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72 countries. 7 continents
Join Trafalgar and make a difference
Our responsible travel story
Over a decade of positive impact
Like you, we are travellers. It’s in our blood, who we are and what we do. In 2008, we asked a question: how do we make travel matter? We recognize our responsibility to ensure our impact on the planet we call home, the people we visit, and the wildlife we find there, is a positive one and we take steps to address our impact in two ways; through our sustainability strategy, How We Tread Right, and through our TreadRight Foundation.
All of our efforts to MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® focus on:
Planet - Sustainability and conservation: ensuring that we’re protecting our invaluable landscapes and natural resources.
People - Cultural preservation: ensuring that the true economic benefit of travel is felt by local communities.
Wildlife - Protection of our world’s wildlife: while advocating for the highest standard of ethical wildlife experiences.
Our 5 year strategy
How We Tread Right
Launched in 2020, How We Tread Right (HWTR) is our five-year sustainability strategy and blueprint for us and our sister brands under our parent company The Travel Corporation (TTC).
Our strategy is based on 11 measurable goals anchored to the United Nations’ Global Goals, which address the issues of climate change, sustainable food production, waste reduction, travel experiences, diversity and inclusion, and wildlife.
Choosing to travel with us means choosing a travel company that puts sustainability at the heart of everything we do. To learn more about progress we are making against these goals, view our 2021 Impact Report.
The HWTR Goals and our Trafalgar 2025 Commitment
Goal 1
Climate Action
Reach net zero emissions by 2050.
Read our Climate Action Plan.
Goal 2
Climate Change
Source 50% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2025.
Read our climate emergency declaration.
Goal 3
Sustainable Food Production
Reduce food waste by 50% across all hotels and ships by 2025.
Goal 4
Sustainable Food Production
Increase use of local and organic products in our supply chain by 2025.
Goal 5
Responsible Consumption
Reduce Printed brochures by 50% by 2025.
Goal 6
Responsible Consumption
Eliminate as many unnecessary single-use plastics from our operations and itineraries.
Goal 7
Overtourism
Have at least one MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience included or available as an optional experience on all land tours by 2023.
Goal 8
Overtourism
Achieve a 20% increase of itineraries visiting developing regions by specialist brands by 2025.
Goal 9
Our Culture
Increase employee and market sentiment regarding diversity and inclusion across our brands.
Goal 10
Our Culture
Complete 30,000 volunteer hours by 2025.
Goal 11
Animal Welfare
Ensure all wildlife experiences across TTC brands adhere to our Animal Welfare Policy.
Enriching lives on trip
MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences
MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences are conscious travel experiences available on our trips and are chosen with great care based on the positive social or environmental impact they have on their communities and those who experience them. Using a proprietary assessment tool, endorsed by industry experts and developed exclusively for Trafalgar and TTC’s family of brands, MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®
Experiences are assessed against a robust set of criteria directly tied to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
As a traveler you can be assured that by participating in one of these experiences your travel will have a positive impact and you will leave with a greater understanding of sustainable development issues worldwide, and the inspiring local community actions being taken to address them.
Currently you can enjoy 45 different sustainable travel experiences that meet the set United Nations Sustainable Development Goals criteria.
Endorsed by
Climate Action
Our road to net zero
Since the launch of our sustainability strategy, global action on the world’s response to climate change has continued to advance. We have matched that advancement through our decision to commit to net zero.
Our Climate Action Plan outlines how we will reach net zero GHG emissions across the value chain by 2050 from a 2019 baseline year, with accompanying near-term and long-term targets that are validated by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi). Our primary focus is to decarbonize, the most effective means to address climate change. To enable that, our parent company The Travel Corporation has established the following validated science-based reduction targets:
To cement our commitment to decarbonize, in 2022 we launched a Carbon Fund – a fund dedicated to financing initiatives to reduce the carbon emissions of our business. This fund is a bold step towards prioritizing the planet and will be used solely for initiatives that contribute to our net zero journey and help restore our planet. Progress made by this fund will be reported on in future Impact Reports.
To further support our journey to net zero, our TreadRight Foundation will prioritize and invest in nature-based solutions developed to address climate change as well as the rapid loss of biodiversity. Learn more about TreadRight and our projects.
We encourage you to read about our carbon measurement methodology, learn more about our Climate Action efforts, and view our recent Impact Report at our Impact Hub.
MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® is a registered trademark of the TreadRight Foundation.
As seen on
Goal 1
Goal 1
Climate Action
Trafalgar alongside its sister brands will invest in decarbonization in two ways:
Contribute to an internal Carbon Fund to help cover the costs of transitioning our business to low carbon solutions.
Prioritize nature-based solutions and conservation efforts that protect biodiversity and restore the planet through the TreadRight Foundation.
Read our climate emergency declaration and our Climate Action Plan.
Goal 2
Goal 2
Climate Change
All TTC owned Red Carnation properties included on Trafalgar itineraries will utilise renewable sources by Dec 2021. Trafalgar also encourages and educates third party suppliers on shifting to alternate renewable energy sources.
Read our climate emergency declaration.
Goal 3
Goal 3
Sustainable Food Production
All TTC owned Red Carnation properties included on Trafalgar itineraries will reduce food waste by Dec 2021. Trafalgar encourages and educates third party suppliers on food waste reduction and sustainable tourism. Trafalgar also commits to meeting this goal for all business related events from 2021.
Goal 4
Goal 4
Sustainable Food Production
Our strategy defines “local” as any food sourced within 30-50 miles of where it is prepared, and “organic” as that which is sourced without the use of pesticides or GMOs; in addition to sustainably sourced seafood. Our goal is for all of our Be My Guest dining experiences and other small businesses to source at least 30% of their menu either locally or organically by 2025.
Goal 5
Goal 5
Responsible Consumption
As at Jan 2021, Trafalgar has responsibly reduced printed brochures by 50% since 2019, and will continue to optimise alternate digital solutions to deliver additional reductions.
Goal 6
Goal 6
Responsible Consumption
Trafalgar has significantly reduced SUP across trips and offices and continues to conduct assessments on trip and business touchpoints to ensure alternative recyclable materials are utilised wherever possible.
Goal 7
Goal 7
Overtourism
Trafalgar commits to include at least one Make Travel Matter responsible travel experience on 50% of all itineraries by 2024.
Goal 8
Goal 8
Overtourism
Trafalgar to increase of 20% globally of itineraries visiting developing regions by 2025.
In order to qualify a region as a “developing region” and count an itinerary to count towards this sustainable development goal, the following must be true:
Trafalgar has not visited the region in 2019
An overnight stay in the region is included in the itinerary
The region features no more than 2 sites that suffer from congestion during peak season (ie. long queues that degrade the tourist experience)
The region is considered a secondary or (preferred) tertiary city or “spoke” to a tourism hub
Goal 9
Goal 9
Our Culture
Internal support, opportunity and mentorship within Trafalgar teams and offices is strong, with a focus on developing internal team members. The focus to date has been on building opportunity for female leaders, and has succeeded at ensuring approx 70% of the executive leadership is female. The current focus is on ensuring that both internal teams as well as guests and travelers are represented equitably from within the LGBTQ+ and Black, Indigenous and people of color communities.
To achieve this, Trafalgar in conjunction with TTC has committed to completing a Diversity and Inclusion Strategy by Q1 2021. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion extends to Indigenous peoples, the first travelers. We are in the process of working with various Indigenous travel associations and experts to develop a guidebook that will help our brands engage with Indigenous tour operators in a respectful and meaningful way that honours Indigenous heritage and lands.
Goal 10
Goal 10
Our Culture
Trafalgar offers all employees 2 paid volunteer days each year. Our commitment is to achieve 30,000 hours by 2025.
Goal 11
Goal 11
Animal Welfare
All wildlife experiences included on all trips adhere to the TTC Animal Welfare policy as at January 2021. Ongoing assessment and inspection is undertaken for domesticated animals involved in on trip experiences.