalf.
We support The Biodiversity and Wine Initiative which applies biodiversity guidelines to the wine industry by preferentially choosing its members when selecting wine estates to showcase.
We provide experiential opportunities / participation in interactive workshops wherever possible, such as the uniquely African genre of wire art during Craft Art tours, or a Cape Malay cooking experience on Gastronomy tours.

SOCIAL STEPS
We support Fair Trade in Tourism in South Africa and its members wherever possible, which is based on fair share, democracy, respect, reliability, transparency and sustainability.
We seek out preferred service providers who share our vision, such as Mogalakwena Artist’s Retreat, as well as initiatives such as !Khwa ttu San Cultural and Educational Centre that highlight issues facing minority cultures; Solms Delta Museum for its oral history focus; Grootbos Private Nature Reserve for its dedication to the Cape Floral Kingdom and eco tourism benchmarking; Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Retreat for highlighting San culture.
We are a member of the Open Africa network of Afrikatourism, a collaborative movement linking the splendours of Africa in a network of tourism routes from Cape to Cairo, with the aim of creating jobs in synergy with conservation, under the patronage of Nelson Mandela.

OPERATIONALLY
We partner with Passage to Africa as well as GiltEdge Travel for the operation of our Small Group Tours predominantly.
We subscribe to an ethical code of conduct and practise Fair Trade principles.
Our tour leaders are officially accredited by SA standards.
We strive to promote all that is unique to the Cape and South Africa, and to act as ”good news ambassadors.”
To mitigate the impact of the long haul travel and minimise carbon footprints, we include add-on options to encourage extensions.
We offer our web hub for the beneficiation of all involved with Cape Insights.

If you are thinking a year ahead, sow a seed
If you are thinking ten years ahead, plant a tree
Chinese poet – 500 BC

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