How to Travel Ethically in Africa: A Guide to Responsible Tourism

This is something I’ve been thinking about since I first came to the continent over 12 years ago. After years of travelling across Africa and living in Ethiopia, I have learnt a lot, although I know that this is a continuing journey. I wanted to share some questions that you too can ask yourself to ensure you are travelling with integrity in this incredible continent.

Some of these you probably have already been asking yourself, I think most people want to travel in a way that feels respectful, but it’s not always obvious how.

This isn’t a set of rules for ethical travel - it’s a framework of questions for how to think more carefully about the impact we have when we travel.

Questions you can ask yourself to ensure you travel Ethically in Africa

1.      Would I do this in my own country?

This is the most important thing to ask yourself and the most simple test.

Would I photograph this person on the street?

Would I ask this question?

Would I touch this person without permission?

Would I be happy if someone did this to me?

Would I enter this school or hospital?

If the answer is no, then you probably should also not be doing this in Africa.

2.      Who is benefitting financially from me travelling here?

Tourism is a powerful way for people to use to earn a living from their area, wildlife or culture. In places in Africa it has meant that people earn money from protecting animals, when before the only way to earn was by hunting them. It allows people passionate about religious or ancient sites to earn by talking about what they love. With our tours in the South Omo Valley, it allows Hamar people to stay living in their villages, continuing their current way of life. They earn a living by sharing their culture travellers to earn a living instead of having to relocate to find work, often losing much of their culture in the process.

Some ways you can ensure that local people are benefitting from you travelling there are:

Does this hire local people?

Are local supplies used for food?

Is the hotel and tour company an international chain or locally owned?

Do local people benefit from fees or just the local animals?

Bonus: Does this also support additional charitable causes in the community?

3.      For voluntourism projects, ask – would I be qualified to do this at home?

A simple rule to ask yourself is – would you be able to do this professionally or at least volunteer to do this in your country?

Would a school hire you as a teacher?

Would a hospital let you provide medical care?

Would a construction company trust you to build a house?

Good volunteering should fill genuine gaps in local communities, not provide sub-par services. There have been many examples of serious negative consequences as a result of non-qualified people volunteering in Africa.

Just because you intend to do good, doesn’t mean it does good and it is your responsibility to carry out a lot of research before volunteering in Africa.

The two guiding question you should ask:

Does this benefit the community more than it benefits me? Was this created for me to volunteer or is this a genuine need that I am qualified to help with?

4.      Am I helping wildlife to stay wild?

Many travellers care deeply about animals but end up accidentally supporting harmful practices.

A useful question is:

Does this experience allow the animal to choose?

Can the animal walk away?

Can it avoid interaction?

Can it behave naturally?

Or is it being restrained, handled, touched, fed in a way that is designed for the tourist’s pleasure over the animal’s?

Good wildlife tourism prioritises the animal's wellbeing over the visitor's experience.

That means:

• No touching wildlife.

• No chasing wildlife.

• No feeding wildlife.

• No crowding wildlife.

• No forcing interactions.

• The animal remains in control

• The animal remains in its natural environment

5.      What will be left behind here after I leave?

Ethical travel also encompasses treating the planet kindly. Many places in Africa do not have formal recycling or reliable waste management systems. This means that plastic is burned alongside other rubbish, harming both the environment and the respiratory health of the local community.  

So before you pack something, it’s worth asking a simple question: where will this end up when I’m finished with it?

Small choices make a big difference. Wherever possible, try to reduce what you bring that will need to be thrown away.

-          Remove packaging and unnecessary tags at home before you travel, not once you arrive

-          Bring a reusable water bottle with a filter (ie LifeStraw) allowing you to drink local water instead of buying bottled water – this is the biggest cause of waste from tourists.

-          If bottled water is unavoidable, choose larger containers where possible rather than multiple small plastic bottles

-          Bring reusable shopping bags

-          Bring hand sanitiser instead of sanitising wipes, which don’t break down easily in the environment

-          Consider a shampoo bar and solid soap instead of liquid products in plastic bottles

-          Take waste home with you where you can, especially items that can’t be easily recycled locally

-          And simply make sure you leave places as you found them - or better - and encourage your guide to do the same

6.      Should I  Be Taking Photos of Children I Don’t Know?

This is one of the most sensitive and important questions in ethical travel, and often one of the least openly discussed.

Many travellers would never think of photographing random children in their own country and posting those images online. Yet when they travel in Africa, some feel comfortable doing exactly that.

I know this may be uncomfortable to hear as you may have done this before. I have too.

But I realised that being in Africa does not give me a special right to photograph children.

The same standards of privacy, dignity, and respect should apply everywhere.

If you would not photograph an unknown child in a park at home, why would it be acceptable to do so here?

If you would not post a photo of your own child partially or fully undressed online, why would you do it with somebody else’s?

The fact that a child lives in Africa does not reduce their right to privacy or protection.

If this idea makes you uncomfortable, it may be worth sitting with that feeling for a while.

Ask yourself why it feels different here. And whether that difference is actually justified.

Not Every Photograph Is Unethical

This is not an argument against photography itself.

Context matters. Consent matters. Relationship matters. Connection matters.

In our tours, guests spend time with families, learning from them and getting to know them and they do at some point end up taking photos with the children and adults with permission.

There is a clear difference between taking a photograph of someone you have spent time with, shared experiences with, and asked permission from, and taking photos of children you have met on the street with no parent present.

One is documenting a human connection, the other risks turning people into subjects.

7.      What story am I telling about Africa?

The story most people hear about Africa is still heavily shaped by poverty. It’s what has been shown through media for decades, and while hardship does exist, it is only one small part of a much bigger and far more complex picture.

As travellers, we have a responsibility not to reinforce a single version of that story.

If every image you share is focused on struggle, need, or poverty, even unintentionally, it can create a distorted impression of an entire continent.

It’s worth actively looking for what challenges that stereotype - this will mean you get so much more out of your trip too!

Africa is innovation. It’s entrepreneurship. It’s community and connection. It’s creativity and humour. It’s professionals building careers and industries. It’s vibrant cities and modern life. It’s families going about everyday routines. It’s cultural richness, diversity, and depth.And it’s joy - so much joy - in so many different forms.

None of these things cancel out that some are facing hardship, but they exist alongside it, and they matter just as much.

Ethical travel isn’t only about what you see or photograph. It’s about the story you choose to carry home and share with others.

And before sharing anything, it can be helpful to ask: would I be comfortable with this being the only version of my country someone ever saw?

Final Thoughts

This isn’t an exhaustive list, and I’m not a perfect ethical traveller. I’m still learning as I go, and I expect I will keep learning.

Ethical travel, for me, isn’t about getting everything right. It’s about paying attention. It’s about noticing the impact we have, and being willing to question things we’ve always taken for granted when we travel.

The people, animals and places you meet aren’t there for our consumption.

They aren’t attractions, content or backdrops for social media.

They’re just people living their lives.

Ethical travel really starts when we stop asking:

“What can I get from this place?”

And start asking:

“How do I move through it with a bit more care than I might have done before?”

That’s really all this is meant to be.