EF Responsible Travel

Our commitments for lasting change

At EF Education First, we believe that travel should help make the world better. Travel is a powerful way to foster understanding of and respect for the people, cultures, and places of the world. Ultimately, travel can change the way we think, feel, and act, and therefore has the power to affect tremendous change throughout the globe. Our culturally immersive education programs help you learn new things about the world and about yourself, and travel is a critical part of that. With EF you’ll experience programs that strive to support local communities, promote animal welfare, and protect the environment. We believe this is how travel should be as it ultimately benefits all people and our shared future.

Our EF Responsible Travel commitments

When you explore the world with EF, know that we seek to benefit the world—now and for years to come. Our EF Responsible Travel initiatives focus on three specific commitments. Each commitment helps us work towards a more sustainable world and helps fulfill our mission of opening the world through education.

Our commitment to local communities

EF is committed to providing economic, social, and environmental benefits to the communities that you visit with us. Your EF travel experience directly supports local businesses and livelihoods, and along the way, you’ll learn about the importance of local production and heritage. We seek to make a long-term impact, focusing on regenerative solutions that benefit communities long after you depart a destination. We collaborate with the communities in which we live, travel, and work to preserve local cultures and encourage sustainability.

Our commitment to animal welfare

EF is committed to respecting and promoting animal welfare as we help you explore the world because experiencing a destination should not involve harming the animals that call it home. We provide you with insights into the importance of animal welfare, including identifying and avoiding inhumane tourist attractions, learning about local wildlife conservation efforts, and understanding the impacts of poaching and illegal wildlife products. We are proud to collaborate with the non-profit organization World Animal Protection to implement animal welfare best practices throughout all our programs worldwide.

Our commitment to the environment

EF is committed to improving the sustainability of our travel programs by embracing eco-friendly practices, supporting local conservation efforts, reducing and recycling waste, and minimizing our carbon footprint. Your travel experience with us will include information and insights to help you understand how your actions as a traveler can make a difference.

Join us in this movement for good

Like you, we travel because we love meeting the world’s people, exploring the world’s history, and experiencing the world’s cultures. Working towards a better and more sustainable future for the destinations we visit is the only way to ensure that travel will be available to all for years to come. We hope you will join us on this journey as part of a global community committed to creating world-changing impact through travel.