Travel without animal harm

From November 2025, the "Dertour Group" will remove all offers worldwide from its program in which whales, dolphins or other marine mammals live in captivity or have to perform tricks for visitors. Other suppliers have also been focusing on animal welfare for years.

Focus on nature experience instead of show program

Among other things, dolphin swims, trick shows and any form of animal interaction that provokes unnatural behavior - such as "beaching", where animals have to leave the water - have been removed from the program. Instead, "Dertour" focuses on offers that enable encounters with marine mammals in their natural habitat.

At the same time, the company's own foundation will increasingly promote projects that support the preservation of marine ecosystems. These include the restoration of damaged coral reefs in the Maldives, mangrove reforestation in Sri Lanka and initiatives to protect sea turtles on the Turkish coast.

Elephant-friendly travel providers

Animals are also often tortured during vacation experiences on land. In order for elephants to allow direct contact such as riding, bathing, feeding and stroking, they are usually force-trained as young animals. Elephant handlers often systematically inflict pain on the animals throughout their lives in order to make them docile.
Fortunately, there is a long list of travel providers that have not offered elephant rides and shows for several years: for example, trips with "Alltours", "Travel-to-nature", "TUI Cruises", "Tripadvisor" or "Studiosus" are a thing of the past.

Travel providers that actively promote animal welfare

There are now many providers for those who value consistently animal-friendly offers. These organizers focus on animal welfare:

• Experience Wilderness The organizer works with selected partners worldwide and is a WWF trusted partner. The mission: to create nature experiences that bring people and the environment closer together again.

• Chameleon Travel focuses on small groups, supports local conservation initiatives and promotes anti-poaching projects.

• FairAway has developed its own animal welfare guidelines together with World Animal Protection. The organizer generally refrains from attractions that involve direct contact with wild animals - from petting to selfies to feeding.

• Viking Travel Already in the early 70s it was important to the founding family to travel sustainably, carefully and responsibly in small groups. With the aim of respecting people and cultures, consistently standing up for the preservation of the environment and nature and giving something back to the countries we visit.