Wildlife Index 2019

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Our annual Global Wildlife Travel Index is back for 2019.

In 2018 we analysed the best travel destinations for wildlife travel and now we are proud to release our new and improved 2019 report, adapted to include even more information to find the best wildlife travel destinations for 2019.

In line with society’s increasingly eco-conscious nature, we have adapted our Index for 2019 to place a greater focus on sustainable wildlife travel options, examining factors including environmental prosperity, environmental sustainability and conservation efforts.

Ranking in the number one spot on our Global Wildlife Travel Index 2019 is Finland, thanks to its high levels of environmental sustainability and prosperity.

In addition, it was interesting to see that over 70% of the country is designated as forest area, and the country is home to a grand total of 39 national parks covering 9,892 square kilometres. These include Bothnian Bay in Lapland – the former sacrificial site of Koli National Park – which is designed to preserve the traditional agricultural heritage of Koli, as well as Torronsuo National Park, which has been a designated protected area for decades and is valuable for its birdlife and butterfly species.

The full top 10 countries are as below:

Finland
Sweden
Brazil
Canada
USA
Norway
Spain
Germany
Poland
Slovenia

Sweden came in second after also placing a high importance on megafauna conservation and environmental sustainability, as well as dedicating an impressive 68.9% of its land area to maintaining natural forests. Canada, meanwhile, is the number one destination to visit if you want to see an incredibly diverse range of animal species, being home to over 6,000 different types of wildlife – this is almost three times more than its neighbouring USA, which ranked second for this category.

Here at True Travel, we were thrilled to see a number of our destinations score highly across the different categories, as well as our recently launched destination of Finland in first place overall.

Many of our African destinations also ranked high across the individual categories, such as within the megafauna conservation section, which takes into account a country’s ability to protect its big animals. It was fantastic to see that four of the top five countries in this category were African countries; Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe were all ranked for the initiatives and conservation efforts in place to protect the majestic animals that roam the land here. A large number of the world’s biggest animals – such as gorillas, elephants, tigers, lions, and more – all face a considerable risk of extinction, and we know that the African community are committed to placing conservation as a top priority.

The results by continent are as below:

Best Country for Wildlife in Africa: Namibia

Best Country for Wildlife in Asia: Japan

Best Country for Wildlife in Europe: Finland

Best Country for Wildlife in North America: Canada

Best Country for Wildlife in South America: Brazil

Best Country for Wildlife in Oceania: Australia

The Global Wildlife Travel Index 2019 did throw up a few surprises, namely being that a number of European destinations ranked within the top ten. In fact, more than half of the top ten was comprised of countries from the European continent: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Spain, Germany, and Slovenia.

This may come as a surprise as European countries are not typically one of the most associated destinations for wildlife holidays, though with our newly launched European Collection we are well aware of all of the fascinating wildlife adventures awaiting in these majestic destinations.

Norway ranked high for megafauna conservation, gaining a score of 93.82 out of 100, while Spain and Germany both contain a high number of national parks, and have dedicated on average 30% of their land to be a protected natural area.

You can view the full Global Wildlife Travel Index 2019 report here.