KAZA - Sustainable Lodges

KAZA - Sustainable Lodges sector project

The "KAZA - Sustainable Lodges" sector project was implemented by Futouris together with BMZ and KfW in 2015 / 2016 in the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, Africa's largest nature reserve. As part of the project, Futouris organized and moderated an international stakeholder process in which tourism service providers, nature conservation and development organizations from the KAZA region, regional certification organizations and internationally active tourism companies agreed on a common standard for sustainable accommodation in the entire KAZA region. In the spirit of sustainable development, this resulted in benefits for all parties involved: the marketing of certified tourism offers by Futouris member companies DER Touristik, TUI, Thomas Cook, Gebeco and Green Pearls benefited nature conservation and the local population, provided an economic incentive for certification - and helped tour operators to make their own supply chains sustainable with this pilot project.

The long-term goal of tourism development in the KAZA region is to enable international tourists to visit across national borders without passport, visa and other logistical barriers. KAZA's partner countries hope that this regional link will also trigger sustainable economic development in underdeveloped rural regions and prevent rural exodus. The "Sustainable Lodges" project supported the environmentally and socially responsible development of the KAZA region as a popular sustainable tourism destination.

Project results

• Creation of a binding standard for sustainably managed lodges in the KAZA region, which serves as a guideline and implementation aid for sustainable, resource-conserving and socially responsible operating concepts.

• Increase the number of sustainable lodges in the area to 62 certified lodges.

• Examples of stringent sustainability orientation:

  • Use of local renewable materials and energy

  • Reuse of process water

  • Employment of the local population

  • Use of regional products

• Certified lodges contribute to biodiversity and local prosperity.

• Establishment of a common identity and marketing opportunity for lodge operators in the KAZA region

• Lodges benefit from being included in the product portfolios or highlighted in the catalogs of Futouris member companies.

• Qualified certification serves as a guide for tourism companies and individual tourists when choosing sustainable vacation accommodation

• Creation of new jobs and participation of the local population in the income from tourism.