It's not always easy for visitors to be certain that they are supporting a responsible and high welfare elephant camp or sanctuary as there are many factors to consider including elephant welfare, employee conditions, visitor safety, and benefits to the local community. The "Klook Assessed" badges help to identify camps that are complying with certain criteria so you can be sure you are supporting a sanctuary that practices better welfare operations.

We felt that it was important for an experienced third party to help us design and conduct the assessment which is why we decided to work with Asian Captive Elephant Standards (ACES). ACES is an organisation that independently assesses and certifies captive elephant venues (such as camps and sanctuaries) against a strict set of criteria developed upon consultation of international specialists in elephant management, veterinary care and animal welfare. ACES worked with Klook to develop our own assessment of camps listed on the Klook website. We also use ACES' network of experienced auditors to conduct the assessments.

This voluntary process consists of a one-day onsite assessment completed by a qualified ACES auditor with extensive experience in elephant camp certification. The assessment covers 10 different categories touching on all important areas of camp management and welfare such as visitor experience, safety, elephant welfare and camp management. After the assessment, camps receive a score and a performance dashboard outlining any areas of improvement. They must achieve a minimum 70% score to receive the "Klook Assessed" badge on their listing. Assessments are valid for one year.

The "Klook Assessed" badge can be awarded in 2 ways: 1) Successfully passing Klook's onsite assessment 2) By showing proof of an ACES elephant camp certification. Please reach out to your Klook account manager or email sustainability@klook.com if you would like to arrange your assessment or for more information.

While we encourage all elephant experiences listed on Klook to undergo our assessment, we are still in the process of rolling this initiative out across existing listings. We are also first focusing on Thailand so you will not find activities in other countries with the "Klook Assessed" badge unless unless they have taken additional steps to certify their elephant activities. To be certain that you are supporting a high welfare elephant experience, be sure to choose one displaying the "Klook Assessed" badge. In future, you might notice that camps that did not received an assessment pass have been removed from the Klook website.