OUR COMMITMENT TO
RESPONSIBLE TOURISM
At Ilha Blue we believe that responsible tourism can be a powerful force for good in the world, and we aim to be one of the best examples of responsible tourism worldwide.
We do this by working together with amazing people who help to conserve the environment, provide support to local people and inspire and educate fellow travellers.
We are members of a community that wants to ‘travel for good’. Our activities help travellers to get to far-away places where they can have adventures, enjoy unique cultural exchanges and, most importantly, be part of a movement that creates positive change for people and the planet.
We invite you to join us.
Our Commitment to Responsible Tourism.
Ilha de Mozambique is a tiny, impoverished island bestowed with world-class tourism assets. Ilha Blue sees engagement with local people and culture as the way to unlock the tourism potential in a way that will give the population a chance to transition out of poverty. Making a commitment to Responsible Tourism is both a moral and strategic decision for Ilha Blue.
While there are many reasons for tourists to visit the island and a nascent industry already existed long before Ilha Blue arrived, it was clear that the direction tourism was heading would largely exclude rather than encourage local participation.
This situation was further complicated by an industry-wide bias that discriminated against local guides in favour of outsiders who, superficially at least, appeared more professional. Under this unspoken arrangement locals got less work and earned significantly lower rates than their non-islander counterparts.
WE ARE PROUD
Ilha Blue Island Safaris is the winner of numerous Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence Awards.
Ilha Blue was long listed for the World Responsible Tourism Awards in 2016. Won GOLD in the African Responsible Tourism Awards in 2017 – ‘Best for Engaging People and Culture’. And again in 2019, won SILVER for Best Responsible Destination.
Ilha Blue is a proud member of the World Cetacean Alliance (WCA) and is an accredited operator in Responsible Whale Watching.
WE HAVE AN ONGOING FOCUS
We would like to get more women involved in local tourism - it's a matter of social justice and the best way to create positive change. We have established a dynamic space within our business, a space where young women feel comfortable to define themselves. Generally tourism on Ilha is mostly dominated by men. Men have lots of opportunity to meet and talk to tourists on the street, while women do not.
As a consequence, women are less likely to pick up essential English language skills and their knowledge of tourism (and tourism opportunities) is generally much more limited than the men’s. But women do occupy all kinds of positions in Ilha society so there is no social, cultural or other reason why they can’t work with tourists – it's just this absence of an identified pathway – and that’s what we hope to fix.
Our goal has been to create this pathway and bring an equivalent number of women (6 to 10) into full-time employment in the tour operations sector.
OUR LONG TERM RESPONSIBLE TOURISM GOAL
Ilha Blue has stated from the outset that our aim is to have the company 100% owned and operated by people local to Ilha, and we are NEARLY THERE.
It has been a long journey. With our support 5 employees have undertaken university education in the areas of admin, hospitality management, human resources and tourism/international development, and this will equip them with the skills, knowledge and confidence to take up the challenge of running Ilha Blue in the future.
In the meantime the founders of Ilha Blue have established a new company – Blue Zissou, which will partner with Ilha Blue and support marketing, financial management and other essential services for as long as required.