In September of 2020, The Travel Corporation (TTC) launched its 5-year How We Tread Right (HWTR) sustainability strategy. HWTR is how we follow our Pledge to MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®, with action. It is a huge step forward for TTC and our brands and speaks to the direction and momentum of our industry at large.
As excited as we were to launch and put into action the strategy as a whole, there’s one component we were particularly proud to introduce. Our MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences are a first for the travel industry.
So much more than feel-good experiences, MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences are travel experiences that can be found across our TTC itineraries. They are developed and chosen for the mutual benefit they hold for the communities we explore as well as the traveller. These experiences are selected with great care, based on a robust and transparent set of qualifying criteria which ensures that they directly advance the United Nations Global Goals. One of our 11 HWTR Goals (Goal 7) is to include at least 1 MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience on 50% of all TTC itineraries by 2025, which will equate to more than 750 itineraries worldwide.
HOW MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® EXPERIENCES ARE CHOSEN
MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences are identified by our brand operations team, using a proprietary e-assessment tool. The assessment analyses experiences against a set of publicly available criteria and allows us to identify if the experience directly advances the UN Global Goals, and if so, which Goal in particular.
MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences and our qualifying criteria have been endorsed by leading travel industry and sustainable development experts. Developing and creating such a tool to qualify the elements of sustainability in travel, is a first for our industry.
WHAT GUESTS CAN EXPECT
As a traveler participating in one of TTC’s MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences, you can be confident that your trip will benefit the people & places you visit, but also that you will learn something along the way that will have a lasting impact. These experiences seek to encourage the greatest community benefit from travel and tourism, while also educating guests across our brands about the Global Goals and the local community actions being taken to advance them.
EXAMPLES OF MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® EXPERIENCES
Contiki’s Berlin Refugee Voices Walking Tour is a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience found on its ‘Berlin to Budapest by Train’ itinerary. Refugee Voices is a social enterprise made of a team of activists turned guides who organize walking tours around Berlin to explain the human story behind the headlines of the refugee crisis, and the root causes behind why so many are forced to flee their homes. This experience advances UN Global Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities, by employing those from underrepresented populations.
Insight Vacations’ Trattoria Terra Madre dining experience in Alberobello, Italy is a farm-to-table MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience advancing UN Global Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. Owner Alessandra and his nonna have a built a restaurant that focuses on sustainability and creating local jobs. All the ingredients are grown organically and harvested on site, and excess produce is donated to the community. Travellers who experience it on the Grand Italy & Sicily or Country Roads of Italy trips get to connect with where their food comes from and experience the importance of supporting local farmers.
Trafalgar’s Ol Peteja Conservancy Visit in Kenya, is a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience found on its ‘Wonders of Kenya’ trip. Guests learn firsthand from the rangers at Ol Peteja Conservancy about its endangered wildlife and ecosystem conservation efforts. Ol Peteja is home to 2 of the world’s last remaining northern white rhinos and is a sanctuary for over 110 critically endangered black rhinos. It’s also where our Wildlife Ambassador Ami Vitale captured the historic photo of Sudan, the last living northern male white rhino, in his heartbreaking final moments. This experience directly advances UN Global Gaol 15: Life on Land through its significant contribution to anti-poaching initiatives.
AAT Kings’ visit to Tamaki Maori Village in Rotorua, New Zealand is a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience found on multiple New Zealand itineraries that honors the culture and traditions of Maori, the Indigenous people of New Zealand. Guests will have the unique experience to hear about the history of the community members and share in their stories through song and dance including the Haka and the Poi dance. This cultural attraction is owned by Maori and they employ many local Maori as well. Through this experience, Maori keep their traditions and culture alive, contributing to UN Global Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities and safeguarding their traditional practices.
Adventure World’s EcoCamp Stay is a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience found on the ‘Torres Del Paine Trek’ trip in Chile. EcoCamp uses 95% renewable energy from wind and solar power and was designed with sustainability and efficiency in mind. While staying here, guests will learn about how the camp reduces its environmental footprint and is a trailblazer in eco-tourism, contributing to UN Global Goal 13: Climate Action.
Discover more MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences across TTC itineraries.