With recent media coverage, a compelling exposé, and the mobilization of our supporter base, we are continuing to pressure GetYourGuide to stop selling animal cruelty.
Since launching our campaign this year on GetYourGuide, the Berlin-based travel company that sells tickets to SeaWorld and other abusive animal attractions, our team is consistently launching tactics to pressure the company to adopt a meaningful animal welfare policy and stop it from profiting from animal cruelty. Until GetYourGuide agrees that cruel wildlife entertainment doesn’t belong in tourism, our campaign won’t end.
What has our campaign looked like so far? See a month-by-month breakdown below.
March
Our campaign launched right before GetYourGuide ran national TV ads during the Academy Awards. We sent an email to all our supporters urging them to contact the company’s leadership team. We also published an awards-themed Instagram post highlighting our campaign. Over 7,800 emails were sent, and over 100 supporters tagged GetYourGuide on Instagram urging it to stop selling animal cruelty.
April
We continued our social media actions and mobilized advocates to comment on GetYourGuide’s Instagram. All comments were deleted by its social media team, so we knew we had their attention. Advocates who didn’t have Instagram were given the option of an email action. Over 680 emails were sent to the company’s brand, marketing, and social media teams.
May
In conjunction with PETA Germany and Welttierschutzgesellschaft, we launched a static billboard and held a demonstration outside GetYourGuide’s HQ during its “Summer Summit” staff retreat in Berlin, Germany. GetYourGuide responded to a German media outlet claiming our campaign is “unjustified” although our research says otherwise.
June
World Animal Protection global Ambassadors and influencers, including Nicole Williams English and Taylor Hasselhoff, posted on their Instagrams urging GetYourGuide to stop selling animal cruelty. Global non-profit organization Ocean Preservation Society also posted in support of our campaign.
July
Our exposé, Making Memories Misery: How GetYourGuide Profits From Animal Cruelty, launched, detailing some of the worst animal venues that GetYourGuide sells to. This includes:
- Amer Fort (Jaipur, India): A popular tourist destination in Rajasthan where 81 elephants carry tourists up a crippling climb in extreme temperatures
- Cayman Turtle Centre (West Bay, Cayman Islands): The only large-scale turtle farm in the world, Cayman Turtle Centre (CTF) confines thousands of endangered green sea turtles to kill them for their meat and use them in tourist encounters.
We received coverage in leading travel news website TravelPulse, and in the article, GetYourGuide lied to the journalist. When contacted for comment, GetYourGuide referred TravelPulse to a webpage for its suppliers on responsible tourism guidelines which prohibits “activities involving captive wild animals.” The company’s spokesperson claimed GetYourGuide removes activities that do not align with its policies from its platform, but our exposé clearly proves that’s false.
Following this, we mobilized advocates to comment on GetYourGuide’s LinkedIn to call out the company for its lies. Over 100 supporters commented within 12 hours, but the next day GetYourGuide deleted and turned off commenting for the post
What’s Next
Our campaign has just begun! Stay tuned for more actions, and follow us on social media for updates. Want to help now? Leave a comment on GetYourGuide’s Instagram or LinkedIn (the company cares a lot about its image!) and urge it to do the right thing and drop cruel animal experiences from its website.
Sample comment: GetYourGuide! If your policy says you won’t sell animal cruelty, follow it! I won’t book any experiences on your site until you stop lying to the public.