MAKE TRAVEL MATTER: The Travel Corporation Makes Big Strides in Sustainable Travel

When it comes to travel, the focus is more often on getting to the destination and less on what happens after we leave. The Travel Corporation (TTC) and its TreadRight Foundation are working to leave a positive influence after traveling, one destination and one traveler at a time.

TTC’s mission is to MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® by working to decrease its environmental impact and give back to the host communities. When you travel with TTC and its family of brands, you not only expand your world, meet new people and experience new cultures but return home with the photo album and (responsible) souvenirs to prove it.

A sustainable chain reaction

Many of us are already making small swaps to be more responsible, sustainable travelers. If you throw a reusable water bottle—or one supplied by the hotel that you refill—into a canvas bag to use throughout the day, you’re keeping your vacation environment free from unnecessary plastic waste.

But there are big changes to be made as well. In 2020, TTC set 11 measurable goals as part of its five-year sustainability strategy, “How We Tread Right,” to address the impact of its operations and trips. By partnering with organizations like AAA, Tourism Cares and Delta—just to name a few—these goals tackle the issues that most affect the industry and focus on three key points: our planet, its people and wildlife. 

For the planet…

The Travel Corporation has set major climate action goals, including, reaching net zero emissions by 2050 and a 50% reduction in printed travel brochures by 2025. Other targets feature reducing food waste across cruise lines and hotels, and sourcing from local and regional suppliers.

Progress has already been made on many of these goals— food waste has been reduced by up to 39% at TTC’s Red Carnation Hotels Collection and printed brochure use was down by 88%. Most recently, in 2022, TTC became the first global tour operator to have validated near-term, long-term, and net zero targets by the Science Based Targets initiative to power its journey to net zero.

For its people

TTC is emphasizing sustainable tourism in developing destinations and creating immersive travel experiences that benefit both the traveler and the communities they visit. These MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences, offered in most itineraries, are activities vetted by TTC and are chosen for their direct advancement of the United Nations Global Goals.

TTC is also working on increasing diversity, equity and inclusion within the organization and across its family of brands by hiring local guides and translators, partnering with local tour operators, and training staff on sensitive, inclusive service to visitors.

For the wildlife

All of the wildlife experiences offered by TTC adhere to its Animal Welfare Policy, which guarantees the safety and ethical treatment of the local animals. TTC’s non-profit foundation TreadRight supports projects that protect the welfare and environment of each destination’s native wildlife.

Enlisting partner organizations such as Wilderness Foundation Africa, which works to conserve the critically endangered African black rhino population, and New Zealand’s National Kiwi Hatchery, to protect the vulnerable kiwi bird population, is how TTC is supporting wildlife conservation through its TreadRight Foundation. This means when you book a bucket-list trip with a TTC brand (such as a photo safari in South Africa), you will not only get unforgettable memories but also serve the community and wildlife.