Photo: Contiki
TTC’s MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences has just been named an honoree in the Corporate Social Responsibility category of Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Idea Awards.
FastCompany is the world’s leading business media brand and its annual award recognizes groundbreaking ideas by organizations deeply committed to pursuing innovation for the good of society and the planet.
Selected from thousands of applicants, we’re so honoured our MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences have been recognized. These experiences are here to advance positive change around the world through the direct participation of travelers – that is, people just like you.
They’re meant to transform the way we think about the travel experience, for the mutual benefit of travelers and the people and places they visit. It’s our hope that this transformation can shift the way we travel for good, through long-lasting and meaningful impact.
What sets MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences apart from other travel experiences?
MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences are chosen for the ways in which they directly advance the United Nations Global Goals (UNSDGs), widely accepted as the blueprint to address issues such as poverty, inequality, biodiversity and more.
Established in 2016, the goals were quickly adopted by governments, businesses and society as those we should all be working towards. We used the UNSDG’s and their specific indicators to develop a set of our own criteria, endorsed by leading industry sustainable development experts, which allow the family of TTC brands (including Contiki) to identify transformative experiences that go beyond being a feel-good experience. This means we are building travel experiences that display genuine social and environmental good.
To identify MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences, we built a proprietary assessment tool that identifies if an experience meets a Global Goal, and if so, which goal or goals it supports.
How Can an Experience Change the World?
Choices are critical. From the clothes you buy, the food you eat and the businesses you support, to the trip you’ve been waiting to take since COVID-19 made itself known. Our portfolio of MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences can change the travel industry, which is one of the world’s largest, accounting for 10.3% of the global GDP.
By choosing to participate in one of these experiences and actively seeking out travel designed to make a positive impact, you are helping us to prioritise community-based enterprises – from supporting women-owned businesses, experiencing unique farm stays with a focus on sustainable farming methods, or learning about ancient cultures that carry on their traditions by sharing their stories with others.
You have the power to choose these experiences and support sustainable practices, while setting the tone for the purpose-driven offering you expect of the wider travel industry.
Image source:Contiki
Why and how are MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences designed around the Global Goals?
Our goal in developing our MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences was to positively impact broader environmental and social issues, so it was a natural fit to look to the United Nations Global Goals to help narrow our focus and ladder up to international efforts.
MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® How you can start today
As part of our sustainability strategy How We Tread Right, our goal at Contiki is to include at least one MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience on 50% of our itineraries worldwide by 2025, and we are well on our way.
Browse our MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences and join us in making travel a force for good.
