STA Travel Stops Promoting SeaWorld and Other Cruel Attractions

The world’s largest student travel company, STA Travel, has made the adventure even better by pulling promotions for three cruel attractions: SeaWorld, elephant rides and Thailand’s notorious Tiger Temple!

After meeting with PETA and learning how SeaWorld confines intelligent orcas to small tanks and forces them to perform meaningless tricks, STA Travel immediately vowed to sever all ties with the unethical business.

This compassionate move will make an impact around the world. STA Travel employs nearly 2,000 people in more than 200 branches across 12 countries. It’s also setting a higher standard for responsible tourism – we’re confident that other businesses will soon follow suit.

At SeaWorld’s theme parks in the US, whales are deprived of everything natural and important to them. Whether they were kidnapped from the wild or born into a life of captivity with no hope of freedom, these magnificent and complex animals are locked up in barren enclosures and separated from their families. They swim round and round in endless circles, day after day – whereas in the wild, they have the whole ocean to roam in and will swim up to 100 miles a day. The oldest orca recorded in the wild is 103-year-old Granny. In contrast, many of SeaWorld’s orcas die before they reach their 20s.

The announcement is part of STA Travel’s plan to reassess the animal-related tours that it offers in order to ensure that its young, adventurous customers can have fun, safe in the knowledge that their holidays won’t have a negative impact on animals.

Help us persuade other travel companies to do the right thing – if you see a business promoting SeaWorld marine parks, please contact its customer service team to explain how disappointed you are and urge it to follow STA Travel’s excellent example.