The concept of sustainable tourism and travel is fairly young. Many people are yet to grasp what it really means and this means not many people are implementing it. A survey conducted in Stockholm revealed that 69% of people say sustainable tourism is very important to them. However, in the same survey, 75% of the people did not know what the term meant. This number reduces when we narrow it down to the Kenyan space. 

What is sustainable tourism? 

According to the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, sustainable tourism is travel that protects and improves the lives of locals, maximises the economic impact of the local community and elevates the visitor’s experience preserving it for future visitors. Sustainable tourism can simply be described as positive impact travel. The main goal is to ensure one creates a positive impact while traveling and at the same time, reduces the negative impact travel may have on the environment and the community. 

How can you ensure you are traveling sustainably within Kenya?  

Respect the culture of the people 

The first step to ensure we are traveling in a sustainable way, is to respect the culture of the people in the areas we are visiting. A lot of the tourist hubs in Kenya are the direct homes of the locals. Whether it is the Maasai Morans in the Mara or the children running around in the villages and beaches near the tourist landmarks. It is important to ensure that our presence does not interfere with how they live their daily lives. Think of how you would feel if a stranger walked into your town and began to change or mock the things that you identify with as home. Respecting the culture of the local community ranges from dressing in a manner that feels respectful to them, to treating them with kindness. As you learn and enjoy the local culture, identify and respect the local people on a human level. Taking part in local activities plays a big role in ensuring you enjoy positive impact travel and tourism funds go directly to the local communities.

Guest with Masaais

Purchase from the locals

Purchasing from the local shops and crafts helps to grow the local economy. Tourism has become a highly capitalized industry and oftentimes the people in the areas that we visit rarely receive the benefits of the tourism taking place. Take it upon yourself to purchase local artifacts, shop from local shops and even tip the local tour guides and interpreters. Ensure your money has a direct impact on the people and on their development.


Minimise impact on the environment 

The third way to ensure you are traveling in a sustainable manner within Kenya, is to get involved with experiences and stay in accommodations that love and care for the environment. The Kenyan government put a ban on plastic bags and this is a step towards ensuring the plastic menace is handled. The Karura forest in Nairobi and all National Parks have put in measures to ensure visitors do not enter the premises with disposable plastic bottles or containers. These are ways that we can ensure we keep the places we visit clean and habitable for both the locals and the people who will visit after us. Tourism for SDGs highlights the importance of ensuring that we are limiting negative impact on the environment as we travel by reducing waste, minimising carbon emissions and being keen to avoid over tourism. 

Other ways you can explore sustainable travel is by:

  • Traveling to hotels that are concious about their impact
  • Embracing ethical animal tourism by keeping distance and not causing stress to the animals. Choosing reputable and respectful companies for safaris and drives.
  • Embrace contactless guest experiences by using apps to avoid paper
  • Respecting the Flora and Fauna
  • Interact and engage with the Locals 
  • Aim for purpose-led travel… perhaps with Travel4Purpose 😉

Conclusion 

Finding the right travel for you is a way to ensure you are part of the great movement that is sustainable travel. Tourism has often been seen as a purposeless action mostly for enjoyment but it can have purpose if you want it to. Creating positive impact as you travel ensures you serve a great purpose as you enjoy your vacation. A good place to begin is finding organizations and travel companies who can assist in transitioning to sustainable, purposeful and positive impact travel.  Travel 4 Purpose is a company that creates custom trip plans that ensure you enjoy your holiday in Kenya and you do so in a way that is sustainable and has a positive impact. This is a great way for both international and local tourists who are looking to change the way they travel and be part of the movement to make the world habitable and enjoyable for all.

About T4P

The core of T4P is to create a positive impact while travelling. This blog is all about sharing valuable, fun gems on impact travel, living with purpose and insights into Kenya, our home! 

About T4P

The core of T4P is to create a positive impact while travelling. This blog is all about sharing valuable, fun gems on impact travel, living with purpose and insights into Kenya, our home!

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EXCELLENT rating
Based on 51 reviews
Sunset boat river tour with Omari is the best! The sunset boat river with Omari was really nice! He knows a lot of things about Kongo river and you can see the river is his life! He also planted mangroves by himself to help the environment and lives in a village next to the river. The trip is very relaxing and best place to see the sunset!
Roxana G
Roxana G
August 21, 2023
Sunset dhow is a must and worthwhile Did the sunset dhow cruise with a few friends and LOVED the experience! I plan to take visitors when we visit Mombasa in the future. Feels very special to have the entire dhow to ourselves, the snacks were the perfect addition, and the music/string lights added to the atmosphere. Be sure to ask the guide to take an aerial picture for you - nice memory. Only reason I didn't give a full 5 stars is that our dhow time was cut in half because of a late arrival of the dhow itself, but the situation was rectified by Travel4Purpose afterwards, and the 1.5 hours we did get on the dhow was worth it.
Attiya H
Attiya H
August 14, 2023
Great food tour Went on a food tour with Camilli. She was lovely, showed us places I would never find on my own. Had good fun with her exploring old town and liked learning about Mombasa.
Traveltomtom
Traveltomtom
August 12, 2023
Incredible overall travel company, highly recommend! I recently visited Kenya with my husband for our honeymoon and engaged T4P to arrange the itinerary. We were blown away with the level of detail and thought put behind it! Each activity/experience was tailored to our likes and desires and everything had meaning and purpose to it. We wanted a calm and restful getaway after a busy period planning the wedding, whilst having time to emerge ourselves in the culture and experience the adrenaline rush of safari. Our itinerary catered for exactly this and we were treated with a few surprises along the way. Some of what we saw would not have been accessible from a quick Google search, so really did have adventures “off the beaten path”. T4P we’re incredible with keeping in touch with us on the honeymoon too and answering our questions promptly. The drivers and guides we came in contact were all professional and joyful and we felt very safe in their hands. Highly recommend T4P for all your purposeful travel needs!
Shaili D
Shaili D
August 9, 2023
Eye opening and friendly art tour in Kiberia We did the Kibera art tour via T4P and it was amazing! Shammi was quick to respond and get the tour set up and was always on hand to answer any questions. The tour itself was great and felt like an authentic way to see this part of Nairobi. Saviour our tour guide was lovely and showed us around the murals, studios and Kibera. It was a really great way to spend couple hours.
V B
V B
August 1, 2023
Explore and eat across Mombasa Our family did the Food tour with Qamili and it was excellent. For over 2 hours we walked around the city trying different foods from vendors she knew. She explained elements about the city and focused on specific Mombasa cuisine which often doesn’t get showcased as it should. She is also like a local celebrity with a few people stopping us to say hi and how much the enjoy her posts exposing Mombasa and culture. A great afternoon enjoyed by our entire family and memorable experience. Highly recommended
J0e416
J0e416
June 27, 2023
10 Stars All Around!! My boyfriend and I wanted to do a graduation trip to Kenya, but didn’t know where to begin. We knew we wanted to travel responsibly, environmentally conscious, and safely as we stumbled upon Travel 4 Purpose on Google it was a perfect match! Sham met with us one on one to go over our ideal trip, budget and all details necessary to form an itinerary. All the activities planned out with T4P were amazing! The village cooking class, safari accommodations, private dhow trip, and giraffe experience were some of the greatest memories. All was affordable to our budget and we are leaving Kenya in more awe than we imagined. We leave happy, safe and content that our money went directly to communities and not greedy corporations. Wish there were more T4P travel agencies around the world!
Mariana M
Mariana M
June 5, 2023
MUST VISIT - Mombasa town and street food tours Sham arranged the most amazing Mombasa town and street food tour with Tyson for me. I honestly had THE BEST day. We explored by TukTuk and by foot, we had lots of local food and drink, I learned all about the history of Mombasa and collected some souvenirs along the way. Tyson is amazing, such a warm and friendly guy who will do anything for you. I am a young female travelling alone, and Tyson made me feel safe and at ease the whole day. I also went on the giraffe walk, this was incredible. The giraffes roam freely in the conservation park, they’re incredible to see. Konde, my tour guide was so passionate and knowledgable and told me all about the other projects the sanctuary take part in too. Nguuni run a clinic for locals, especially pregnant women and their babies where they can get vaccinated and educated about their health. I have learned SO much from both of these days and I’m so grateful to Sham for organising. I’d definitely recommend both days to anyone interested in learning more about Mombasa!
livwanders
livwanders
May 27, 2023
Two Thumbs Up Great afternoon experience at the giraffe sanctuary. Sham and her team are super organizers and their efforts can’t be matched. Sanctuary is such a peaceful and beautiful place. I advise you avail of the travel4purpose driver too, to get there, Tyson is super.
Tess M
Tess M
April 25, 2023
Fabuleux! Foncez, vous ne serez pas déçus Nous sommes allés à la Nguuni Sanctuary Reserve et c’était fabuleux! Nous quittons Mombasa les yeux émerveillés et avec des souvenirs plein la tête. Un grand merci à Shammie, Omar, Tyson, d’avoir rendu tout ça possible. Nous n’avions que très peu de temps et tout le monde s’est organisé pour répondre à toutes nos demandes. Nous avons tout aimé, de la prise de contact jusqu’à la visite. Nous avons hâte de revenir pour faire d’autres visites. Un grand merci pour tout. N’hésitez pas à passer par Travel4Purpose, je vous recommande bien évidement cet cette agence. Maman voyageuse avec un enfant, j’y ai trouvé disponibilité, adaptabilité et sécurité. J’ai été très sensible à la visite personnalisée pour mon fils. C’était formidable.
Valbyg
Valbyg
April 22, 2023

EXCELLENT rating
Based on 28 reviews
Shami was so kind, attentive, and detailed. She made my experience as a female solo traveler from Seattle feel safe and organized. I had the best time with my Mida Creek village experience cooking class and canoeing. Went through beautiful mangroves and learned about local vegetation. Memories for a lifetime.
Raia Karmali
Raia Karmali
August 24, 2023
We absolutely LOVED our Mombasa food tour hosted by Chaqula! She is so knowledgeable about the areas that she took us to, and she took us to spots with the tastiest food around! I highly recommend taking this tour if you’re visiting Mombasa or even if you are a local!!
Ziana Bhanji
Ziana Bhanji
August 24, 2023
We really enjoyed the street food tour in Mombasa. Qamili was knowledgeable and laid back. Some great small spots and good info about the food and culture.
L. S.
L. S.
August 16, 2023
I recently visited Kenya with my husband for our honeymoon and engaged T4P to arrange the itinerary. We were blown away with the level of detail and thought put behind it! Each activity/experience was tailored to our likes and desires and everything had meaning and purpose to it. We wanted a calm and restful getaway after a busy period planning the wedding, whilst having time to emerge ourselves in the culture and experience the adrenaline rush of safari. Our itinerary catered for exactly this and we were treated with a few surprises along the way. Some of what we saw would not have been accessible from a quick Google search, so really did have adventures “off the beaten path”. T4P we’re incredible with keeping in touch with us on the honeymoon too and answering our questions promptly. The drivers and guides we came in contact were all professional and joyful and we felt very safe in their hands. Highly recommend T4P for all your purposeful travel needs!
Shaili Desai
Shaili Desai
August 8, 2023
This was an amazing experience being driven on a tuk tuk into Mombasa old town. The driver was brilliant and extremely friendly and knowledgeable when it came to talk of history about Arabic rule, Portuguese rule and colonial rule of Mombasa. Some of the historical tales were very touching and some heartbreaking…bit that was history after all
Nitin Ladva
Nitin Ladva
July 27, 2023
Our family did the Food tour with Qamili and it was excellent. For over 2 hours we walked around the city trying different foods from vendors she knew. She explained elements about the city and focused on specific Mombasa cuisine which often doesn’t get showcased as it should. A great afternoon enjoyed by our entire family and memorable experience. Highly recommended
Joe Rafuse
Joe Rafuse
June 27, 2023
Travel4purpose Mombasa history and food tours are amazing. They have knowledgable and friendly guides. Even as someone who has visited Mombasa before, it felt like I was learning so many new things and trying so many new (and extremely) delicious foods. Tyson, one of the guides, is one of the most friendly and positive people you can meet. Qamili, the food tour guide, was down to earth and really knew her food. Not only did she know what tasted good, she could explain it from a culinary perspective.
Mohamed Kassamali
Mohamed Kassamali
May 23, 2023
I have gone on 2 trips with T4P now. My guests have all been so satisfied that they have referred other friends. I have travelled extensively in Kenya and T4P gave me amazing experiences I never even knew about in this beautiful country.
J R
J R
May 18, 2023
Sham organised the most amazing two weeks for my sister and I. We wanted to experience as many different parts of Kenya as possible with a focus on authentic experiences and she absolutely delivered. We had a mix of city time, bush time and beach time. Every single one of our guides and experience providers on the ground were amazing. The whole trip was extremely well organised and we really felt like we got to actually experience Kenya instead of just doing a safari or passing through. We'll never forget all the incredible people we met along the way and all the things we learned. Very grateful for this experience and cannot recommend Travel4Purpose enough!
Valerie Merut
Valerie Merut
April 26, 2023
Tout simplement parfait. Nous sommes allés à Nguuni Sanctuary Reserve et c’était fabuleux! Nous quittons Mombasa les yeux émerveillés et avec des souvenirs plein la tête. Un grand merci à Shammie, Omar, Tyson, d’avoir rendu tout ça possible. Nous n’avions que très peu de temps et tout le monde s’est organisé pour répondre à nos demandes. Nous avons tout aimé, de la prise de contact jusqu’à la visite. Nous avons hâte de revenir pour faire d’autres. Un grand merci pour tout. N’hésitez pas à passer par Travel4Purpose, je vous recommande bien évidement cet cette agence. Maman voyageuse avec un enfant, j’y ai trouvé disponibilité, adaptabilité et sécurité. C’était formidable.
Val-Byg Family
Val-Byg Family
April 22, 2023