Stop selling elephant tourism and entertainment products in an all-round way-affinity tourism becomes an elephant-friendly tourism enterprise.

Hunan Tongcheng Affinity Travel International Travel Service Co., Ltd. (referred to as Affinity Travel) officially joined the ranks of "elephant friendly tourism" initiated by the World Animal Protection Association, and promised not to sell, provide or promote elephant riding, performances and other related entertainment activities. At the same time, Affinity Tourism promises to actively promote the concept of elephant protection and encourage tourists to choose the "elephant-friendly" tourism mode.

Affinity tourism is a large domestic travel agency group company, established in 1985 and rooted in Hunan. Before the epidemic in 20 19 disrupted the tourism industry, products related to elephant riding or performances were sold by Affinity Travel Company to 3,560 people. At present and in the future after the resumption of outbound travel, affinity tourism will no longer provide such tourism products harmful to elephants, but provide wildlife-friendly alternative products such as observing elephants in the wild.

"Loving life and nature is part of our corporate culture and the core of our products. Protecting animals is a part of corporate social responsibility. In response to the call of the World Society for the Protection of Animals, we will set an example, stop selling and not promoting tourism products such as elephant riding and performances, actively promote the protection of elephants, and encourage tourists to choose "animal-friendly" tourism methods. In the future, we will extend the concept of "being kind to animals" to more wild animals. At the same time, I hope that our actions can encourage and appeal to more enterprises and individuals to pay attention to and protect wildlife. " —— lily li, General Manager of Affinity Tourism Products Department

The World Animal Protection Association welcomes this and calls on more tourism enterprises to practice the concept of responsible "wildlife-friendly tourism" and pay attention to and join the ranks of protecting wild animals affected by tourism, such as elephants.

"As an important part of the tourism industry, tourism enterprises are connected with the scenic spots as suppliers, and they are also faced with huge consumer groups. They have the responsibility and ability to make positive commitments and actions in protecting animals and promote the development of tourism to be more civilized and responsible. As the first enterprise in Hunan to sign the "elephant-friendly tourism commitment", the action of affinity tourism is an important step towards wildlife-friendly. I look forward to more companies joining in the future to help the tourism industry after the epidemic' better reshape'! " —— JUNG WOO, wildlife project manager of the World Animal Protection Association.

Wild animals are not toys.

A study jointly conducted by the World Society for the Protection of Animals and Oxford University shows that riding an elephant, taking photos with tigers, walking with lions, visiting bear paradise, playing with turtles and watching dolphin shows all belong to the "top ten harmful wildlife entertainment projects in the world", which brings great harm to animals. Take the elephant as an example. In Southeast Asia alone, more than 3,000 elephants are used for tourism and entertainment activities, and more than three-quarters of them are kept in captivity in very harsh conditions. Many elephants were taken away from their mothers when they were young, forced to undergo long-term cruel training and never returned to the wild for life.

More and more enterprises and the public are beginning to pay attention to the impact of tourism on wildlife. Since 20 15, the World Society for the Protection of Animals has launched the project "Wild animals, not playthings", which is dedicated to protecting wild animals, urging tourist places offering wildlife entertainment projects to improve animal welfare conditions and actively transform.

Up to now, more than 260 travel companies around the world have promised to take off the elephant, perform and other wildlife entertainment activities. At present, 2 1 well-known tourism enterprises in China have signed the "elephant-friendly tourism commitment" or "wildlife-friendly tourism commitment".

Consumption turns into a new trend.

The first report on the trend of youth tourism consumption released by the World Animal Protection Association shows that young people, as the main force of tourism consumption, are more eager to choose animal-friendly travel methods. Among them, 85% of young tourists are opposed to tourism projects that bring harm or abuse to animals, and 80.8% of tourists are even willing to pay higher prices.

No matter from the current level of participation or the future willingness to participate, animal-friendly tourism has become a preferred form of tourism activities for young consumers. Tourism enterprises should seize this opportunity to transform and upgrade animal-related tourism products to meet market demand. Attach importance to wildlife protection, promote the upgrading of tourist attractions, treat wildlife well, and seek a more sustainable development mode.

After the epidemic, it is very important to reshape a more responsible and resilient tourism industry, and the relationship between tourism and wildlife needs to be changed. The World Society for the Protection of Animals will strengthen multi-party cooperation and call on more tourism enterprises to join in order to reduce the negative impact of tourism on global wildlife. The World Society for the Protection of Animals is willing to provide guidance for China tourism enterprises in this process.

Wildlife entertainment is based on the suffering of animals. Please choose the "wildlife-friendly" travel mode and be a responsible and civilized traveler.