Serengeti Balloon Safaris Among First Hot Air Balloon Operators Worldwide to Achieve Travelife Certification
Serengeti Balloon Safaris, the pioneering hot air balloon operator flying guests over Tanzania's Serengeti National Park since 1989, is among the first hot air balloon operators worldwide, and the first in Tanzania, to achieve Travelife Certified status.
Travelife for Tour Operators is the leading global sustainability standard for tour operators and travel agents. Achieving Certified status, the highest of Travelife's three tiers, requires independent, on-site auditing against more than 200 criteria covering environmental management, community impact, labour practices, and client communication.
Serengeti Balloon Safaris was coached through the certification process by Samantha Smits, founder of Smits SusTour Consultancy and a Travelife Africa Coach, one of the coaches partnered with Travelife for Tour Operators to guide member companies toward sustainability certification.
Samantha: "Coaching Serengeti Balloon Safaris to this milestone is a proud moment, and what matters most is what it proves: sustainability can be built into even the most specialised, adventure-driven corners of tourism, including activity providers. Ballooning hasn't had a sustainability benchmark like this before. Now it does! I applaud their perseverance and hope they inspire many others to follow."
The achievement is particularly notable given the operational complexity of aerial tourism, where sustainability considerations span fuel use, wildlife disturbance, safety systems, and community relationships with conservation authorities, alongside the standard criteria applied to ground-based tour operators. Serengeti Balloon Safaris' partnership with Carbon Tanzania, offsetting the company's full Scope 1 to 3 emissions and funding the Ntakata Mountains REDD+ project, was particularly helpful in building this record.
Serengeti Balloon Safaris has carried more than 300,000 passengers over the Serengeti since its first commercial flight in 1989, and has been recognised with the World Travel Awards' World's Leading Balloon Ride Operator title in both 2024 and 2025.
