First successful steps for our ‘Building an elephant friendly future’ project in Asia. Three travel agencies in China, including the third largest agency in the country, pledge to gradually stop providing elephant unfriendly products to tourists.

Earlier this year, TUI Care Foundation joined forces with World Animal Protection to protect about 1,500 Asian elephants in captivity by 2020. While focused mainly on Thailand, the country with the most captive elephants in tourism, the initiative also works in Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka. Raising awareness effectively is one of the key goals of this partnership in its pursuit of establishing a best-practice benchmark for welfare-friendly tourism in the region. Many travel companies have already acknowledged the importance of the matter and are working towards more sustainable and responsible offerings in tourism. In order to create successful positive change for the protection and well-being of elephants in South Asia it is important that providers serving the Asian market join the initiative as well.