EXPERIENCES 

Travel can be life changing. Those who have the privilege of exploring gain knowledge, empathy, and understanding for the many ways of living around the world. Travel also has the power to be just as beneficial for the communities, lands, and wildlife which it impacts – and it is on all of us to ensure that it is.

At The Travel Corporation, our mission is to MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®. One way we’re pursuing this mission is by empowering our guests, and travelers everywhere to open their minds to the ways they can live by this ethos.

PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, TRAVEL & TOURISM ACCOUNTED FOR 10.6% OF ALL JOBS

as well as 1 in 4 of all new jobs created across the world, and 10.4% of the global GDP, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.

$1.7 TRILLION USD

was the total amount of visitor spending globally in 2019 (source).

 

HOW WE CAN ALL TRAVEL RESPONSIBLY

YOUR GOAL: MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®

BEFORE YOUR TRAVELS

USE OUR CHECKLIST

Download our checklist here, which is designed to help you make conscious choices on every step of your journey!

CHOOSE WISELY

Do some research: Does the travel provider have a sustainability strategy in place? An Animal Welfare Policy? Choose a company whose values align with your own.

♦ Travel with an operator with a clear commitment to sustainability:  Do they have measurable goals to address their overall impact? 

Do your research

Get to know local customs and traditions before you go, so that you can immerse yourself in a respectful manner:

Dress appropriately

♦ Learn a bit of the local language

♦ Adhere to cultural etiquette & expectations

Find more helpful tips here.

BE PREPARED

Think ahead to reduce your footprint.

♦ Pack reusables: water bottle, coffee cup, cutlery

Bring your own toiletries in reusable bottles

Visit our Waste page for more ideas

 

DURING YOUR TRAVELS

Tread right – and treat all places as you would your own backyard.

LIVE LIKE A LOCAL

Immerse yourself in local culture. Walking or taking public transport is a great way to experience a destination while reducing your footprint. Respect all local people and travelers you meet along the way.

SHOP & EAT LOCAL

Support local economies and customs, and get the most authentic experience while you’re at it. For souvenirs, local and handmade is the way to go, and always pay a fair price.

CHOOSE ETHICAL

When it comes to wildlife, choose experiences that are free of animal cruelty. Learn about what makes a wildlife experience ethical, here.

SEEK SUSTAINABLE

Look for experiences, venues, and restaurants with sustainability initiatives and core values. Explore our MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences for experiences guarenteed to make a difference, like farm-to-table meals that support local agriculture.

Contiki farm-to-table

UPON RETURNING

 

SHARE YOUR LEARNINGS

Storytelling is an important part of sharing wisdom. Share your new knowledge and experiences with friends and family.

CHAMPION A CAUSE

Volunteer or donate to an organization that you learned about during your travels.

APPLY YOUR LEARNINGS AT HOME

You can apply all the responsible travel principles you took with you, at home. For example, take a trip to your local farmer’s market and support local growers, just like a farm-to-table travel experience does, or seek out local businesses and artisans near you.

Giuditta Brozzetti

OUR GOAL:

#7: INCLUDE AT LEAST 1 MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® EXPERIENCE ON 50% OF TTC ITINERARIES BY 2025

MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® EXPERIENCES

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WHAT THEY ARE

♦ MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences are conscious travel experiences available across all TTC brands, chosen with great care based on the positive social or environmental impact they have on their communities and on those who experience them.

♦ We’ve qualified more than 400 experiences across our brands.

♦ Travelers can identify these experiences across our brands by locating the MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences seal. 

MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences

HOW THEY'RE CHOSEN

Using a proprietary assessment tool endorsed by industry experts and developed exclusively for TTC’s family of brands, MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences are assessed against a robust set of criteria directly tied to the United Nations Global Goals.

♦ This set of criteria, selected from the Global Indicator Framework for the Global Goals, identifies the ways these experiences advance the 11 UN Global Goals that TTC’s 5-year sustainability strategy, How We Tread Right (HWTR) prioritizes.

These criteria also account for the educational component that is vital in helping travelers become aware of their global citizenship.

WHAT GUESTS CAN EXPECT

♦ MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences seek to encourage the greatest community benefit from travel and tourism, while educating guests across our brands about the Global Goals and the local community actions being taken to advance them.

 As a traveler you can be assured that your experience is having a positive impact by partaking in one of these experiences.

THE UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL GOALS

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WHAT THEY ARE

 The 17 United Nations Global Goals, or Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are a call to action for governments, businesses and society to address today’s most pressing sustainable development issues.

♦ While recognizing the interconnectedness and importance of achieving all the Global Goals, The Travel Corporation has prioritized 11 Global Goals on which we can drive the most impact through our 5-year sustainability strategy How We Tread Right.

ENDORSEMENTS & RECOGNITION

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ENDORSEMENTS FROM INDUSTRY EXPERTS
MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences have been endorsed by leading travel industry and sustainable development experts. Read endorsements from the World Travel & Tourism Council, the United Nations World Tourism Organization, The Future of Tourism Coalition, The Travel Foundation, and more, available here.
FAST COMPANY
♦ Fast Company has recognized MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences as an honoree in the Corporate Social Responsibility category of its 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards.

♦ Fast Company is the world’s leading business media brand and its annual award recognizes groundbreaking ideas by organizations deeply committed to pursuing innovation for the good of society and the planet.⠀⠀

HARVARD CASE STUDY
♦ The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in partnership with the World Travel & Tourism Council has published a Sustainability in Leadership Case Study on The Travel Corporation, assessing how TTC is using the UN Sustainable Development Goals to drive both our 5-year sustainability strategy How We Tread Right and our MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences. Read it now.

SOME WAYS OUR EXPERIENCES SUPPORT COMMUNITIES

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SUPPORTING LOCAL FOOD

♦ On Insight Vacations’ ‘Focus on Ireland’ trip, guests will enjoy a farm-to-table experience at the 19th Green Guest House. They will learn from owners John and Freda about the ‘farm-to-fork’ ethos and about the health and sustainability benefits that come from eating fresh compared to processed foods. The experience directly advances UN Global Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production through its educational component, highlighting the importance of the circular economy and locally sourced food.

On Contiki’s ‘Best Of USA’ trip guests will visit Green Bronx Machine, a non-profit based in New York helping to grow healthy students and communities in marginalized areas through its indoor community gardening program. This experience directly advances UN Global Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities through its education on sustainable food practices.

PRESERVING CULTURES

♦ On Uniworld River Cruises’ ‘Splendors of Egypt & the Nile Jordan Extension’ river cruise, guests will visit the Iraq Al-Amir Women’s Cooperative, managed and run by local women. This former TreadRight project provides employment and training to more than 150 women from nearby villages, while preserving local arts and culture. The experience directly advances UN Global Goals 4 & 5: Quality Education & Gender Equality by empowering local women and girls.

♦ Pudakul is a 100% Aboriginal owned and operated family business which offers cultural and nature-based experiences. On AAT Kings’ ‘Northern Territory Explorer’ trip, guests engage with the Aboriginal community, and learn about the local environment and wildlife. This experience directly advances UN Global Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities by actively recruiting people from underrepresented populations and educating guests on Aboriginal culture.

CONSERVING WILDLIFE

♦ On Trafalgar’s ‘Wonders of Kenya’ trip, guests learn firsthand from the rangers at Ol Pejeta Conservancy about its endangered wildlife and ecosystem conservation efforts. Ol Pejeta is home to 2 of the world’s last remaining northern white rhinos and is a sanctuary for over 110 critically endangered black rhinos. This experience directly advances UN Global Goal 15: Life on Land through its significant contribution to anti-poaching initiatives.

♦ On African Travel, Inc.’s ‘Deserts and Dunes of Namibia’ trip, guests participate in an interactive project with the Hoanib Valley Camp Giraffe Conservation Foundation, which is focused on the conservation and management of giraffes in the wild throughout Africa. During this experience, guests can help monitor the desert-giraffe population and maybe even help save the giraffes further afield by creating awareness back home. This experience directly advances UN Global Goal 15: Life on Land by educating guests on improving, protecting, or conserving wildlife and natural habitats.

♦ On Lion World Travel’s ‘Tented Safari in Style’ trip, guests will visit the Shamwari Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, which is dedicated to caring for sick, injured or orphaned animals, and in doing so are able to learn about the plight faced by at-risk wild in the region, and the organization’s conservation and anti-poaching efforts. Through its work to protect and conserve wildlife and their habitat, this experience directly advances UN Global Goal 15: Life on Land.

PROTECTING NATURAL RESOURCES

♦ On Brendan Vacations’ ‘Northern Dream’ trip, guests can stand on the shoulders of the past and sink into stories from a guide who channels the spirit of the seanchaí on this walking tour of the majestic Giant’s Causeway. With a backdrop of craggy castles and jutting landscapes, the Giant’s Causeway is nature at its wildest. This experience directly advances UN Global Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities through its educational and preservation efforts to protect natural and built heritage sites.

♦ On Evan Evans’ ‘Windsor Castle, Stonehenge & Bath’ trip, guests will visit and learn about this prehistoric monument. The site’s Visitor Centre is not connected to a main water supply. Instead, water is drawn from a borehole. The centre employs a number of methods to preserve this precious natural resource and thereby directly advances UN Global Goal 6: Clean Water & Sanitation.

♦ Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve & Wellness Retreat, part of the Red Carnation Hotels Collection, is the custodian of over 130 unique rock art sites, some as old as 10,000 years. Guests can view the sites on the reserve and learn about how Bushmans Kloof has been dedicated to protecting these extraordinary treasures. This experience directly advances UN Global Goal 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities, by protecting natural and built heritage.

OUR PROGRESS

Our annual Impact Report details progress made by The Travel Corporation’s family of brands against the 11 goals of our 5-year sustainability strategy How We Tread Right, launched in September, 2020. Learn more >