Our mission is conservation through exploration: protecting our planet by inspiring travelers, supporting local communities and boldly influencing the entire travel industry.
Our Dilemma
There’s no getting around the fact that as a travel company, we are contributing to the problem of climate change. With more than 8,000 travelers annually on 100-plus adventures on all seven continents, we expend tons of CO2. And it’s warming the earth’s atmosphere, with destructive consequences. We wrestle with this quandary, especially since our product is nature travel—how can we harm the very places and creatures we take our guests to see? And how can we mitigate that impact?
Our Conviction
Ultimately, however, we believe that what we do offers a net benefit to the fate of the planet. Our product—conservation travel—imbues value to natural habitats, bringing economic resources to local communities and inspiring them to protect wild places and the wildlife that thrives within them. And by bringing travelers deep into nature and face to face with its greatest spectacles, we allow them to feel awe, wonder and joy. When we experience the beauty and silence of wilderness, or meet an animal up close and share an inquisitive gaze, we come to understand what is at stake. In those moments, we discover what it is to love what is threatened…and we must love it, in order to protect it. Our hope is that our travelers go home transformed, as ambassadors for conservation, bent on finding political and technological solutions to address the climate crisis.
Our Response
Recognizing our contribution to environmental degradation, we are dedicated to reducing it—and not just our own impact: Since our founding in 1985, Nat Hab has been committed to global leadership to make the entire travel industry more sustainable. Our goal isn’t simply to be the most environmentally responsible tour operator in the world, however, but to continually raise the bar on sustainability, and to challenge other travel-related businesses to raise their standards as well.
Our efforts to mitigate our environmental impact are currently focused on these endeavors. Click on the boxes below to learn more!