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About Altezza On February 5, 2025, Altezza Travel achieved Travelife Certification, one of the highest levels of sustainability certification currently available for travel companies globally.
Only five of the hundreds of tour operators in Tanzania have earned this distinction. We hope our example will encourage others to pursue certification. One of our partners, Serengeti Balloon Safaris, is already among the Travelife members.
If you are planning an adventure anywhere in the world, be sure to check the list of accredited companies on the Travelife website and consider them when selecting your travel operator.
What is Travelife certification?
Travelife certification is a prestigious recognition of commitment to social and environmental sustainability. To achieve this, a company must comply with more than 160 criteria encompassing sustainability management, office operations, supplier interactions, and customer communication.
The certification is structured as a three-stage program for tour operators and travel agents, which includes: , , and .
We have proudly reached Stage 3 – Travelife Certified. Additionally, Altezza holds membership in the United Nations Travel Organization which further highlights our commitment to global sustainability standards.e
Why Travelife Certification matters
“Sustainability” and “social responsibility” have become buzzwords that travel companies use to claim they care about the environment and the community. However, verifying the authenticity of these claims can be challenging. Photos and videos alone are not reliable evidence. For instance, a tour operator might make a one-time donation to a school, take photos, and then continuously use those images to portray an ongoing campaign.
This is where Travelife Certification becomes essential. It ensures that the commitments a company makes on its website and social media are genuine. More importantly, it verifies that a tour operator adheres to specific standards in employee welfare, community development, and conservation. This certification is only awarded after a Travelife Inspector has visited the company and verified everything in person.
The Travelife certification process is rigorous
In the first stage, we answered over 160 questions covering how we conduct business, treat our employees, and protect the environment, spanning ten categories in total. For each question, we provided photos and documents to substantiate our answers. An auditor based in Amsterdam reviewed our application and then designated another auditor to conduct an on-site inspection at our offices. The goal of this second auditor was to confirm the accuracy of our declared practices.
As a large business under Travelife standards, our inspection spanned two days. The auditor meticulously reviewed our documentation and visited our offices, stores, garage, and climbing base. He also conducted interviews with randomly selected employees, ensuring transparency by excluding our sustainability coordinator from these discussions.
After completing the inspection, the auditor compiled a report and sent it to Amsterdam, where the Travelife team evaluated it and confirmed our compliance with the key requirements.
Areas for improvement from the Travelife audit
Despite achieving a high score across the assessment criteria, the audit highlighted areas where we can improve:
Fixed budgets for our sustainability projects. At the moment, we follow a flexible budgeting approach, allocating funds as needed for each project. By June 30, 2025, we commit to establishing fixed budgets for all ongoing and future sustainability projects.
Reporting all projects on our website. Previously, we have not always reported on our projects due to time constraints. By December 31, 2025, we will publish a comprehensive sustainability report covering everything we’ve done before 2025, with plans to continue these reports annually.
Local carbon offset. In 2024, we offset our carbon emissions through an overseas supplier, which was advised by the UN Global Climate Project, of which we are a member. Moving forward, we will partner with Carbon Tanzania, a local provider.
Water consumption tracking: At the time of our application, we were not tracking our water consumption. However, we have started monitoring it and will include detailed data in our next report due by December 31, 2025.
What we did to earn Travelife Certification
Becoming Travelife Certified involves three key commitments: being a good employer, supporting the community, and protecting the environment. Here are some of the ways we uphold these commitments:
Fair employment practices
At Altezza Travel, we officially employ over 260 full-time employees, all of whom have formal job contracts. This practice allows us to contribute to national social security and other benefits for everyone, including those on probation and trainees, ensuring no informal, under-the-table payments.
As a result, all our employees enjoy access to healthcare at no cost through the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), receive compensation for work-related incidents via the Work Compensation Fund (WCF), and can apply for loans from Tanzanian banks. They also have pension accounts with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). Additionally, should they lose their job for any reason, they receive compensation from NSSF along with a severance package from us.
These practices are standard in the EU and North America but are quite progressive for Tanzania. According to a Statista report, over 50% of the urban workforce in Tanzania is employed in the informal economy, lacking such benefits and protections.
Of 260 employees at Altezza, 169 are women. That’s a very high percentage for a traditionally patriarchal Tanzania society.
According to a report by UN Women, women in managerial positions in Tanzania typically earn about 20% less than their male counterparts. However, at Altezza, we ensure that women and men in similar positions receive equal pay. Our salaries are determined by the role and the length of service with the company, ensuring fairness and transparency in our compensation practices.
Responsible treatment of porters & KPAP member
Altezza Travel is committed to the welfare of over 3000 porters in our mountain team, monitored through our membership in the Kilimanjaro Porter Assistance Project (KPAP). This organization is the only independent body that oversees the treatment of porters by Kilimanjaro operators.
Here’s how we ensure their well-being:
- We pay our porters above the industry average.
- We equip our porters with reliable gear and provide three hot meals a day.
- We maintain safe working conditions.
- Any sick porter receives a full salary, comprehensive medical care, and, if necessary, helicopter evacuation.
- KPAP auditors independently verify our adherence to these and other standards.
To learn more about KPAP's role in Tanzania, read our report on the KPAP mission or watch the video below.
Altezza's minimum wage is 2.5 times higher than the industry standard
In Tanzania, the tourism industry's minimum wage is only $60 per month, and farm workers earn between $40 and $80. Despite the lower cost of living in rural areas, we still don’t find such low pay acceptable. At Altezza Travel, we've set our minimum wage for unskilled manual labor, which doesn't require English proficiency or training, at $160. This amount ensures that a family can live comfortably. According to the 2024 report of the National Bureau of Statistics, less than 40% of the private sector workforce, including qualified trained professionals living in urban areas, earn that much.
Our wages for office-based staff and guides are comparable to those in Eastern European countries. The average salary for these positions is between $700 and $1300, with the highest reaching about $2000. Remarkably, in 2024, less than 15% of all Tanzanian private sector employees earned more than $280. We are proud to be one of the highest-paying employers in the country, ensuring that our team members are compensated well and can maintain a decent standard of living.
Supporting families of deceased employees
Altezza Travel, established in 2014, has grown into a mature and large company. Over the past ten years, we have unfortunately lost some employees due to old age, COVID-19, and tragic accidents. We continue to support the families of our deceased employees by paying for their children's education and covering all related costs until graduation.
Our commitment to conservation
We are deeply concerned by the rapid decline of wildlife populations worldwide. Data from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) highlights this alarming trend: elephant populations in Africa plummeted from over 1.7 million in 1970 to 415,000 by 2016. Today, they are even fewer.
Similarly, the numbers of other large mammals like black rhinos have dwindled from over 100,000 in 1960 to less than 4,000 today, with lion and giraffe populations decreasing by 50% and 30%, respectively.
We hope that our children and grandchildren can enjoy safaris just as we have. Over the past decade, the Tanzanian government has made significant progress in restoring wildlife populations, and we have committed to supporting their efforts.
Below are some of the projects that we have funded:
Donating fire safety containers for Kilimanjaro National Park
In 2020 and 2022, massive bushfires engulfed Mt. Kilimanjaro. Altezza Travel took part in the firefighting efforts, equipping and dispatching hundreds of guides and porters to support the park rangers. Our team was the largest rescue force after the Mt. Kilimanjaro rangers, but it took us more than 12 hours to mobilize. From this experience, we learned a valuable lesson: fires are best contained at their earliest stages before they grow out of control.
To address this, in 2024, our company installed large firefighting containers at each entry gate of Mt. Kilimanjaro National Park. Each container is fully stocked with essential equipment to extinguish fires as soon as they start. As a result, now it takes less than 5 hours for 600 people to be ready if a fire starts.
Read more:
- Kilimanjaro Bushfires 2022 Report
- Altezza Travel donated firefighting equipment to Kilimanjaro National Park
Supporting rhino conservation at Mkomazi Sanctuary
A young rhino in the Mkomazi Sanctuary was named Altezza after our company in recognition of our support. We contributed a donation to the conservation team to help fund the rhino’s care and protection.
Read more in our review of the Rhino sanctuary in Mkomazi National Park.
Helping elephants, lions, and leopards in rehabilitation centers
Wild animals that, for various reasons, cannot survive in the wild are cared for at the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) rehabilitation center. We have stepped in to cover the costs of nutrition and veterinary care for two young elephants, two lions, and one leopard.
Tarangire African Wild Dog collaring
We made a donation to the Tanzania National Parks Authority to procure GPS collars for tracking the annual migration patterns of endangered African Wild Dogs. Additionally, our company provided fuel for the ranger teams involved in the project.
Amani Forest birdlife restoration project
Our company provided a $13,000 grant to support the birdlife restoration project in the Amani Forest, led by Nature Tanzania. This grant covered essential research costs.
We also formed a partnership with local farmers: we purchase black pepper for our restaurants from them, and in return, they refrain from cutting down trees to cultivate cardamom — a more profitable but environmentally damaging crop.
Learn more:
- A report on our Long-billed Tailbird conservation project with Nature Tanzania
Supporting the Meserani Snake Park clinic
Meserani Snake Park Clinic is the only facility in northern Tanzania that provides antivenom for snake bites. The center offers emergency treatment free of charge to both locals and tourists. We provided a €6,500 grant to help purchase a year’s supply of antivenom and medical equipment.
Supporting Serengeti De-snaring Project
For every safari trip we organize, a portion of the proceeds is donated to the Serengeti de-snaring project, an initiative of the Frankfurt Zoological Society. Since 2017, this program has removed over 50,000 snares from the park. Our contributions help fund fuel and salaries for their mobile response teams.
Additional conservation contributions
Our founders, Alex and Dmitry, personally donate to the following conservation and citizen science initiatives:
- eBird – A global platform that allows birdwatchers to record and share bird observations, contributing to biodiversity research and conservation.
- xeno-canto – A community-driven database that collects and shares bird sound recordings from around the world to support research and identification.
- iNaturalist – A social network and citizen science platform that allows users to record and share observations of plants and animals, aiding global biodiversity research.
These are just some of the initiatives we support. To learn more about our ongoing projects and impact, visit Altezza Travel’s sustainability projects page on our blog.
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