Hit enter to search or ESC to close
rhino notching

LUXURY TRAVEL AND YACHTING TRENDS OF THE FUTURE

High-Impact Conservation

Our Luxury Travel and Yachting Trend Report has been designed to be a resource and a foundation for trend-based strategy for the next five years of luxury travel. During the pandemic there was a lot of talk about “building back better”, but has anything really changed? For all the talk of making travel more sustainable, there is just as much “greenwashing” taking place. At Pelorus, we believe in the power of travel as a force for good but tokenistic actions that make people feel less guilty about their impact on the planet are not helpful. Over the next five years, we anticipate growing demand for High-Impact Conservation from high-net-worth clients who really want to make a difference. Not only do they want to actively learn about the flora and fauna of Earth, but they also want to ensure that their presence contributes to its preservation, protection and future flourishing.

As the world faces a crisis of human-made consequences with habitat destruction, biodiversity loss and climate change, there is a growing sense of urgency to not only undo some of this damage but to witness wildlife and places of outstanding natural beauty that could one day be gone forever. For discerning high-net-worth travellers who are no longer impressed by gold taps and caviar, “luxury” has taken on new meaning. With scarcity always integral to its definition, it makes sense that “luxury” is becoming associated with exploring remote wildernesses or tracking rare animals. After all, what greater privilege could there be?

A travel company with a conscience, Pelorus is leading the way with High-Impact Conservation trips that provide a blueprint for high-budget ethical tourism of the future. For example, clients can become “Citizen Scientists” by spending time with marine biologists in French Polynesia, where they can study coral reefs, monitor the breeding habits of tiger sharks and log the nesting sites of sea turtles. Over in Africa, clients can do more than participate in a passive safari – they can join conservation scientists and anti-poaching units to track collared elephants to understand how their migratory patterns are shifting. In many cases, without the funds provided by travellers, this research will not happen.

phinda reserve pangolin

“Travel has the power to shift perspectives immeasurably, and in doing so, alter the legacy we choose to leave on the world. As a traveller who is passionate about wild places, I am intrinsically concerned about the protection and preservation of our expanses of rainforests, the health of our oceans and peculiar animals, like the pangolin, which future generations may never see. With this in mind, over the next five years Pelorus will be driving environmental protection through experiences that have been designed in collaboration with the Pelorus Foundation.”

Geordie Mackay-Lewis
Co-founder and CEO of Pelorus

CASE STUDY: PELORUS FOUNDATION – BLUE CARBON

Established in 2020, Pelorus Foundation is a UK-registered conservation charity with a mission to protect, preserve and promote “at risk” wildlife and environments by supporting communities on the front line of conservation. As an independent charity, Pelorus Foundation has its own dedicated team and board of trustees. Their conservation projects are funded through a variety of channels including donations from individuals, corporate support, trust funding and fundraising from events and charities.

Enhancing its commitment to planetary good further still, in July 2022, the Pelorus Foundation announced its new Climate Investment Fund, an initiative that seeks to address the problem of travel emissions head-on, in partnership with officially verified and certified carbon removal project partners. To help combat the damaging effect of greenhouse gases, the foundation is currently working with forest and soil carbon removal technologies and initiatives, by utilising the world’s ocean and coastal ecosystems.

New ways in which the world can successfully remove substantial volumes of carbon from our atmosphere are still emerging. Scientific research and the development of new technologies also require investment to ensure we know which activities are likely to generate the highest volumes of carbon sequestration.

One successful area of carbon removal is the restoration and protection of mangrove forests, about half of which have been lost over the past two decades due to human impact. Growing along three quarters of the Earth’s tropical and subtropical coastlines, mangroves play a vital role in absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere (they absorb carbon from the air, storing it in their roots and branches). However, mangroves are also a major part of our fragile ocean ecosystem, with 90% of marine organisms spending part of their lives in this ecosystem, and 80% of the world’s global fish catches are dependent on mangroves.

Recognising the enormous potential of scaling up blue carbon to achieve the United Nations goal of keeping the global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees, the Pelorus Foundation, through their Climate Investment Fund, has partnered with global ocean health company Running Tide, to cultivate kelp (one of the largest species of seaweed) in Iceland, which are also highly efficient at absorbing carbon.

“Unlike ‘green carbon’ rainforests, which store carbon in biomass and therefore release it when the trees die, mangroves store most of the carbon in their soil and sediment. If undisturbed, it stays there for millennia. This superpower means “blue carbon” (the sequestration and storage of carbon by ocean ecosystems) is gaining attention in the race towards net zero. And the ‘big three’ stores of blue carbon – mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass – are suddenly urgent new areas of conservation.”

The Guardian

Justine Williams, Head of Pelorus Foundation says: “We are delighted to be working with Running Tide and supporting their work to rebalance the carbon cycle by harnessing the natural restorative power of the ocean. There is an urgent need to invest in novel technology that pioneers new methods needed to reverse climate change. This is a responsibility we all share if we are to keep the global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees. By working together with local project partners, we are also investing in other areas of marine conservation. Currently, this involves the reinvigoration and promotion of a community-led marine protected area in Kenya. The project is working together with the local fishing community to enhance marine ecosystems whilst developing alternative sources of livelihood. Additionally, this work will also increase local ocean awareness, fulfilling our mission to empower communities in the protection of their own environments.

It is only through working with local people and understanding the daily challenges they face that we can really help make a lasting difference to our planet’s flora and fauna. Pelorus Foundation completely relies upon the kind and generous support of our donors to ensure we can continue to work together with local environmental and conservation projects, and we simply couldn’t do what we do without their help.”

EXPLORE MORE FUTURE TRENDS

Sign up to our Newsletter join our newsletter submit

PELORUS NEWSLETTER

Join our community to receive the latest travel and yachting inspiration from our team of inhouse experts.

I am interested in receiving newsletters about *(Required)
¹ The Pelorus Foundation is a charity that empowers communities to preserve and protect the world’s wildlife and wild places for future generations’

I agree to receive Pelorus newsletters. I can opt out at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in any Pelorus newsletter. My information will be protected as per the Privacy Policy.