Hundreds of Animal Attractions Where
Tourists Come into Physical Contact with Captive Wild Animals or
Endangered Species Will No Longer Be Bookable on TripAdvisor or
Viator
TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, today announced its
commitment to launch a set of industry-leading actions, including
changes to its policy on selling tickets to animal attractions, and
the launch of a new education portal to help inform travelers about
the standards of care for wild, captive, and endangered species in
tourism and their interactions with tourists, and their impact on
wildlife conservation.
TripAdvisor and its Viator brand will discontinue selling
tickets for specific tourism experiences where travelers come into
physical contact with captive wild animals or endangered species,
including but not limited to elephant rides, petting tigers, and
swim with dolphin attractions.
While some attractions will cease booking through TripAdvisor
immediately, the company plans to have both the educational portal
and booking policy changes fully-launched and implemented by early
2017.
TripAdvisor is also committing to the development and launch of
an education portal linked to every animal attraction listing on
TripAdvisor. The portal will provide links and information on
animal welfare practices, helping travelers to write more informed
reviews about their experience, and to be aware of opinions that
exist on the conservation implications and benefits of some tourism
attractions. In turn, TripAdvisor believes that better reviews will
enable travelers to make more informed booking decisions and
improve the standards of animal care in tourism worldwide.
The content on TripAdvisor’s education portal will provide
numerous points of view from experts in the fields of sustainable
tourism, animal welfare, wildlife conservation and the zoological
and marine sciences. Initial partners include the trade
accreditation organization Association of Zoos and Aquariums; the
conservation organization Global Wildlife Conservation, Asian
Elephant Support and Think Elephants International; tourism experts
ABTA – The Travel Association, Pacific Asia Travel Association
(PATA), Sustainable Travel International and the TreadRight
Foundation; academic leaders in the sciences of animal conservation
and animal welfare like Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation
Research Unit (WildCRU) and animal welfare groups including
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and World Animal
Protection.
“TripAdvisor’s new booking policy and education effort is
designed as a means to do our part in helping improve the health
and safety standards of animals, especially in markets with limited
regulatory protections,” said Stephen Kaufer, president and
CEO, TripAdvisor. “At the same time, we want to
celebrate those destinations and attractions that are leaders in
caring for animals and those in the tourism industry who help
further the cause of animal welfare, conservation and the
preservation of endangered species. We want to thank the dozens of
trade groups, academics and nongovernmental organizations who
helped us design our path forward as a company.”
“TripAdvisor’s leadership position in travel means we can help
educate millions of travelers about the diverse opinions that exist
on matters of animal welfare,” added Kaufer. “We believe the
end result of our efforts will be enabling travelers to make more
thoughtful choices about whether to visit an animal attraction and
to write more meaningful reviews about those attractions.”
Booking Policy
For several years, Viator has supported animal welfare standards
in its booking policies, inclusive of a prohibition on bookings
where captive wild animals are killed or injured for blood
sport. Building on those initial standards, the following
changes and amendments were made to TripAdvisor and Viator’s
booking policy concerning animals:
TripAdvisor and its Viator brand will no longer sell tickets to,
or generate booking revenue from, specific attractions where
tourists come into physical contact with captive wild animals or
endangered species, including but not limited to elephant rides,
“swim with” programs where tourists touch or ride on dolphins, the
petting of captive wild or endangered species, etc.
For attractions that can provide evidence that they are
in-policy, but were impacted by today’s decision, TripAdvisor and
Viator will implement an appeals process to re-establish ticket
sales to certain experiences that may have been excluded through
our booking policy update.
The policy includes several exemptions, including:
- Domestic animals, e.g. horseback riding, children’s petting
zoos with domestic animals like rabbits, etc.
- Aquarium touch pools used for education purposes where tourists
are under the supervision of zoo, aquarium and or wildlife
officials
- Feeding programs where tourists are under the supervision of
zoo and or wildlife officials
- Voluntourism programs for endangered species preservation at
zoos, aquariums or sanctuaries where it is possible that there
might be some level of physical interaction with an animal
Listings, Reviews and Education
For years, as a matter of practice, TripAdvisor prohibited
listing or the publishing of reviews for businesses that used
captive wild animals or endangered species for blood sport, e.g.
bullfights, captive hunts, etc. That policy will continue to
stand.
TripAdvisor remains committed to its philosophy that travelers
have the right to write about their travel experiences – be it
positive or negative. With millions of travelers submitting
more than 380 million reviews and opinions to TripAdvisor, the
company continues to firmly believe that our community of
contributors can serve as a check-and-balance on matters of
quality, customer service, and social issues – such as how animals
are treated in the tourism industry.
For this reason, all animal attractions that meet our standard
listing guidelines will continue to be displayed on TripAdvisor in
order that travelers can review those establishments, regardless of
whether they meet the company’s criteria as a booking partner.
By early 2017, every attraction listed on TripAdvisor that
involves animals will be identified with a “PAW” icon that will
link to an education portal that will present all sides of the
animal welfare issue from top accreditation trade groups like the
U.S.-based Association of Zoos & Aquariums; animal welfare
activist groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
(PETA) and World Animal Protection; and experts in tourism who have
studied animal and wildlife issues like ABTA – The Travel
Association, Sustainable Travel International and the Pacific Asian
Travel Association (PATA). It will also provide opinions, research
and insights on wildlife conservation, guided by Oxford
University’s WildCRU, Global Wildlife Conservation, Think Elephants
and Asian Elephant Support.
"We are delighted that TripAdvisor are seeking to educate
consumers about the importance of animal welfare, and that ABTA's
animal welfare guides will feature as such an important part of
that education process. Our guides can provide a
common, expert frame of reference for companies and individuals to
make important decisions about which attractions to feature," said
Nikki White, Director of Destinations and Sustainability,
ABTA - The Travel Association.
“The Association of Zoos and Aquariums supports vigorous and
sustained efforts that seek to improve animal welfare. AZA’s 232
members are leaders in providing state of the art animal care and
welfare, and are guided by the stringent and ever-evolving AZA
accreditation process and regulated by numerous federal and state
agencies,” said Kris Vehrs, Interim CEO and President of
the Association of Zoos & Aquariums
(AZA). “Many of AZA’s members have also
been TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Award recipients for many years.
We are proud to help educate the TripAdvisor community on AZA’s
accreditation program which focuses on animal health, welfare and
wellbeing; safety for the animals, visitors and staff; financial
stability; and conservation and education programs. And you will
have great family fun, too!”
Professor David Macdonald, founding Director of Oxford
University’s WildCRU, said, “The tip of the iceberg,
conspicuous above the water, is the welfare of wild animals in
tourist attractions, but hidden beneath the metaphorical waterline
can be a huge cascade of effects on the welfare of animals in the
wild, from which specimens may be taken, and the far-reaching
impacts on their conservation. If our involvement in TripAdvisor’s
education portal can help us inform millions of tourists about the
likely impact of their choices on wildlife conservation, WildCRU
will be proud; beyond informing them, if we can contribute to
driving change in the industry to improve conservation standards in
tourism, we will be even more proud. We at WildCRU are professional
researchers, and we are especially excited about using our
analytical skills to collaborate with colleagues at TripAdvisor to
research how the education portal affects behavior change and
conservation outcomes.” Dr. Tom Moorhouse, a senior
researcher at WildCRU added, “We are convinced that
research into the choices of tourists and their impacts on the
welfare and conservation of wild animals is a powerful tool for
enabling tourism to deliver greater benefits for wildlife.”
"By refusing to sell tickets to businesses that treat
animals as entertainment or playthings, TripAdvisor is making a
precedent-setting statement about the use and abuse of animals for
entertainment " said PETA Executive Vice President Tracy
Reiman. "PETA looks forward to contributing to
TripAdvisor's industry-leading education portal, which will empower
people around the world to make better decisions when it comes to
animal-friendly travel."
The following are additional endorsements of TripAdvisor’s new
effort to improve wildlife and animal welfare standards in
tourism:
Taleb Rifai Secretary-General, UNWTO: “The
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) welcomes the actions taken by
TripAdvisor, a much valuable Affiliate Member of UNWTO, to
strengthen its social corporate social responsibility in the area
of animal welfare.”
Wes Sechrest, Chief Scientist and CEO of Global Wildlife
Conservation: “We commend TripAdvisor for taking steps to
improve the standards for interactions with wild and captive
species in tourism. This will encourage people to visit
destinations that promote the safe viewing of wildlife in the wild,
such as national parks, as well as legitimate rescue centers and
zoological facilities that support on-the-ground wildlife
conservation efforts. We want people to connect with wildlife and
feel inspired by wild places, and this will help provide a guide
for how to do so without further endangering our planet's
biodiversity.”
Geoff Bolan, CEO of Sustainable Travel
International: "Right now, it's too hard for
consumers to make responsible choices when traveling. Sustainable
Travel International wants to make sure consumers' decisions not
only give them extraordinary experiences as travelers, but also
help improve other people's lives and protect sensitive
environments and wildlife around the globe. We look forward to
collaborating with TripAdvisor to help educate consumers,
businesses, and governments on how responsible travel choices lead
to long-term protection of these sensitive destinations."
Dr. Joshua Plotnik, Executive Director and Founder,
Think Elephants International: "One of the biggest issues
facing wildlife species around the world is a lack of engagement by
the general public in their conservation. Think Elephants
International is an organization committed to using the scientific
study of animal behavior, welfare and conservation to educate the
public about the need for a well-balanced, culturally sensitive
approach to promoting ethical wildlife tourism. We are very excited
to work with TripAdvisor on this new initiative that allows site
visitors and potential travelers to gain well-balanced perspectives
from a diverse group of experts in academia, conservation, welfare
and tourism. Travelers are becoming more and more interested in
learning what they can do to make informed decisions before they
commit to eco- and wildlife-related travel. TripAdvisor is
providing a unique platform for Think Elephants International and
other organizations to help people make these important decisions,
and we are thrilled to be a part of it."
Linda Reifschneider, President, Asian Elephant
Support: “AES is pleased to partner with TripAdvisor as we
weigh in on this most important topic surrounding the lives of
Asian elephants in human care. We encourage the continuation
of the human-elephant bond through responsible tourism so that
people will be driven to save them.”
Brett Tollman, Chief Executive, The Travel Corporation
and Founder of TreadRight Foundation: “The TreadRight
Foundation would like to applaud TripAdvisor for their new
commitment to improve wildlife welfare standards in the tourism
industry. It is important that we stand together as an
industry community and recognize the immense potential we have to
change the world for the better, by working together and steering
the industry in the right direction.”
Dr. Mario Hardy, CEO, Pacific Asia Travel Association
(PATA): “On behalf of everyone at PATA, I would like to
commend TripAdvisor for taking bold actions to improve the
responsible development of the travel and tourism industry. As a
PATA Strategic Partner, we have a very strong relationship with
TripAdvisor and we are pleased to strengthen that relationship by
working with them in promoting the wildlife tourism educational
portal, both to our members and all industry stakeholders in the
Asia Pacific region. More information on responsible wildlife
tourism is vital for a responsible travel and tourism industry,
which is lacking in the Asia Pacific region. It is extremely
encouraging to see the ‘world’s largest travel site’ taking the
lead on this issue.”
Steve McIvor, CEO, World Animal Protection:
"World Animal Protection looks forward to partnering with
TripAdvisor to help educate millions of travelers about the
cruelties of wildlife entertainment. This is a significant step
towards ending wildlife tourism cruelties, and we hope it will have
a huge influence on the tourism industry as a whole. We will
share our welfare knowledge, expertise and point of view on the
cruelties that animals face in the tourism industry. We believe
once people know about these wildlife abuses, they will make other
travel choices because of their love for animals.”
About TripAdvisor TripAdvisor® is the
world's largest travel site*, enabling travelers to unleash the
full potential of every trip. TripAdvisor offers advice from
millions of travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and
planning features with seamless links to booking tools that check
hundreds of websites to find the best hotel prices. TripAdvisor
branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world,
reaching 350 million average monthly unique visitors**, and reached
385 million reviews and opinions covering 6.6 million
accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in
48 markets worldwide. TripAdvisor: Know better, Book better and Go
better.
TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP), through its subsidiaries,
manages and operates websites under 24 other travel media
brands:
www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.citymaps.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com (including www.lafourchette.com, www.eltenedor.com, www.iens.nl and www.dimmi.com.au), www.gateguru.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.housetrip.com,www.independenttraveler.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.onetime.com, www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.travelpod.com, www.tripbod.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com, www.viator.com,
and www.virtualtourist.com.*Source: comScore Media Metrix for
TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, May 2016**Source: TripAdvisor log
files, Q2 2016
Media Contact:
U.S. Press Office
TripAdvisor, Inc.
uspr@tripadvisor.com
+1 781 800 5568
U.K. Press Office
TripAdvisor, Inc.
ukpressoffice@tripadvisor.com
+44 (0) 20 3194 2237
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