Written by Alexandria Hilton

“Sustainable Travel” floats around, a buzzword rather untethered, in my opinion.

How should advisors talk about Sustainable Travel? What kinds of images come to mind when a traveler reads or hears about sustainability? Should we rebrand? Is such a thing even possible?

At ATI, we are venturing beyond the bounds of “sustainable travel” and stepping into Good Travel —

The most effective way to introduce this concept to you, our valued ATInsiders, is to introduce you first to our Good Travel pillars; People, Place, and Purpose; and second to our Good Travel partners, Ele- Collection.

Take a deeper dive into Ele-Collection’s operations and you’ll find it impossible to mistake their commitment to each of these three pillars. The passionate members of this team are unbelievably kind, wildly knowledgeable, and a really good laugh. They care about their work and they exemplify my great hope: that the most gifted story-tellers are the ones with the best stories to tell.

National Indigenous Peoples Day having just passed, I’m reminded of my short trip to Banff and my brief yet profound interactions with two Cree Women at the inaugural Virtuoso Sustainability Summit. To travel for enrichment, to travel for engagement with the indigenous traditions of a place exemplifies Good Travel, too, sitting squarely at the intersection of People, Place, and Purpose.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve long been interested in saving the world. I know this to be true because some 6 years ago, on a trip to Baja Sur with my dad, we took a kayaking trip — our very last of the sort for reasons having much to do with sitting for much too long — and in the notes app of my phone, I still scroll past an entry that begins,

“Ecoturismo es una industria importante…”

Our kayaking guide explained to me then that Sustainable Travel had become a buzz-worthy term years prior, thrown about rather gratuitously in the 2000s. With each decade, more and more hotels and tour companies decided they’d give it a go.

It’s up to us, your travel advisors, to work towards making “sustainable” the bare minimum. To merely sustain is inherently challenging, yes. For those committed partners who have done the groundwork that sustainability requires, though, it is regeneration and full-circle Goodness that is a worthy mission.

If we’re talking terms:

Good Travel, as ATAdventures anchoring ethos, is part of our effort to redefine the phrase “value travel.”

Value travel is not cheap. It is not wasteful. It is purposeful and efficient. To stand in line at the museum so you can tick the box and say you did it? Is that your valuable experience? Is that your luxury experience?

While we’re at it, I’d like to add that “luxury travel” is a rather redundant term; to travel at all is already a luxury. To be on the move is a gift in itself; to have the working limbs and the time and the sense of safety and the desire.

ATAdventures is on the move to find the intersection of “Luxury Travel,” “Value Travel,” and “Good Travel” – we think each is inherent in the other. What do you think? Let us know!

More on those pillars I mentioned:

Each ATAdventure will be grounded in the foundation set by three pillars: People, Place, and Purpose.

People –

By this, we not only mean the people you’ll meet in the destination but those who help you get there and those you hold along the way; from our very first meeting, this pillar guides us. As the old adage goes, “if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”

Place –

This pillar guides the manner in which you will engage with your destination in singular and unique ways — when we say we specialize in “experiential travel,” this is what we mean! The activities we offer are curated. What you do in the destination will be elsewhere irreplicable with the overall health of the land and its people top of mind.

Purpose –

Ah, yes. The undercurrent of our entire process together, start-to-finish. Why do you want to go there? Why do you want to go with or without those friends? Why is this activity important to you? My secret hope is that you return from your ATAdventure with an entirely refreshed understanding of your own answers to those questions and more.

What’s Next?

To establish the beginning of Good Travel, Admiral Travel is pledging to Ele-Collection a small portion of each African itinerary that makes it out of the office. We’ll give you the opportunity to match our contribution, too, if you’re interested.

With Nick Kleer officially onboard, truly the only conservationist for the job, our Good Travel partnerships are bound to steadily multiply.

Stay tuned!