WHY IT RATES: Trafalgar is striving for sustainable tourism by providing agents with the tools they need to educate clients.-Codie Liermann, Associate Editor
For the past 10 years, leading global guided vacation company Trafalgar has been trailblazing the fight for a sustainable future, leading by example through the JoinTrafalgar program.
Powered by TreadRight, a not-for-profit foundation created by Trafalgar's parent company The Travel Corporation (TTC), JoinTrafalgar shares TreadRight's mission to have a positive impact on the people, wildlife and marine life in the destinations Trafalgar's vacations visit, and to care for the planet we call home.
Simply put, Trafalgar strives to make travel matter.
Leading up to the 49th Earth Day on April 22, Trafalgar will encourage the travel community as a whole to work towards a sustainable future while educating around JoinTrafalgar's three pillars of helping people, preserving places and wildlife and caring for the planet.
To raise awareness in the trade community, Trafalgar is organizing an action and awareness campaign alongside longstanding brand partners including Craig Kielburger, co-founder of charity ME to WE, releasing weekly content aimed at inspiring agent partners with easy, actionable tips to pique their interest on how to live and travel more sustainably.
In addition, as part of this holistic approach to Earth Month, and in keeping with its AgentsFirst philosophy, Trafalgar will also release an Advisor's Guide to Making a Difference on Earth Day.
This easy-to-follow guide is full of simple tips and small changes travel advisors and other customer-facing members of the industry can make that can have a big impact. By educating on the fundamentals of sustainable tourism, it aims to empower advisors to act as ambassadors of responsible travel to their customers.
"The creation of Earth Day in 1970 marked a shift in the global mentality from consumption to conservation. Now, almost five decades later, it's more apparent than ever that to save the planet, urgent changes are needed," said Trafalgar's CEO Gavin Tollman.
"It's 2019, it's not optional and we need to lead from the front. We are always looking for ways to arm our agent partners with the tools to practice and promote responsible travel. The creation of this sustainability guide is an extension of our mission to enact meaningful change," he said.
However, the brand's commitment to responsible travel goes far beyond the month of April. Examples of making a difference include the company banning single-use plastics (SUPs) in offices worldwide and the journey to be SUP-free on all Trafalgar trips by 2022.
In addition, in just over a year, thanks to the support of Trafalgar's agent partners, the company reforested 150 acres of devastated forest land in Northern California and Tanzania through its e-documentation solution, planting one tree for each guest that travels paper free. These are just two of the many ways the brand is making travel matter for people, places & wildlife and the planet.
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