The travel experts who are making sustainability a speciality
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
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Two big questions – “where” and “when” – have long dominated the way we think about our holidays. But increasingly, a third question – “how should I do it?” – has entered the conversation, as conscientious travellers search for getaways which look after the planet just as much as they fill their precious time away with excitement and interest.
Making travel a force for good
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Trafalgar has been a travel specialist for more than 75 years, and it offers more than 300 tours to countries on six continents, ranging from journeys through Europe, Australia and Asia to safaris in Africa and odysseys to the foot of Latin America.
It does so with sustainability at the core of its business. Trafalgar is part of the TTC (The Travel Corporation) family of travel brands. As with other companies in the group (such as Uniworld and Insight Vacations), its mission is to make travel a force for good through its 11 measurable sustainability goals aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Their sustainability strategy – How We Tread Right – and philanthropic arm, the TreadRight Foundation, work hand in hand to ensure a positive impact on people, the planet and wildlife as well as investing in nature-based solutions to secure the future of travel for generations to come.
What does all this mean for your holiday? It means immersive, educational trips which place the health of a destination front and centre – while offering incredible travel experiences.
Most Trafalgar tours include MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences – environmentally conscious events on itineraries that advance the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in striving to achieve social, economic and environmental benefit.
Guests learn about sustainable development issues and the local community actions being taken to address them, as well as the positive impact their presence is making.
Experience Switzerland with an eye on sustainability
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Trafalgar’s commitment to sustainability even extends to their partnerships. Earlier this year, Trafalgar announced a collaboration with Switzerland Tourism – to produce the first ever “Swisstainable” tour.
This eight-day Contrasts of Switzerland holiday cares for the natural resources of this Alpine destination, and supports Trafalgar’s commitment to achieving net zero by 2050. Holidaymakers visit locations such as St Moritz, Zermatt and Lucerne but do so via greener transport options, such as the Glacier Express and the Golden Pass line.
Also included is a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience where holidaymakers spend time learning about the Apidae project – a local organisation raising awareness about the importance of protecting our native bee populations. Guests enjoy a talk on bees and their key role in preserving biodiversity, while getting a closer look at the types of hives Apidae have set up across the rooftops of Geneva to assist repopulation.
Once again, the ethos is to align to and advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals – in this case, Goal 15, Life on Land – combining unique travel experiences with fascinating insights into local communities and projects, while promoting ecological awareness in the process.
Geothermal wonders in Iceland
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This sustainable focus extends beyond Switzerland. Travellers who join one of Trafalgar’s six-day tours of Iceland can visit the Hellisheidi Power Plant – Iceland’s newest sustainable power station, producing electricity from natural geothermal heat sources deep in the ground of this volcanic country, a project that advances the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy.
Renewable power sources make up 70 per cent of consumption in Iceland – higher than any other country in the world – one of many facts that will be explained during this MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience.
Guests will experience for themselves the heat from some of the earth’s natural wonders, while travelling across Reykjanes Peninsula, a UNESCO Global Geopark. As well as witnessing the Great Geysir spurting high into the air before them, guests will find themselves in one of the only places in the world where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is visible above sea level.
See the best of green Scotland
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Sustainability and decarbonisation also come into focus on British soil. Trafalgar’s Best of Scotland tour takes seven days to go from Edinburgh to Glasgow – but ventures far beyond the city. The route heads up to St Andrews, across to the Hebrides and the Isle of Skye – and out into the grand scenery of the Highlands.
Here, near Inverness, it checks in with the Trees For Life "Wild Pine project" – an environmental restoration project also supported by the TreadRight Foundation, just eight miles from Loch Ness.
The project's objective is to repair and rewild a vast area of land damaged by centuries of sheep- and goat-grazing, helping Scotland’s ancient Caledonian Forest to regenerate. This reborn treeline will provide a habitat for more than 4,000 species of plants and animals, allowing lynx to roam in the shadows, and golden eagles and black grouse to make nests.
It seems fitting then that guests on Best of Scotland can enjoy a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience at Trees For Life’s Dundreggan Rewilding Centre and help advance UN Sustainable Development Goal 15 – Life on Land. Guests explore Dundreggan’s ancient pinewood and juniper forests on a guided walk while discovering centuries of Gaelic history and connecting with a landscape undergoing transformation through rewilding.
Trafalgar offers travellers the opportunity to see the world differently while also ensuring their travels have a positive impact. To find out more about Trafalgar’s sustainable holidays, visit trafalgar.com